BMW R1150GS Oil Leak - Cylinder Reseal

Hello everyone,
In this video I'm addressing an oil leak on an R1150GS. I have to remove the cylinder completely and add sealant to the mating surfaces between the barrel and the crank case.
Hope you'll enjoy the video and find it useful.
Thanks for watching and see you next time.
Link to the valve clearance video:
@twP4

[@alanreilly9056]

Thank you Sir, I really enjoyed watching this

[@garage_tales]

Thank you for your comment! Glad you liked the video! 🙂

[@jtreg]

I was dreading putting my R1100RS (replaced all valve springs, don't ask!)... Your calm and thorough video gives me motivation to get her back together again! Thanks Vlad

[@garage_tales]

Hey there! Thank you very much for your comment! It makes spending time on these videos worth it 🙂 All the best! Vlad

[@pepsimaxflyboy]

Brilliant video, thanks very much. I've owned my 1150GS for 17yrs, how have I only now found your channel, lol. Will subscribe.

[@garage_tales]

Thank you for your comment! Appreciate it!🙂 Working on bringing more videos soon 🙂

[@jeffreylindop5782]

excellent video as usual.

[@garage_tales]

Thank you Jeffrey. Appreciate it! 🙂

[@Bigtime_mcalpine]

Really well documented. Thank you!

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thank you for your comment! Glad you found the video useful 🙂

[@jonandrews4493]

Another in detail video for the old GS, very helpful to see the various tools that you have made and or use in video, one thing I have learnt from working on my GS is that often you need a tool for a tool, ha ha, great video and solid production, greetings from a 45 days of solid rain Northern Taiwan.

[@garage_tales]

Hey Jon. Thanks for your comment! Yep. The more tools, the better 😁Maybe I only do this so I can justify having all the tools. Hope you’re enjoying your trip, even with all the rain! All the best, Vlad

[@kolincunningham2655]

I wish you were located in sydney. I have a 1150r Rockster I love which needs some TLC. I wish i could lear from this man

[@garage_tales]

Great bike :D I’m sure you’ll get the tlc sorted and hope you’ll enjoy the bike 🙂

[@pepsimaxflyboy]

As I previously said, this is a really useful video, for info, as in your video, I also found the cam chain tensioner bolt was loose, so I got away with just tightening that (15mm ring spanner), leak sorted. Thanks again.

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks for your comment! Glad you got away with that 🙂

[@zeljkoramljak1318]

Thank you very much, I did it without any problems.

[@garage_tales]

Great to hear!😁 Thank you for your comment! 🙂

[@pemotor541]

Great job there, Vlad, once more! I would enjoy watching you degreasing all your tools and the workbench after an oily job like this one 😋

[@garage_tales]

You’d be there watching for hours mate 😂 It wasn’t to bad to be fair. Just soaked an old T-shirt in oil, but it contained most of it 🙂

[@Chucka10]

I would like to see more of the cylinder head while it was off.

[@garage_tales]

Sorry about that. I’ll keep that in mind next time 🙂

[@GerardDucati]

Real proffesional. Thanks for the video. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@garage_tales]

Thank you for your comment! Glad you found it useful! 🙂

[@yonatangirma8669]

This is a great video. I was following the same steps to change a head on a R1200C but there’s no hold to lock the flywheel. Had to hold the crank bolt with a ratchet while a friend turned the cam bolt off. Also piston was at the bottom which will make installing another head gasket and head easier. I plan to use the spark plug hole to insert a long extension in and determine top dead before checking valve clearance or you could use S on top OT on bottom mark in hole

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thank you for your comment! Interesting to hear you had no hole for locking the crankshaft. I’ve never seen that. But glad to hear you got it sorted in the end 🙂

[@zettaker2181]

Thanks a lot, Vlad. Great vid. Had same problem on right cilynder of R1100RT 97. Now it's no leaking oil and smoke from muffler.

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks a lot for your comment! Really appreciate it. Glad you found it useful and your bike is sorted! Hope you’ll enjoy many miles with the old BMW. They’re great bikes!

[@thodkats]

Nicely done. Thanks for the vid! Where are you from ? Edit: I just realized you are from the UK. xD

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks for your comment! Hope the video was helpful 🙂 Currently live in the UK, but I’m from Romania.

[@mikeyBee4045]

So what was the cause of the original oil leak, the head gasket? Brilliant tutorial btw, thanks.

[@garage_tales]

Hi there. The leak was coming from the bade of the cylinder. There isn’t a gasket there, just sealant 🙂

[@GriftyMcPants]

Great video! I'm so sad because when you said, "if the chain guides shatter, that's a huge pain." Well, that's where I'm at. I just hopped on the bike one day and heard this terrible rattling noise. Some inspection confirmed my chain guide has broken apart and is loose inside the crack case! Would you recommend full rebuild at that point? What are your thoughts?

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Sorry to hear about your troubles. But as they say…life happens for you, not to you 😁 There probably isn’t any other option at this point apart from taking the engine apart. It really depends if you’re paying someone to do the job and how much it will all cost compared to the bikes value, or if you’re doing it yourself, it depends on your circumstances and how much time you have available. If you still like the bike and it’s in reasonably good condition I’d say yes…engine out, strip and rebuild, new seals everywhere you can, depending on mileage maybe new clutch, shell bearings, rings etc. Or maybe you can find a good deal on a used engine from a breaker 🙂 Let me know how it all goes 🙂

[@Jonhenrysneip]

Thank you for an informative and well done videojob. Whath did you lock the chain sprocet with, did you made a tool for it? And the right sylinder, same procedure?

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thank you for your kind comment. Glad the video was useful 🙂 I did not need to make a tool in the end. Just managed to get it loose by using the crank lock and with the chain guides out of the way 🙂

[@snrsmh]

You need john gemini tuning chip

[@garage_tales]

There are lots of things I need 😁

[@snrsmh]

@@garage_tales 👍🏻

[@dragospetrescu5450]

One week waiting, 1hour unmount&remounting, plug & play. Succes!

[@ingarvalsvik6606]

You should have stopped when you discover that cam chain tensioner bolt was loose, that was perhaps the reason for the oil leak. ?? Had the same oil leak on left side and that bolts was loose. Tighten it up and no more oil leak. The tensioner also have engine oil pressure behind that activate the tensioner with oil pressure through a little hole in it at the top under the nut, so pressurized engine oil will get pressede out if bolt is loose.

[@garage_tales]

Possibly, but that wasn’t the only leak. It was clean around the bolt compared to what was under the cylinder. And anyway, once I set my mind to it, I had to go through with it 😂

[@pepsimaxflyboy]

Thanks for your comment, exactly as you mentioned, I found cam chain tensioner bolt loose, tightened (15mm ring spanner) and no more leak. Great video though, but hopefully I'll never need it

[@louisgara8754]

Great video. A couple of questions: (1) The factory manual (on page 11.60) shows the rocker end float being measured on the bottom of the rocker carrier - can you say why you prefer to measure rocker end float at the top of the rocker carrier? (2) Can you please describe the special tool you mentioned for use in holding the camshaft when the camshaft sprocket bolt is too difficult to loosen? Thank you.

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks for your comment! 1. The reason I prefer measuring the end play at the top rather than the bottom, is because usually (specially if they have many miles) they wear a bit of a step at the bottom (gravity pulls them down) while the top is still in very good condition. They still work fine, but measuring the play if they have that small step worn in is inaccurate. Hope that makes sense 🙂 2. I never had to make that special tool yet, but I imagine I’ll need it one day. Basically the way I have it in my head is a cylindrical piece of steel, 4 dowels fitted to one face on the same pcd as the holes in the sprocket, a male hex or 2 flats on the other side for a big spanner, bored through so you can put the bit through it for the sprocket bolt, and a counterbore on the sprocket side to allow for the bolt head to go somewhere. Hope that’s clear enough 🙂 If anything’s unclear please ask again. All the best, Vlad

[@louisgara8754]

@@garage_tales Thanks for the clear, detailed reply. I'm going to replace the original aluminum w/ steel tip pushrods in my 47,000 mile 2000 BMW R1150GS with R1200 all-steel pushrods soon and this video is very helpful and informative.

[@garage_tales]

@@louisgara8754 Hope it goes well with the work 🙂

[@howardthompson2669]

Hi Garage Tales I’ve just finished watching your video and really appreciated your calm and informative style, and nicely paced, well filmed, and detailed video production. I have an R850R which has sheared exhaust studs so I want to remove both heads to get them drilled out …I wonder if you would mind answering a few of my questions. You mention the risk of damaging the chain guides when trying to undo the bolt that secures the camshaft sprocket in place …what is the consequence of damaging the chain guide? Also you mention you were on the brink of giving up on loosening the camshaft sprocket bolt but eventually managed it ….what would your ‘plan-B’ be if you were unable to loosen the bolt? Finally, having sheared off the exhaust studs I have become a bit paranoid of damaging other bolts during removal on my old bike …do you have measures to prevent this such as penetrating oil or heating? Oh, and one last thing …presumably both cylinder heads be removed at the same time. Any advice would be much appreciated Regards Howard

[@garage_tales]

Hello Howard. Thank you for your comment. Appreciate it! 🙂 Hope it goes well with your exhaust studs. There’s always the risk of something snapping and causing massive pain. With regards to the chain guides, if you don’t remove the tensioner first, you’re putting a lot of pressure on the plastic guide and risk snapping it. What does that lead to? Well, on the left side I believe you might be able to fish the circlip out from the bore with some fancy tools, but most of the time it means taking the engine out (or taking the bike of the engine might be more accurate) and splitting the crankcase to swap the chain guides and fishing any broken chips from the bottom of the engine (no removable sump on these) Plan B on the camshaft sprocket would be to make a special tool that would hold the pulley in place so you don’t put all that force on the chain. I’ve taken a few of these apart (but not too many yet) and managed to get away without making one so far. But in my mind it would be something like a hollow hub with dowels on one end to locate the sprocket, flats/hex on the other for a big spanner and a bore through it for a hex bit to undo the bolt. Hope that makes sense. Feel free to ask again if not 🙂 When taking off bolts that are corroded (like exhaust studs) I always try to soak them in penetrating fluid a few days in advance before I start removing them. If that’s not enough, I use a propane torch, but with care not to damage the paint. On internal bolts that are covered in oil, penetrating fluid does nothing. Heat can help if applied in the right place, but don’t tend to use it much. You can remove both cylinder heads. What I would probably do is, once I have one off, turn the crank one full turn to tdc and then remove the other head. Assemble in reverse order. If it’s not clear why, ask 🙂 Hope that answers everything. All the best! Vlad

[@howardthompson2669]

@@garage_tales Thanks for taking the time to provide such a detailed response ...much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Regards Howard

[@saanko8742]

Great video, I’m living in Sweden and we don’t have such mechanics as you. How one can reach out to your shop?

[@garage_tales]

Hi there. I’m not working as a full time mechanic, but I’m happy to help if you need it.

[@saanko8742]

@@garage_tales Great, do you have instagram? how I can contact you?

[@aleccoldman5041]

Great video thank you. I have to swap a head on a R1100S so you video was a great refresher. Was that M10 or M12 bolt you used to lock the engine?

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks for your comment and glad the video was helpful. A 10mm pin or M10 bolt should do 🙂

[@aleccoldman5041]

@garage_tales I think it is a 8mm pin as I just measured a flywheel I just replaced on my 1150gs and it had a 8.5mm hole.

[@garage_tales]

@@aleccoldman5041 Interesting. That may be true. I’ll see if I can find the tool I used. Recently moved house and building a new workshop, so everything is really hard to find at the moment 😂

[@aleccoldman5041]

@@garage_tales a new workshop :) , worth all the hassle of moveing

[@tomazmastnak]

Nice video! My R1200GS (2007) leaks oil as well. Cylinder is cracked on the bottom side, where channel for the chain is. One of the holes for those little bolts is cracked and it started to leak. I know that removal of cylinder will be needed to weld this crack. How many hours did it take you to replace this seal and put the bike back on the road? Thanks!

[@garage_tales]

Hey Tomaz. Sorry to hear you’re having trouble. It’s hard for me to tell because I did quite a few jobs on that bike and not necessarily in the order shown in the video series, and also I work just a bit in the mornings before going to my job so it’s not a continuous flow. But I believe I could have a cylinder off and back on in 3-5 hours depending on how smoothly it goes and how much cleaning is involved. Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes with the welding 🙂

[@tomazmastnak]

​@@garage_tales ​ thanks for the answer. Before I have contacted the motorcycle repair shop (which are also welding cracked cylinders, heads, engine block etc.), I decided to clean around this ''crack'' to see where and how much is leaking. It looked like crack, but when I cleaned the oil, there was no visible damage anywhere. I was completely surrprised (in a positive way). Then I was thinking how the he** did this happen and I came to following conclusion; when I changed the engine oil, I have changer also oil filter. And when I unscrewed the oil filter, it fall into jar full of oil and the oil ''squirted'' on the bottom side where chain channel is. Oil was also where the cylinder base seal is. It looked like is leaking due to this ''crack''. I felt like a dumb, but at he end I was happy that it was just a ''prank'' :) If I could I would post a picture of this ''issue'' just to see how real it looked. If you are interested I can send it you via email. Lesson learned: clean the bike, before you start overthinking :D

[@yojay1]

Great videos! Where in the UK are you based please and what’s the best way to contact you about services?

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thanks for your comment. Appreciate it 🙂 Based in Waterlooville. If that’s not too far for you, I can give you my email address, but I’m taking a break now till I finish my new workshop. Hoping to be done early February 🙂

[@desousachristopher]

Hello, THANKS for your constructive video, I have to remove two head cylinder on my r1200s 06', the head cylinder is remove but I have doubts to remove the right side and put piston on TDC. Can I turn the motor with sprocket left removed ? Sorry for my English 😟

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thank you for your comment and glad the video was helpful. So if I understand correctly, you removed both heads without putting the engine on TDC? I think that was a mistake but easy to fix. In short, yes you can turn the engine over without the heads - try to keep the chains in tension to make sure they stay on the crank sprocket. It might be tricky to put back on if it falls off. Caution- if you removed all the bolts, turning the engine over might push the cylinders out. Hope that helps 🙂

[@desousachristopher]

@@garage_tales Sorry, I misunderstood my problem. I started by disassembling the left cylinder head and I put it in TDC, the left sprocket of the chain was disassembled and I was wondering if I could still turn the chain to find the TDC on the right cylinder. I attached the left sprocket to the chain and I was able to disassemble everything without any problems in the end, thank you again for your video and your help

[@jochenstacker7448]

Nope, all bolts seized completely solid. Welding nuts onto them has achieved nothing, I'm just using heat, oil, a long lever, carefully rocking them back and forth and in the end they all break off. Drilling them out it is..

[@garage_tales]

Ahh…that’s a real shame. Never had them quite that bad. Hope drilling them out works without drama. Let me know how it goes 🙂

[@jochenstacker7448]

​@@garage_talesI have brought the head to a machine shop, they drilled them out and put in Inserts. I am no on stage 2 of this video, putting it all back together. BTW, when you torque the nut that holds the chain gear to the head, you don't say how many NM that should be.

[@garage_tales]

@@jochenstacker7448Hopefully no more drama from now on 🙂 You are correct. I did miss to post the torque value for the cam shaft sprocket bolt. It’s 65Nm from memory.

[@tulioramos9456]

Muito bom!!!

[@garage_tales]

Thank you for your kind comment! 🙂

[@smoll.miniatures]

How would the end float be adjusted?

[@jochenstacker7448]

I'm about to replace the old-style tappets with new ones and replacing the head gasket on my GS. Not gonna lie, my palms are a bit sweaty thinking about doing this, but this video gives me confidence in thinking I can do this. Or I'll completely fcuk it up. Can't win if you don't try.

[@garage_tales]

Hey there. Thank you for your comment! 😁 Indeed, you have to give it a go. I’m sure you’ll manage 😁

[@jochenstacker7448]

@@garage_tales made a small error, I'm not replacing tappets, I'm replacing pushrods of course. They arrived (along with new head gaskets) and they look like something used for some of the kinkier piercings.

[@garage_tales]

@@jochenstacker7448 I assumed that’s what you meant. Hope it all goes well 😁

[@jochenstacker7448]

​@@garage_taleswell, left side, both exhaust manifold screws broke.

[@garage_tales]

@@jochenstacker7448 That’s off to a good start 😁 Hopefully there’s enough left out to put some clamps and with heat & some penetrating fluid, they should come out.

[@zeljkoramljak1318]

how to remove excess oil from the BMW R 1100 GS engine

[@garage_tales]

Easiest way is with an oil extractor and a thin tube. Otherwise you might have to use the drain plug. You could try and lean the bike all the way on it’s side and get some out the fill plug, but that could get messy.

[@ivydash-sq2mb]

Hello, Our company would like to invite you to try our products for free, how can we get in touch with you?

[@garage_tales]

Hi, Yes, just email me at [e-mail] and we’ll go from there. Thank you!

[@dickyim4739]

Great job

[@garage_tales]

Thank you sir! 🙂