Issue with leaking oil ... no hose on air box ?

[thsadmin]

Hey Guys,

My bike rides sweet or was, after a long ride - I got up the next morning to go for another cruise - when I got back from the ride there was oil leaking ... on examination the oil had pooled on top of the motor. I was given three scenarios :

A) To much oil and it was coming out the air box.
B) Like above - but pressure had caused a gasket to blow.
C) Missing / Lost a tube along the cruise.

So i tackled "A" first, I emptied the oil, cleaned the air filter and checked for excess oil ... then put 1 litre of oil in the bike. Took the bike for a short squirt ... the oil got warm, the bike went above 10 000 revs and again the oil started to pour out.

OK now I went straight to my manual and there wasn't a lot in there about the issue ... and in turn I had a browse at the air filter, air box and associated pieces on my bike where the oil seemed to come from ... so I compared the pieces and tubes to online images / diagrams :

Airbox.jpg

My Issue and (lots of) Questions :

Now this is where i realized I was missing part or tube "702" which i believe is the excess oil tube ? am I correct and is that - where the oil may be leaking from ?

and do I need to add a clamp or a plug to the end of the tube - as seen as part "92066".

Also is this a concern to have oil spewing out of there ? What's the cause and or fix ?

Thanks.

[Snake]

When I get back home I will look at my bike and try and lend you a hand with this.

[kkim]

is the crankcase filled with the proper amount of oil? Is it reading between the lines in the sight glass when the bike is standing vertical?

[thsadmin]

When I get back home I will look at my bike and try and lend you a hand with this.

Thanks.

is the crankcase filled with the proper amount of oil? Is it reading between the lines in the sight glass when the bike is standing vertical?

It was close to empty when I got it home, I put one litre of oil in it - which is just over 50% to be on the safe side.

Is it reading between the lines in the sight glass when the bike is standing vertical?

Being an 86 model the glass is pretty dirty and hard to read - I was going to clean it - but the cover is on pretty solid with gasket and glue and in turn I didn't want to break the seal and replace the gasket (cos I haven't got one).

I have put a temporary hose on it with a plug and took it for a squirt - so far no leak, I will take it for a longer ride and see how she goes.

[thsadmin]

Well I took it for a squirt around the block ... still leaking a lot of oil ... dang it ... was really hoping for a simple fix ...

I guess no one can really help out without more information and a look at it ...

[kkim]

Originally Posted by thsadmin

It was close to empty when I got it home, I put one litre of oil in it - which is just over 50% to be on the safe side.



Being an 86 model the glass is pretty dirty and hard to read - I was going to clean it - but the cover is on pretty solid with gasket and glue and in turn I didn't want to break the seal and replace the gasket (cos I haven't got one).

so, are you able to get an accurate reading and is the bike vertical when you are reading it? overfilling can cause the problem you are having.

[thsadmin]

so, are you able to get an accurate reading and is the bike vertical when you are reading it? overfilling can cause the problem you are having.

Yeah that was my first check, I was hoping that was the issue - but I drained the oil and put in just over 50% of the suggested 1.9 litres (which is about 1 litre) ... but yeah it kept leaking.

I can't get an accurate reading because I can't read the glass - it is gunked up, most likely because it's an old bike.

Maybe a gasket, seal or something has come loose ... time to take it to my GFs Dad - he's a Harley mechanic.

[thsadmin]

OK ...

is the crankcase filled with the proper amount of oil? Is it reading between the lines in the sight glass when the bike is standing vertical?

You hit the nail on the head ... oil was over full - we put to much in. Quite simply we :

A) Tilted the bike on an angle - away from clear window - until we could see the oil level. (OK if that works, the bike's obviously to full of oil)

B) Took off the seat and took the cover off the air box, then pushed the supports and frames in the air box to the front of the air box - as we wanted to see the oil inside and get the filter out.

C) We took the filter out and then squeezed out the excess oil into a rag - and left it (in the rag) there for safe keeping, to get a idea of how much oil was in the air filter we blew wind up the relief pipe/tube.

D) Now we loosened the oil filter on the bottom of the bike and drained the oil, watch to see how much oil drops and if the level is now visible in the glass window. In our case the oil didn't drop enough.

E) You can tighten the oil filter back up and start the bike, this will fill the reservoir back up with oil and you can follow D again - loosen the oil filter on bottom of bike and drain the oil ...

F) If the oil still isn't low enough after a few attempts of D & E above ... simply loosen the oil cap - so that it's nearly off, start the bike and let it idle, now oil should pour out from the loose cap. Stop the bike and check oil level again.

G) Once it's low enough to see in the window it's time to clean up the air box and excess oil in it, you can use a clean rag or sponge to soak up all the excess oil, wipe it clean and place the air box filter back in - that you removed in step B.

H) Place the air box holder over the battery and air box, Place the seat back on, start the bike and should be good to go.

~~~~~

Well it's a rough guide on how we lowered the oil and cleaned it up a little, stopped the leak and bike runs like a charm again ...

Note to self : don't over fill the oil again.

[kkim]

Thanks for the follow up. Great hear the bike is running well again.

You might want to keep an eye out for additional leaks. When the engine is overfilled, sometimes the excess pressure can lead to oil leaking from various seals. The shifter seal is one of them... just a heads up.

what I don't get is that you drained the oil out and put back 50% of the engine's capacity and it was still overfilled?? how is that possible?

[thsadmin]

what I don't get is that you drained the oil out and put back 50% of the engine's capacity and it was still overfilled?? how is that possible?

Silly noobie mistake ... I thought that I had drained all of the oil the first time, it would seem I only drained the oil filter on the bottom of the bike ... I thought that I had drained the lot ... which resulted in even more oil being added to the already over full oil.

You might want to keep an eye out for additional leaks. When the engine is overfilled, sometimes the excess pressure can lead to oil leaking from various seals. The shifter seal is one of them... just a heads up.

Luckily the bike had a full service - before I got my novice hands on it, so all seals and gaskets were brand new ... no noticeable leaks yet. Would have pushed the pressure to the limit and really tested the bikes weaknesses.

[kkim]

cool... enjoy!