Here it Goes! Burning a Little Oil Today

[catfishk]

first off, i did just fill the bike with a semi-synthetic oil

i took it out of the garage and tried to warm her up today, after running around all day yesterday, and she would not run well. it could hold idle but sounded way deeper and irregular than normal. no power what so ever and heavy hesitation when under power...
i pulled the plugs and the left cylinder has an oil-fouled plug. i cleaned it up, replaced it, and she runs as well as before. a few puffs of smoke out the back while it burned the oil out. the bike is running great currently.

i am guessing the valve stem seals are going on that side? i will see if, when left alone for a while, the cylinder gets oily by tomorrow. i guess it is time to get that compression tester i procrastinate on and rule out the bottom end?

ugh... i was hoping i wouldn't have to tear the top end apart on a bike with only 25k. but this thing has had a rough life. sometimes i think it is only because i feel sorry for it that i continue!

[salty_monk]

Put 20w50 dino oil in there & it might be fine....

Dan

[catfishk]

well, there is no oil or fouling today. i ran the bike all over and noithing appeared. i *thought* that it was fouling when the bike started to hesitate and act funny, but we just ran out of gas (at 110 miles rather than 150 miles, hmmm...)
i wonder how oil gets in one day, and not the next? we'll just keep checking and i'll be sure to bring my socket and a ratchet along

[DimitriT]

Oil one day and none the next sure sounds like valve seal. That's exactly how mine behaved. You may be able to do this job without tearing the head down. I've seen people talk about using compressed air into the cylinder to hold the valve out while they install a new seal. I don't know how practical this would be for your bike but it might be worth looking into.

[DaveDanger]

There's a way to do that
Pull the plug(s) and purchase or locate 10 or 15 ft of 1/4" dia. soft nylon CLEAN rope. With the piston all the way down at bottom dead center, feed that rope into the cylinder until it is as full as you can get it, or you've used all the rope. DO keep a few inches outside to allow you to remove it when completed. Rotate the engine through slowly until you can't turn it anymore. The piston will compress that soft rope against the cylinder head and valves which will allow you to easily remove the valve keepers, springs, etc and replace the seals. Reinstall the springs, keepers, etc. Upon completion of each cylinder, reverse rotate the engine a few degrees and pull the rope out, move to the next one if necessary. A veritable piece of cake

[renobruce]

Damn! Where'd ya learn that? Ingenious!

[DaveDanger]

\\/ One of the first things my Dad taught me when I first went to work in his aircraft maintenance shop in the mid 70's.
All of the highly leaded avgas fuels at the time were being phased out and newer "low lead" fuels were coming into use and small aircraft engines were having absolute fits with the valves sticking due to insufficient lubrication. Valve stems in those engines were dependant on the tetraethyl lead content in the fuel for lubrication.
That was a pretty routine job to be done until the engine manufacturers came out with improved valve guides for those engines.
I performed that stunt literally dozens of times.

[catfishk]

i certainly hope oil appears again so i can try that out! i am sure i can find a piece of nylon rope no problem. anyone have a good place to source gaskets and seals for the GS450E?

[salty_monk]

Here's the same procedure written out for a Ford 4 cylinder on a spin off from my car club site.

I know it's a bit different but it might help.....

Cheers,

Dan