1972 Harley Davidson FLH oil leak (seep) at head bolt

[TGoode60]

My 1972 FLH shovel has a small amount off oil that appears to be leaking at the front cylinder head bolt on left side (the head bolt directly vertically above crankshaft). What could cause this leak? Head bolts are torqued correctly to 60-65 ft/lbs.

[tomfiii]

Could be head gasket leak at bolt area.

[TGoode60]

Yes it could be, but strangely it's leaking from around the bolt head. I wonder if it could be the steel threaded insert in the head is stretched and allowing oil from the nearby oil return to seep into it? The head gasket is definitely not blown (good compression check and power).

[1937hd]

I have had same problem before so now I put sealer around the oil return passage.Oil seeps along the gasket to the head bolt from the oil return passage.

[PanheadFred1]

^^^^^^^^^;^ this^^^^^^^^^
that bolt is right by the oil drain hole

[TGoode60]

Thanks for the replies! As you suggested, and I suspected, the oil is finding its way from the drain/return passage over to the head bolt. I'll be pulling that front head (hopefully the oil trail will be obvious) and putting some sealant around that part of the gasket and make sure the thread inserts aren't stretched.

[dukekleman]

I fix those quite often. I re-surface the head gasket area on the cylinder head, spot mill all the threaded inserts and check the cylinder gasket area, surface if required. Install new heads screws when reassembling. This process insures long lasting leak free results. Maintaining proper head gasket compression is key by re-torquing the head screw fasteners to maintain load as the gasket relaxes through heat cycles.

Duke