What is the easiest way to track down a way oil leak?

My dog and I went for a little motorcycle this afternoon and left my better half running two VF2's, when we got back one was running and the other had the red light on. Low lube alarm, I checked it and there was less than half a tank but I filled it anyhow, reset, start. It took off running and I went around back pumped the plunger a couple of times but it only holds pressure for a few seconds. I am thinking the one going to the X axis is the most likely to break but someone else has done this before me, perhaps you will share?
Thanks
mark

Can you use some of the UV additive that motorheads use?

I think the best way is to open the guards and look for a puddle. In the old days everyone used copper or brass lines, now most use nylon and it wears from a rub. You may find other area's about ready to go, so you may discover a little preventative maintenance detective work is worth the effort plus you can check wipers, clean out chips, etc..

If you can't see an obvious leak at the fittings, move the table all the way Y minus and pull the front way cover. That's where mine leaked. Chafed through.

I cut the break and mended it with a compression union, then added some chafe protection. It was the X axis lube line, but the Y axis movement is what caused the chafing.

If you find it I would also slide the next size you over the repaired area or use a screen door spring to armor coat that area.

As luck would have it I have a 600 lb fixture on it that makes getting the X covers a PITA, byt I think I can get the front Y cover off so I geess I will start there, extra covers sound good. I think I brought this on myself trying to run the machines too cold but it will be a bit before I have temp control. I have been taking parts home to measure them, I am running a +.0002 -.0000 @ 40 degrees and measuring them at home after a soak in 72 degree water. It will get better soon.

guest said:

If you can't see an obvious leak at the fittings, move the table all the way Y minus and pull the front way cover. That's where mine leaked. Chafed through.

I cut the break and mended it with a compression union, then added some chafe protection. It was the X axis lube line, but the Y axis movement is what caused the chafing.

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That’s where I would start. When I had my covers off I could see where it had been repaired/spliced there before and it’s plain to see why. There’s a lot of bending and chaffing going on where the tube bends around and heads up into the saddle.

I am going to put off looking into this for now as the cart I use to put the fixture on and off is 1000 miles away and it will come in the next trip.

Today was the day, I pulled off the Y axis covers as they are easy and I thought I would see something, I did, no oil leaks however the oil line was not in the black plastic conduit and was several inches too short to work. We pulled off the table extention so we could get the right x axis cover off and after some cussing got it changed. I pulled the z axis cover loose from the top and could see oil dripping when I pumped the pump and with flashlights and mirrors was able to see the problem, it had never been tightened enough right from the factory, the ferril and the little brass tube that goes inside the plastic tube were up inside the manifold and I was able to take the nut off without a wrench. We made up a new line and we are back up and running. This is a 2002 machine, I imagine the 1000 mile ride to Idaho , the cold weather a few months back and some plastic shrinkage? anyhow it works again.

Your dog rides on the motorcycle while SWMBO runs the machine? ....Pics.
Bob

CarbideBob said:

Your dog rides on the motorcycle while SWMBO runs the machine? ....Pics.
Bob

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Meet Jo, she is about 1 1/2 yrs old



I built the box for I-lean, she rode over 50,000 on motorcycles in the 10 years I had her, she was used when my bride found her at the pound.



I-lean and I were run over by a dump truck riding this one so I build up the one Jo rides now.

Or were you wanting pics of the wife running the machines?

Here is I-lean in Davenport Iowa at the antique motorcycle show, we had a booth there and she spent most of the 4 days there on the bike waiting for it to take her for a ride.


mid afternoons I-lean and I would head to the lake for a swim and to chase a ball

kustomizer said:

I-lean and I were run over by a dump truck riding this one so I build up the one Jo rides now.

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Wait, wait, wait - run over? How banged up did the bike get?

(And the dog. Rider? Eh, he'll mend...)

The bike was a mess, although it was kind of cool that as the dump truck backed up the bumper hooked the engine and stood it right back up on its wheels, 3 of us shoved it off the road, the guy driving the dump truck was delivering a d6 cat on a trailer and made a left turn over us. We off loaded the cat, pushed the bike up on the trailer and he took us home, about 5 miles away. I remember the air dumped when we were under the engine, it was real loud. I-lean and I were banged up a bit but we got to tell the story rather than a write up in the paper. Funny note, we decided to take a couple of days and headed to Oregon on a Goldwing, we came along side of a logging truck and it did that air dump thing and I just about bailed off the bike, I looked in the mirror and I-lean was doing the same thing. It took about 15-20 of those air blasts so we wouldn't panic.
The bike went to the junk yard.

I got home and the phone was ringing, not less than 20 calls asking if I-lean was OK, not one to see if Mark was OK.

She rode with me another 3 years

She rode as far East as Illinois, north to but not into Canada in Montana, south to but not into Mexico, and all over Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada.
She was about 2 when the wife found her at the pound, The first couple of weeks when the wife and I would come home from running errands there would be dog prints on my bike ( the red and white one ), it had a large 1 1/2' x 2' luggaga rack on the back for delivering parts.
After about the third time I-lean was sleeeping on my leather jacket on the luggage rack when we came home. I put mouse traps up there to keep the damn dog off my motorcycle but she would trip up to a half dozen of them and be up there anyhow. One night when we came home and she was sleeping on my motorcycle I told the wife that her damn dog wants to go for a ride. She said "DON'T YOU DARE" she left for a few days with my sister and I built that diamond plate box, we took a ride, she took to it like a fish to water. My wife followed us around for a week as we ran our errands and decided we deserved each other.
When the wife took me to meet her at the pound I had been without a dog for a coupel of years, Hank was such a good dog that after he passed I didn't think another dog would ever do. My wife said what do you think of this dog, I thought she was picking her out for herself, I told her she would likely do until a good dog came along. I asked the dog what her name was and she walked over, spit out her ball and leaned on my leg. I called her I-lean. Broke my heart when she passed, ever see a 350lb, 6'8" guy cry like a baby? her ashes are still riding around in my pickup in a ceder box with her name on it.

They make new motorcycles every day, fact is I have a few extra, need one?