Leaking saito, normal?
 

Today I noticed that my Saito 91 seems to be leaking fuel/oil....but not sure. The accumulation is in the area of the cam housing...but only on one side. Is this normal? Is it time to replace gaskets (if any)?

side note: i just adjusted the valves....what a difference in power!

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Some saito's leak a lot especially if they are run rich.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Another vote for normal.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Well im guessing i probably have about 3-4 gallons on the engine. This is the first time ive seen this. I noticed when more oil than the usual "misting" had made its way back along the fuel tank. Ive never had this much mess under the cowl with this engine.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

After about a gallon of fuel I like to torque all the screws down, things do come a bit loose when new. Did you bother to put a piece of fuel line on the pressure relief nipple?? If not then BIG GUNKIE!!! You have to run the line out of the cowl so it exits out the bottom.
Nothing quite as snotty nasty as a new saito engine. After you lean the needles and get the engine in proper tune it quits blowing so much snot all over everything but my Saitos are a lot more nasty then my other four strokes. Just the nature of the beast.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

As long as it is blowing oil, you can be assured it is getting plenty of lubrication

When it quits leaking, it may not be getting enough oil?

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Yes, I have a line on the breather nipple. I will take engine off mount and make sure all of the bolts are properly tightened. Its just strange that its happening now - after almost 2 seasons.

Thanks

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Not strange, they loosen up slowly until you notice something is different. As the engine breaks in it's also going to want to be leaned out and set in a correct tune. If it's still set fat it's going to be blowing snot out of the carb too and be building up in some odd places.
Saito is a fat running snot blowing pig compared to my other four strokes until I tune it correctly. Even then it blows more crud then the others but it is what it is and it is a pretty good running engine.
There may be nothing loose at all, it could just want to be leaned and is just mentioning it to you in it's own way!! It's just a machine and it's talking to you in it's own language, just up to us to try to understand and listen.
As 8 mentioned, it's getting plenty of oil!!:D

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Thanks guys.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

One of mine is oily in the same spot. it is comming out where the cam shaft comes out of the rear of the housing. No problem and it still runs as well as ever.

Cheers

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

I have one like that also. I chose to ignore it

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Im an Accountant. I notice every little detail about everything, and HAVE TO fix....UNFORTUNATELY!!! :(

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

For the price of a Saito you shouldn't need to fix anything other then normal maintance. If you have a leaker then send it back. Just make sure it is a leaker and not some other little problem.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

I think my saito 120 may be leaking too/ It runs sweet, no complaints other than i notice some oil leaking out the botom of the cowl creating a bit if a mess,even though i have the crank case vent fuel line routed to exit at the bottom of my landing gear

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

The reason this is becoming an issue for me is that it is running into the fuselage along the fuel tank. I dont want to have the fuse get soaked and weaken.

I will try and work on it on Sunday and see what I find. Worst case Ill send it back and see what they say.

Alot of us kow that Hobby services' service is awsome!!! How does Horizon compare when it comes to engines?

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Yep, mine always oozed from that area and ran GREAT.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Service from Horizon is about the same as the service at Hobbico

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Horizon's service is second to none!! If you are running your engine too fat you will be getting some fuel blowing out the carb too, again, just the nature of the beast.
As nice as the Saitos are I have always wondered why they are snotty pigs?? Most of my glow engines are OS or YS and they only blow snot out the muffler. I have two Saito 100s and had a 1.25 and they all did/do the same thing??
I say nature of the beast but it is pretty nasty.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

The only reason I question is because its starting to do it now, never was like this before. It was always pretty clean. BUt again..I will pull it off...tighten everything, and make sure everything is set ok.

To minimize the spitting out of the carb, ive put on an intake stack and bruline filter. Works out great. Never had any mess under the cowl.

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

I always seal the timber, firewall back to the rear of the the fuel tank area and seal where the fuel lines come out of the firewall. A lot of ARF's are not sealed at all, some only do the fire wall. I was tought to seal every thing when starting out in the early 70's with control line.

Cheers

RE: Leaking saito, normal?
 

Well based on this experience...I believe I will start to seal the hole in the firewall with silicone to prevent fuel from running in from the engine. (and yes i know that a bad tank can cause other issues....but just trying to minimize)