Rear Cyclinder Oil Leak

[jonsamson]

Latest update. No I am not a camera photo take of anything special. I take a lot of pictures though for eBay selling.

I got the spark plug tube O rings in today. Replaced the one on the rear cylinder, put it back together and started it up. It idled for about 2 hours and checked for leaks every 10-15 minutes no leaks. Tomorrow evening I will warm it up and take it for a ride.

Something weird showed up. When I was working on it I dumped a bunch of oil. I always pay attention to how much oil I put in and watch the sight glass. I was mad because I put so much in. Now the other day when the rear cylinder was plugged and I put in 8oz less than 3 quarts of oil. Started it up and let it ran. After about 30 min or so and seeing the oil leak out of the spark plug I shut it off, and came back and check the oil level. It was just above the low mark.

Today I ran it for about 2 hours, shut it down, let it cool off with a 2x4 under the kickstand. Tonight I pulled the bike up to be level, and now the oil is near the high mark.

I bet I put that much oil in watching it on the 2x4 and running it for a short time. I kept putting oil it until it showed on the sight glass.

I doubt the oil shows higher due to the oil leaks getting sealed.

I guess the advice of putting a 2x4 under the kick stand and warming the motor isn't such good advice for all bikes.

I will give another update after I ride it down the street, hitting the rev limiter and taking it on the freeway to open it up. See if I have anymore leaks.

[Jared]

When I fill my bike with oil, I put 3 quarts in, turn the bike on for just 1 minute and then shut it off. After 5 minutes I prop the bike level and fill it to the middle of the eye glass. It's as simple as that.

[ringadingh]

I always put 3.3 litres in the back, measured with a measuring cup. The oil will expand and read higher on the sight glass when it is good and hot.
The bike should be level when reading the sight glass, some use a mirror to check while sitting on the bike to hold it up.

[macmac]

That reads as if you added oil while the engine was running. I hope you wrote it up strange, and the engine was not running, as any oil was added.

Cold oil takes less space than hot oil. If the oil is cold and you level the bike, the oil in the window should be midway between the low and full mark. With the oil hot, the level is sure to rise as the oil expands.

With my oil lamps that hold 1 qt cold, with them running at 'full warm' the oil level will rise as the very same oil is being used as fuel. I must leave 1/2 inch air space with a freshed filled lamp, or the oil seeps out the filler cap, and any place else it can reach. It does leak out too all around the buner threads and into the burner as well. These lamps even have drain holes in the burner to flow back into the font.

The point is oils expand a lot heated.

Letting the en gine idle 2 hours is a long time to let any gasoline engine just sit and idle. The engine is at full warm in about 8 minutes, certainly by 12.

Any oil you found 'leaking' from before and cleaned up, will probably still show some more oil. That oil has gone into pores you can't see by eye alone and will flow from the pores, so mop these up again.

'IF' you added oil to a running engine, the level IS going to be sky high. No oil will show in the window when the engine is running. That's because the oil is filling the bearings, and is filling the return lines, and is all over the place inside the engine, flowing around under pressure, and drining back to the crank, lubing parts that don't need to be under pressure.

If you added oil running the engine, drain it again. The best way to drain a little oil out, is with a container about the size you think is too much, and at the side drain, where the screen is. That should be the only drain you ever use in the first place. The plug there has 4 slots, so you can simply back off the plug and use one of the slots like a spout.

I am one of the smaller guys on this site. Tall but thin, and I got bad knees and a bad back. Still when I want to check my oil I kneel down on my left knee which is in contact with the floor, then grab the ft brakes and pull the bike up to my other knee, which comes into contact with my knee, and I can balance the bike that way and see the window.

Checking oil is done with cold oil. Cold oil is any temp less than full engine warm after 6 to 8 hours from the last time the engine ran.

When I change my oil and filter I just dump in 3 qts of oil, Then start the engine for 30 seconds. Then I check and add oil to the midway point in the window. That 30 seconds does not begin to warm any oil.

[blowndodge]

I do it the was Jared does. Trip, one time, called me and told me his bike must be burning oil because he keeps adding a quart after every long ride. I told him when he gets back from his next big ride, park the bike in the garage and check it in the morning when most of the top end oil has had a chance to drain back into the lower end and then, with the bike straight up and down check the site glass.

Well, needless to say all he'd been doing was overfilling and blowing that extra quart out some low pressure side. He burns no oil.

[jonsamson]

Last update on the thread. No more oil leaks. Finally.

No I didn't add oil while the bike was running. Usually start it and let it run for a few then shut off and check in in about 8-10 minutes. Then fill to the line.

Seems to me that when filling cold to the level line with it cold is contradictory to the manuel that says to warm up the bike. Maybe I read that wrong.

I will be more careful on the oil level, but as far as the leak plugging the hole and replacing the O rings on the spark plug tube, and then replacing the gaskets on the cam chain tensioner and gasket glue stuff took care of it.