Burning Oil

[Jethro]

Decent enough compression number, that's for sure.

I'm still a little suprised that bad valve stem seals could cause that much oil consumption, but with the compression numbers, you know the rings are good. And there is only two directions the oil can come from- up or down, so I guess valve stem seals it is. That job is easy but time consuming and tedious- I don't envy your task.

[joeadams]

I'll probably put it off for a while since I'm not too worried about gernading my engine now. Maybe in the fall or over the winter since I don't think its a big deal to burn a little oil. Besides I have a Hayabusa thats not really even broken in yet. I want to get the most out of my 1 year unlimited mile warrenty. I better get to that on this beautiful day eh?

[duaneage]

collwct the parts you need to do the job. I have a C-clamp style Valve Spring Compressor you can borrow so that leaves gaskets, seals and elbow grease. She should really scream when you replace the seals.

I think you could also have an oil return problem.

Invest in a cam cover gasket and remove the cam cover. See if any return holes are blocked up, allowing too much oil to collect around the springs. This will contribute to oil burning since the engineers plan on oil being around the parts but not totally immersed in oil all the time.

If you do yank the cam cover, take a picture for me so I can see if my spring compressor will work, I have three different styles including one that allows the spring to be removed without pulling the head

[joeadams]

Hmm, that was my plan anyway. My cam cover has a slight weep anyway, so a new gasket is in order. I remember seeing someone on here mention some type of gaskets that are made of some type of rubbery silicone/polymer material that can be easily re used and lasts a long time. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Thanks for the offer Duane. I will get to that one of these days. Being able to do this job without pulling the head would be fantastic.

[gspaul]

realgasket.com, I think!

[mike J]

I would run a leak down test on the motor. If the rings are leaking you can hear it by removing the oil filler plug with the gauge attached. Most compression gauges are almost always usually junk IMO. I went through several different ones before I finally spent $100.00 and bought a Snap On. There's no better gauge on the market, it is the best and most accurate that I've seen. FYI, my 1150 was also using some oil when I first got it. Long story short I had two carbs with a leaking needle and seat/ I fixed the carbs and the oil consumption went away. I know that defies common logic but it actually happened. Mike J

[gspaul]

Hi Mike!So your saying that because the oil was diluted with gas, that was increasing you oil consumption.
How much oil where you useing?May help a few of us here.

[mike J]

Paul, My bike used about a quart in 1000 miles. My first thoughts were that the motor needed rebuilding. The bike had other problems so I started working on them and the more I got the motor running correctly the less oil it used. My only thoughts are that by the cylinders running rich that it diluted the oil on those two cylinders allowing oil to seep past the rings. I never would have thought it possible but consider this. Most cars today have fuel injection. They burn cleaner and the motors last longer. Could be that diluting the oil with gas causes increased cylinder wear. I can't swear that this is what's happening but I haven't had to add a drop of oil to my 1150 since I got the carb problem cured. Mike J

[joeadams]

I would run a leak down test on the motor. If the rings are leaking you can hear it by removing the oil filler plug with the gauge attached. Most compression gauges are almost always usually junk IMO. I went through several different ones before I finally spent $100.00 and bought a Snap On. There's no better gauge on the market, it is the best and most accurate that I've seen. FYI, my 1150 was also using some oil when I first got it. Long story short I had two carbs with a leaking needle and seat/ I fixed the carbs and the oil consumption went away. I know that defies common logic but it actually happened. Mike J

I don't have an oil filter plug.

I ended up having to buy the craftsman kit for $50. Its much nicer than the other thing I had and it works with my bike. How do you know the Snap-On is that much more accurate?

My carbs don't leak as far as I know. I've left it sit on prime for days at a time on a few occasions and my oil level did not rise enough to be detectable by me. I've heard with bad carbs they can fill up a crankcase overnight. I'm not saying it didn't leak at all but that the leaking, if any, was unnoticable.

My #4 plug is the one that showed signs of signifiacnt oil infiltration, the others did not so I'm assuming if any one cylinder has a problem that its the one. My compression test said 150psi in that cylinder and about the same for the other cylinders. That indicates that even though my guage is a total piece of inaccurate crap, it is at least precise in its readings. The other possibility is that it is not precise at all and it was just a coincidence that it decided to spit out 4 numbers within 10psi of each other. I am going with the former, which leads me to believe that either all the cylinders are healthy or all of them are not. If they are not all healthy then it is reporting compression that is much higher than actual and my bike should run like crap. It doesn't, so my cylinders must all be healthy, even the one burning oil.

I am fairly confident in my diagnosis. When I pull the cam cover, I'll get a better idea.

[mike J]

I don't have an oil filter plug.

If you will reread my statment I wrote "oil filler" plug, if you don't have one where do you put oil in the motor?

I ended up having to buy the craftsman kit for $50. Its much nicer than the other thing I had and it works with my bike. How do you know the Snap-On is that much more accurate?

I have been through so many compression gauges I could start a museum. I have seen them read high, read low, read inconsistant
I have even seen one that would read 125 lbs no matter what bike you tired it on. The Snap On is head and shoulders about them all.

My carbs don't leak as far as I know. I've left it sit on prime for days at a time on a few occasions and my oil level did not rise enough to be detectable by me. I've heard with bad carbs they can fill up a crankcase overnight. I'm not saying it didn't leak at all but that the leaking, if any, was unnoticable.

My bike had a very slow leak, you could ride it all day with no problems, plugs would be rich. My fuel mileage seemed like it doubled once I got them fixed

My #4 plug is the one that showed signs of signifiacnt oil infiltration, the others did not so I'm assuming if any one cylinder has a problem that its the one. My compression test said 150psi in that cylinder and about the same for the other cylinders. That indicates that even though my guage is a total piece of inaccurate crap, it is at least precise in its readings.

Not always true, read my statment above

The other possibility is that it is not precise at all and it was just a coincidence that it decided to spit out 4 numbers within 10psi of each other. I am going with the former, which leads me to believe that either all the cylinders are healthy or all of them are not. If they are not all healthy then it is reporting compression that is much higher than actual and my bike should run like crap. It doesn't, so my cylinders must all be healthy, even the one burning oil.

I am fairly confident in my diagnosis. When I pull the cam cover, I'll get a better idea.[/quote]


You still need to run a leak down test IMO. Wasn't trying to be a smart ass about your gauge just trying to educate you from my experiences with them. I just didn't want you to tear down your engine when it may not be necessary. Your tone isn't appreciated from someone just trying to help you. Mike J

[joeadams]

Your tone isn't appreciated from someone just trying to help you.

My bad, didn't mean to have a bad tone. I appreciate the help. I could use those stupid smiley face things but I really don't like them.

If you will reread my statment I wrote "oil filler" plug, if you don't have one where do you put oil in the motor?

My bad again. I do have an oil filler plug but I sustain that I have no oil filter plug. I think some GS models did and I got confused. If you can hear the rings leaking, what does it sound like? Or is it an obvious sound?

My bike had a very slow leak, you could ride it all day with no problems, plugs would be rich. My fuel mileage seemed like it doubled once I got them fixed

I'm getting about 42mpg average. I know it could be better, but I think its acceptable. How would I go about checking for leaking carbs? I'm going away for the weekend, so I'll put my petcock on prime and mark my oil level. I probably won't have time to check it before monday after work so that gives 3 days for any leaking to occur. My tank is near full so that should help push the gas through. If I come back after 3 days and there is no change in my oil level is that good enough to say they aren't leaking an appreciable amount?

I have been through so many compression gauges I could start a museum. I have seen them read high, read low, read inconsistant
I have even seen one that would read 125 lbs no matter what bike you tired it on. The Snap On is head and shoulders about them all.

What is your opinion of the craftsman compression test guage? Do you think it is reasonable for me to think that if I run the compression test again with the same tester and I get the same or very similliar numbers that the guage is at least consistent in all of its readings if not accurate as well? I have not done this but I will. What differential between the two compression tests would you say makes the guage consistent? For example if it read 10PSI different, then it would be inconsitent but if it read 1PSI different, then its fairly consistent. I'm not sure what the accuracy of the meter even is.

Since the bike only seems to make blue smoke when its not at operating temperature would a compression test with a cold engine possibly reveal any information?

Once again, I apologize for my poor tone in my previous post.

[gspaul]

Thank's for shareing that knowledge Mike, very interesting!

[gsBert]

ok, elt me jump in here wi9th a couple of questions:

where is the oil going???


my 750 burns oil, you can see blue smoke pretty much full time. people have actually asked me if my bike was a 2 stroke, but you know what? i add maybe a cup of oil every 5-6 gas tank refills.
how much are you adding???

i'm not going to encourage you to tear down an engine for the first time in your life if you don't absolutely have to. tear it apart if it aint werking, but if it aint broke, dont fix it (why do i keep hearing that everywhere). just remember to fix your valve stem seals when you have it open for somethign worthwile.

as far as using 20w50, it's all i ever use, on all my vehicles, why would it drag the clutch?