CX500 GL500 650 Global

I have an engine oil leak on my '81 GL500I, with the oil traveling down the joint between the front cover and the block on the right side of the engine, and then dripping off the corner behind and below the clutch cover. I've loosened and re-torqued all of the front cover bolts that I can get to without removing the radiator and fan, and it doesn't really appear to me that the leak is from between the front cover and block anyway, but it's hard to tell for sure. Is this a common problem, and is there any particular place that oil could be leaking from, and then following that path to the ground? I have a factory service manual, and access to parts schematics, and it doesn't look like removing the radiator and fan is any kind of a huge, time consuming project, but I'd like to solve this problem without doing that if possible. And if I do the coolant, radiator, and fan removal, can I safely warm the engine up just enough to find that oil leak without damaging anything, in particular the water pump seals?

Any knowledgeable help and advice would be greatly appreciated, and thanks a bunch!!!

Do [b]NOT run the engine without coolant.Coolant is also around the Cylinder jackets and without it the cylinder walls would heat too fast.Before it even get circulated it is there to absorb heat.These are not like,"Air Cooled" engines.[/b]


A common place you can get a sneaky oil leak/s at the front is the Tacho drive seals.There are two.A main one,

Part number 14 on here,

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-gl500i-silve ... E++07.html

and the smaller one inside the Cable holder part number 15 on the same drawing.Bookmark this page as it will be useful to you,

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-gl500i-silve ... partslist/

To get to them you have to drain the coolant and remove the radiator and Fan.Some people say you can prise out the Main Cam-shaft one but that's a bit hit-and-miss.I prefer to remove the Tacho drive cover.This may require a new Tacho cover gasket but I've made my own out of cereal packets before and a bit of RTV gasket sealer like Blue Hylomar,

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