I'd wager the pushrod tube seals are pretty hard after 30yrs! :woohoo:
There's an article in the technical tips section about changing them.
I doubt re-torquing the head would change anything.
...just my $0.02! 🙂
cheers and good luck,
-Marcus

Thanks, that's what my guess was too. Maybe next winters job along with rebuilding the front forks.

Your use of the word "re-tightening" the head is a bit worrisome to me. It is not a bad idea to "re-torque" the heads after a rebuild and running, but be careful and know what you are doing and use a good torque wrench. If you over tighten the nuts it can pull the stud out of the engine block and then you are in bigger problems. I have never heard of re-torquing the head to stop a leaky push rod tube seal, and especially a 30 year old one that is probably as soft as a rock. Any re-torquing should be followed by a valve adjustment. Based on the age of your bike and my assumption you have not been into it, just leave the head torque to when you get around to doing the seal replacement.

You can expect the others to start leaking as well! Replacing the push rod tube seals is not a big deal and can be done at any tech day. See if there is one in your area, order the parts and gitter' done! If you are mechanically inclined you can do it yourself, just read up on it a bit beforehand and understand what you are getting into if you've never done this job before.

Ask any airhead that knows me and they tell you I am pretty particular about my bikes, leaking oil is a pet peeve of mine and I wouldn't stand for it!

Good luck! B)

To my great surprise, BMW does not offer a "top end gasket set". Every piece is ordered individually. What a pain in the patooty !!

However, the job is fairly quick and painless once every tool is located.

🙁