Oil Leaking from Behind Flywheel - 1996 XR600

[Doofus007]

A few months ago I dumped (crashed) my 96' XR600 on it's left side and broke off the clutch cable holder  ! I thought that was the most severe damage until I noticed oil leaking out the bottom of the left crankcase cover. So I removed the cover and found that, apparently, oil is leaking from behind the flywheel. Is this possible? Does it indicate a damaged crank bearing or a bent crank? Any information would be helpful. I've pulled the motor from the frame but haven't taken off the fly wheel yet for further inspection, just thought i'd see if anyone has had a similar experience (I've always heard the crank bearings are bulletproof so i'm concerned I damaged the crank, or worse, the left side crankcase).

[XR650L_Dave]

No worries except for the cracked side cover, the flywheel/stator on these sit in the oil- no seal on the crankshaft.

[mcma111]

Talk about jumping the gun. The stator is open to the engine oil. It is NOT sealed off like a two stroke engine is.

[Doofus007]

Thank you guys for the replies, So you are saying that somehow the side cover gasket developed a leak at the bottom?This may be an even stupider question but how much oil is held in the side cover? It seemed that it leaked at least a quart and it didn't appear that the bottom of the cover was damaged, only the top where the clutch boss is located.  If so that is great news, my next debated step was to split the cases!!! I guess its time to pull the valve cover and inspect the cam since the motor is out of the bike.

 

P.S. Any suggestions for removing the old gasket material? A razor blade isn't cutting it.

[mcma111]

A NEW sharp razor blade does the work. It is easier if the rotor isn't in the way.

 

Look for a crack in the stator cover.

 

The engine case has a hole about 3/8" at the bottom behind the stator rotor. This allows oil to flow in and out of the stator area. Not that it actually does anything.

 

 

Pictured is a XR650l engine but the case is the same as the XR600

 

 

[Doofus007]

Thank you for the information, I really appreciate it! ?