I just purchased a 05 late last fall with only 600 miles on it. I now have 750 miles and noticed a drip of oil on the floor. I took some tuperware off and cleaned everything off with brake clean and found it is seeping between the engine block and the clutch housing. I presume it is the rear main seal or the transmission front seal. Does anybody think this seal might swell with a little use? Should I drill a hole in the bottom of the clutch housing to let the oil drain? If so where? The clutch does not slip one bit but I don't want to ruin the clutch either. Should I just tear in it and replace the seals?

You might get lucky. It might be the crank case vent that vents into the throttle bodies. They get brittle and break and end up making a mess. Not uncommon for the oil to run down the joint between the engine and tranny. Good luck.

What tupperware do I need to take off right or left? thanks

Experienceing a similar leak on my '00 LT, I have not yet fully investigated but I am hoping it is coming from the crank vent as suggested above since it seems to be more on the left side of the engine than the right (seems to drip more on the side stand than center stand). So in a round-about answer to your question the engine intake is on the left side (side-stand side) on the bike

I was told by an A&P mechanic that if I put a small amount of brake fluid in my engine oil it will swell up seals and stop my leak (assuming it is a seal and not a broken vent hose) - any thoughts from my trusted board of advisors?

The rear main seal is a paper thin seal so nothing to swell there. I would keep cleaning the area and watch it. A rear main seal leak is unlikely to foul a clutch as it is slung away from the clutch by the clutch housing. However the o-ring on the output shaft is a cause of concern as it dumps into the clutch area.

Given the low miles I would also be wary of the brake fluid condition as it is now 10 years old if it has never been flushed.

To remove your crank vent tube both sides, stingray, fuel tank, and throttle bodies have to be removed. To inspect it, a dental mirror and flashlight from the front of the motor works pretty well.

Can too high oil level cause this leak issue? I was looking at manual and checked the oil and it was above the sight glass window. So I did my first oil change on it last night and I will keep a very close eye on it.

If you are using synthetic oil switch to regular oil and run it for a few thousand miles and see if it is still leaking. But, as Jzeiler has said, the seal is paper thin. But I believe that the seal may swell enough to stop the leak.

I do not know what oil was in it. This bike just has around 800 miles on it. It has been sitting most of it's life and the PR owner got sick after he purchased it new. I presume he had reg. dino oil in it to let the rings seat. I have it all cleaned up and changed the oil and I will keep a very close watch on it. He did have too much oil in it by 1/2 quart.

The type/brand of oil shouldn't matter on a machine of that vintage.

Pretty rare for them to experience a rear main seal failure not caused by something else.

You'd have to over fill it by a lot, a quart or more before it cause issues other than a lot of smoke at start up.

Most likely it is the vent tube(s). A pain to replace but a good way to get to intamatley knw your bike. A few hour project.

If you really want to do some drilling, consider drilling a weep hole for the clutch slave cylinder. There is an excellent video on this site you might want to watch before you leap into it.

How far up in there is that vent tube? Is it more on the left side of the bike?

If it is leaking between angine and trany you will find drops of oil on the floor when parked overnight. the drops will come from inside the bell housing at the bottom of the bell housing, on the left if you use the side stand.

If you aren't sure where the few drops come from you can drill a small hole into the bell housing at the lowest point for whichever stand you use. with the small hole you should be able to verify if inside the bell housing has oil in it.

mine leaked for a few years before the clutch started slipping in 5th. The PITA is that my cruse controll kicks out in 5th on interstates.
bob

It sets on the inside edge of the throttle bodies just above the rubber boots. You can inspect it using a slender drop lamp or flashlight and inspection mirror with a swivel head and handle. (cheap to get at Harbor Freight) Look just above the motor right behind the front tire. There's a pretty good gap to work in. The vent tube is attached to a two piece rubber hose which connects to the top of the case towards the rear of the motor. You will likely see warpage and cracks where the tube attaches to the throttle bodies. Just follow the oil track..........

Look at the oil closely. Smell it. If it stinks like gear oil, it came out of the transmission. If real dirty black and the engine oil is relatively clean, its probably from the vent tube(s).

My first guess and going on experience, probably the tube.

It is clean and I can't see any oil on top of the engine at all. This bike only has 950 total miles after my ride today. It doesn't seem to smell like trans. oil either.
I am going to keep a close eye on this issue and ride it. Is there a dye or something I could put in the oil to trace it?

one of the hardest things on any motor vehicle is sitting, suggest you drive it if it is just a couple of drops, monitor oil level before first ride of the day on the center stand and see what develops, not likely the O ring clutch area, those harden with heat and time. Personnaly I would suspect the main seal which may get better or worse with running - it is a big job to tear down that far - the main oil seal is quite thin, if there was any change in the surface it seals on from sitting it could start to leak but the oil will not get on the clutch disk.

just my 2 cents

Lets just hope you get lucky.The area of the leak leans toward RMS most likely the oring.

I went to my dealer to get the service manager's scoop on this oil issue. He said if it just seeps and just a drip once in a while he would suggest to ride it and watch it closely. He thinks it will fix itself once the bike is ridden some miles. I hope he is right...Now it is suppose to rain about the next 7 days!!!!

That's why they make rain suits.

I guess I am not a devoted biker. I keep dry when I can but if I get caught out in it so be it. I actually melt when it rains on me.

A good set of Aerostich will prevent you from melting.

bob