Derby Cover Leak

[Jim Bronson]

The cover looked awful.

The holes in the cover look so terrible that it can't be reused unless the flared areas around the bolts are dressed with a Dremel. Somehow the cover was over-torqued by someone (not me), and then when I removed and re-installed it after installing the new spring, it was subjected to a "cookie cutter" effect by the sharp flared edges of the holes. It took less than 100 in/lb to do the job. I'm sure you saw the photo of the cover and the pieces of the gasket where it fell apart at the hole locations.

As someone previously mentioned, it will be necessary to place the cover on a glass plate and then carefully de-burr the holes to get rid of it all so it lies perfectly flat and can be used with a new gasket.

I'm pretty sure I know who the torque monster is, but I'll let it go. Maybe someday I'll get around to fixing it, and I'll post my success at that time. Till then ...

[calif phil]

I often remove derby and inspection covers like that, I hand them back to the customer and tell them to hang them on a nail in the garage as a decoration. The Live to Ride ~ covers are the worst.

[IronButt70]

FWIW my cover is a ceramic specialty item. Never leaked a drop in over 90k miles. I do carry the OEM cover in case I somehow manage to break the ceramic one.

[Jim Bronson]

I often remove derby and inspection covers like that, I hand them back to the customer and tell them to hang them on a nail in the garage as a decoration. The Live to Ride ~ covers are the worst.

I didn't think guys still used those. 

[tomboyjr]

 I had one once that leaked all the time no matter what I tried. One day it was on my bench, and I had dropped something on the ground. As my eyes were at the bench level I saw the problem, it was warped. Got a new cover, no more leaks

[Jim Bronson]

I started getting busy with the Dremel, and I noticed that no amount of de-burring the bolt holes will solve the problem. With the cover lying on the bench, I can see that it is badly warped all the way around. It looks like a big wave washer. I guess that puts this one to bed. I ran with this cover for several months, but I guess the gasket just barely sealed it enough to prevent leaking.

[david lee]

i made my own out of a piece of flat alloy plate