Oil leak!

[chipripper]

During today's "after ride wipe-down" I noticed oil pooled up on the engine, just above the front sprocket



I followed the mess up the engine




To this bolt!




There was a big drip hanging off the bolt that I wiped away before the pic. I originally thought I must have not tightened the bolt down good at the last valve check and it could have loosened up over time. I put a hex key in it and it was at least hand tight. For now I loosened, cleaned, and re-torqued it. Then cleaned up the oil to keep an eye on it. Is it OK to use locktight on a bolt that is in contact with oil, or should I put some kind of sealant on the threads?

[Speeddog]

That bolt has a crush washer under it for sealing.

Get a new crush washer.

If it's copper, you can anneal it and re-use.

Neither loctite nor sealer should be needed.

[chipripper]

Thanks Speed! Didn't realize that was a crush washer under there. I've got a McMaster order going in soon to replace some corroded fasteners, so I'll add some crush washers to the list.