1982 Maxim 650 yics - Oil in the Air Cleaner Housing

Just got this bike for cheap as a bit of a project. Much of the work will be farmed out as I do not have a large variety of tools or a very suitable place for work. I will do what I can... The first goal is to get a running, road ready, mostly stock bike to learn on. After that, who knows?

Anyway, the first big problem to solve is that after the bike runs for a minute or so, oil starts to pour out of the air cleaner box. Since I shot the video earlier in the week, I ran the bike without the filter in place, and it looked as if the oil was pulsing up from in between and slightly under the two middle carbs. I believe that is where the vent hose from the oil separator meets up with the air cleaner. FYI, I have made sure there is the proper amount of oil in the crankcase (someone suggested that it might just be too much oil in the case). Also, there is a jacked up home-built gasket on the filter itself from the previous owner, you'll see it in the video.

Any ideas on where to start looking for issues? I have a thought that checking the oil separator and maybe replacing the gaskets in there would be a place to start... But I wonder if this just means the rings are shot and I'm looking at a rebuild.

Any help would be appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJWZOJKu ... ture=g-upl

 

Are you checking your oil level with the bike on the kickstand? The oil level needs to be checked with the bike standing straight up. The air filter won't cause the problem you are having with the oil but it is still going to need to be replaced.

 

Yeah, I'll replace the filter when the part comes in. Need to figure out why so much more than "oil droplets" are coming out of the vent hose.

No, I checked with it on the kickstand. I couldn't find a reference for it in the Haynes manual - it just told me that the oil should be somewhere in the middle of the window...

 

If you are checking the oil level with the bike on the kickstand then you are over filling the engine.

 

I'll drain some out... Would that really cause oil to get through the separator and into the air cleaner?

 

Don't know if this is related, but I think in your video the fuel petcock is on "prime", maybe flooding the motor(?).

 

The crankcase has a breather built into the left side to prevent pressurizing it. For emissions-sake, the oil mist that is breathed is fed into the intake so it can be burned, instead of just releasing it to the environment.

If you overfill your engine (which you did, you have to check the oil level on center stand with bike level), the oil goes up this breather hose, into the airbox, then out of the drain hose.

"Oil" here means what ever is in your crankcase. If you also have a float valve issue causing the carbs to overflow and fill your crankcase with gas (as suggested by wwj750), then you'll overflow out of the airbox (for the same reason).

 

Smell the oil - is there a hint of gas in it? That will tell you if its being assisted by the Prime setting, or a float problem. Gas will get into the crankcase, and raise your oil level (and mix with it - bad for engine).

If it smells like regular warm oil, then it may just be the oil overfill.

 

Okay, getting caught up. Only had a few minutes between work and classes to mess around, but the bike definitely has too much oil in it. First thing after work tomorrow will be to rectify that. I will also check the smell of it, but I can say that nothing jumped out at me as smelling wrong yet.

Jobs for tomorrow:
Will check the petcock for its setting.
Will check for a oil/gas mixture by smell.

Thanks for the help, folks!

 

Sounds like one or more of the floats are stuck causing it to overflow

 

Safety warnings of rear brake delamination and tire date code (see my sig) first.
Next - plan on checking valve lash, and if everything is OK, do a compression check to see if you have a solid motor, or if you may have a bad set of rings or burnt valve. I did not hear it running on all 4. Do all 4 pipes get hot? Check with water spray.

Then it's off to carbs . . . cleaning and tuning.

Oil-soaked plugs will foul and you will never be able to really burn them clean. Buy new, but fix your initial problems before using them.

 

You guys are great! I am getting more useful information and help here than the other site I am on, and it comes muuuch faster...

Anyway, the petcock was, in fact, on prime. The oil smells faintly of gas. I will get a new oil filter and change out the oil tomorrow.

Previous owner says it sat for about 10 months. There is definitely something wrong with the rear brake - when the pedal is pushed, it will not release. Could be the springs, or something more sinister. That is on my list, but it's near the bottom at the moment (and I will check that delamination thing).

Tires look in nice shape, they are Bridgestone Spitfire, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for as far as a date code is concerned. the only stamp in an oval (like some pics in that thread) have PCJ473? (rear) and PCH3901 (front).

When I'm ready to try it out, I'll ask you how to do check for valve lash, compression, etc.

 

Other than the over filling issue, there is "blow by", this is a condition in which the gasses of compression/ combustion are getting past the rings on your pistons and pressurizing the crankcase. There are 2 reasons for this to occur; 1, the engine has so many miles on it as to have worn out rings, or 2, the rings have gotten stuck in their grooves, which was the case with my bike. You can check for clogging in the baffles, but I doubt you'll find any.

 

I'm pretty sure the carbs need at least a good cleaning. That work will likely be done by a pro...

And the plugs are brand new - I never saw the old ones, previous owner just changed them.

 

HOLD THE PHONE!

The "something" that's wrong with the rear brake could very well BE that "delamination thing." If your symptom is being caused by a broken-loose lining floating around inside the drum, it could unexpectedly lock the rear wheel at any time! MOVE THIS TO THE TOP OF YOUR LIST YOU MIGHT PREVENT A CRASH!

Those date codes indicate a front tire made in the 47th week of 1983 (1993 if it has a little triangle next to the last digit) and a rear tire made in the 39th week of 2001.

You NEED new tires.

 

Well, the bike isn't going anywhere at the moment, so I have time to work on brakes and tires. Wow, tires from '93 and '01! Holy crap.

I promise not to go for a ride before brakes are checked out.

 

Not "checked out." Rebuilt.

Here's the deal about the brakes: the factory said the original brake lines and caliper/master cylinder seals had a life span of FOUR YEARS. Check your brake lines. They have date codes, just like tires; either molded into the rubber or stamped into the metal ferrule on one end or the other.

Thirty year old brake lines and other components are now WAY past any designed-in "margin of safety" and need to be REPLACED. Caliper and master cylinder need to be rebuilt.

Delaminating rear shoes is just one small part of it.