Help! Oil return tray? Leaking ? 1983 650 maxim

I put the 3 quarts of oil in today for the first ride of the season and it was all fine until I began to idle the bike. Oil pouring out of the oil return tray? Sorry I'm calling this wrong. Seems to be a small hole in the plastic,

How can I go about patching this? Without taking the entire bike apart?

Anyone ever deal
With this

 

Is this a plastic box underneath the front of your seat?

 

The crankcase only holds just a bit over 2.5 quarts.
Did you change the oil filter?
Put the bike on the center stand and look at the sightglass. You should see a bubble at the top of the glass when the crankcase is full. If there is no bubble you have too much oil and that is why it is coming out of the crankcase breather. Also check to see if the crankcase smells of gas. If it does you have one or more float needles that are not sealing, which causes fuel to run from the tank, through the carbs, and into the crankcase.

 

Damn now.. It backfired and won't turn now...just let it sit for an hour and it spit out 2 quarts again...not sure what the hell is going on...
Edit: backfire type of noise

 

What is going on is that you have too damned much oil in the crankcase (or maybe a mix of gas and oil). Stop trying to start it until you correct the situation or you may end up bending a connecting rod. Have you done any of the checks that I suggested? Does the expelled oil smell of gasoline?

 

Crank case doesn't smell of gas and neither does the oil coming out of breathe, more oil spilled out now it seems battery isn't working??? Lights are out maybe it's the battery? Gonna check it and hook it up let's see what happens

 

Have you bothered to look at the sight glass to see what the oil level is?
You won't be soving any problems by just seeing what happens when you try stuff. Your battery could very well have gone flat from repeated attempts to start the bike, so put it on the charger, but don't try starting the bike again until the oil issue is resolved.

If there is still oil coming out of the breather then you still have too much in there. Get a drain pan and drain the crankcase, then refill with 2500 CC (2.6 quarts) of your prefered JASO MA rated oil. As I mentioned earlier you will only fill the case until you can just see a bubble at the top of the sight glass. Any more than that and the crankcase is overfilled.

An overfilled crankcase can prevent the engine from being able to turn over fast enough to start.

 

+1 ^. Put in 2qts., run it on a short ride then top it off as k-moe advised.

Gary H.

 

Okay so I didn't see a bubble in the sight glass and the breather still releasing oil so it's probably over filled. I got the battery charged back to full now as it was completely dead. So come morning I will check the bike and add 2 1/2 quarts in. I'm hoping the bike turns over.

So to clarify, the bike having too much oil can actually cause a backfire type sound(if it wasn't a backfire) and cause the bike not to start up? (Essentially drowning the bike from excessive amount of oil ?) and the battery could have been killed from the stress on starting it (trying) ??

Thanks
Ivana

 

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Be sure to drain the oil that is already in there before filling it to the correct level. Alternatively you can use a length of vinyl tubing down the oil fill hole and siphon oil out until the level is correct.

 

T

this makes me feel a little
Better..honestly thought I was going down the wrong road. That sound (backfire type sound) was horrible... Gosh, thanks for the help
Will try this all in the am and see what happens, better than me walking into the local bike shop and getting hit on the entire time and not getting any help ( not taken serious ) sucks being a young female rider,

Thanks
Again!

 

You're welcome. Shops don't take me seriously either, mainly because I ride an old motorcycle and am generally "scruffy looking"
Please let us know in this thread if the bike starts up, or if there are any more problems. Read The Information Overload Hour if you have not done so already. Most of the collective knowledge about our bikes can be found therin.

The backfire may or may not be a problem, but we will address that after the oil issue is taken care of.

 

Going to be draining the oil here in a few minutes , had someone tell me I could
Of seized the engine but being that oil was leaking from the start Im pretty sure that's not the case, although I have no idea what that could sound like.

 

k-moe has much more knowledge than i do however i suggested 2qts because the remaining oil will not drop until you've ridden your bike. After a short ride you'll get a more accurate read at the sight glass. Hope this helps.

Gary H.

 

So how did it go? The little oil window can get dirty and seeing the level Is a pain. When you pull the drain plug watch the level drop and pop drain plug back in when you hit middle of window so you don't waste all that oil. Let it sit for a min and see if level settles to give you a good reading. Run the bike for a couple of min without air filter so as not to soak it in oil.
Ps hope you are using gloves, less hand cleaner needed later!

 

Okay so the oil is mostly all drained have another 3 quarts going to out 2 in as directed and got the battery charged at autozone it was completely dead... Had to be charged for 40 mins, crank box is now drained going to go and see if it will do the trick and start up once I have the oil in and battery plugged in... Will
Probably ask for my fathers guidance or supervision to say the least lol :/ wish I had one of you guys here in person haha!

 

Okay so I got all the oil and crank box emptied and drained. Put 2 quarts in and put battery back on, now the headlight got dimmer and dimmer as I tried starting the bike up. The sound is much better than yesterday and sounds like it could start but ito doesn't and the battery just gets drained more, could it be my battery isn't holding the charge and or very little? Could a weak battery prevent bike from starting?? And no oil is leaking currently

edit: the key is out of ignition and the bike is trying to turn over?!? No key in and the starter is trying to turn... What the Hell? Battery says its at 70% now was fully charged last night... Sounds like an electrical issue now? Have the battery getting charged plugged in right now

 

Ok that 40 min charge at auto store not enough, do you have a Battery Tender?
Get one you'll never regret it. you need to charge battery at less than 1.2 amps or you will cook it.
Patience grasshopper long slow charge is best.

 

Okay will continue to charge it, but does it seem like all it needs is battery? Because it does sound like it could start if the power was there!

 

If the starter will engage and turn the engine without the key in the ignition, then you have an electrical problem. Maybe just the ignition switch.
You can jump the battery with an automobile battery--just don't have the car running. It takes a strong battery to turn the starter and fire the plugs, so jumping it might work. If so, then slow charge your battery and if that doesn't work, get a new one.

 

Slowly charging it now ! And I hope electricsl is the issue that would be better than what I was thinking it was

 

How are you trying to start it? Get the battery fully charged, full enrichment (choke) and petcock turned to prime (turn back to "on" when it starts).

Gary H.

 

What's petcock? And I'm gonna fully charge battery. I think it's a bad battery the headlight is very dim. Couldn't finish charging 4th of July festivities. Will do tomorrow. I really think the battery must of gotten shorted out and also engine drowned in oil.. Thanks again

 

The petcock is the component with a lever located on the gas tank that fuel passes through to feed the carbs. Enjoy the 4th...it'll be there tomorrow.

Gary H.

 

Oh!! Okay I do know what that is, I knew it was for fuel, so how exactly am I to use it? And yeah! You too! I'm a couple martinis in now at s family party just posting on my phone. I need to get on 2 wheels! Haha

 

Sounds like the starter solenoid it stuck
If u used a car battery to jump start it may have welded contacts. Where the lights on when this happens?
If they are then ignition switch contacts fried together .
Yes no riding for you today. Happy 4th!

 

I can't imagine a 12 volt auto battery frying anything, unless the car was running, and I doubt that would do it. I've jumped my bikes many times with a auto battery and never had any problem. Hook up to the auto battery, or another motorcycle batter if that makes you feel better, then touch the cables to your bike battery and see if the light is bright. If so, try to start it.

That being said, if you have a stuck starter solenoid you need to get it replaced before starting.

 

Hey guys, I can't make anything of this right now, so I may have something stuck? Also the headlight has almost no light with the battery it's very low so on top of being a bad battery (I think) I have a stuck solenoid?

Also..it sounds much better when trying to start today and I also added 2 quarts and no leak and it sounds like it almost could start!

At a 4th of July party, stressing over my bike :/ this stinks! Happy 4th everyone

 

It's not the voltage, it's the amps. A 1 volt source can weld contacts if the current draw is large enough.

 

Relax, get drunk, have fun. The bike will be there tomorrow afternoon.

 

Get another solenoid to try.

A weak battery will not start the bike, you gotta have a good strong one to throw the spark. The engine will turn over on a weak one, though, it just won't fire.

 

I understand that you had a few adult beverages, but just for clarity.

A post you made ~6 hours before this one said you added 2 quarts of oil - did you now add an additional 2 quarts?

 

No I didn't add an additional 2 quarts

 

So could I hook up the battery to a car and see if the headlight is strong and see if the bike will start? To clarify if the battery is weak

 

Yes, but the car should not be running.

 

Okay, so if the bike then starts it is the battery. Now if when I do this it doesn't start, what could that show me? And how come the car should be off ?

 

I've never had any issue starting it from a running vehicle

 

The car being off helps to prevent overcharging, or damaging the very small motorcycle battery. Car alternators can put out quite a lot more amps than a motorcycle battery can absorb without doing damage to the plates.


[Edit] The other thing I forgot about is if the alternator output voltage on the car is higher than the regulator on the motorcycle will allow, the excess is dumped to ground and can cause the motorcycle regulator to overheat if the car engine is left to run and hooked up to the motorcycle while the motorcycle battery charges.

if it doesn't start then the problem lies elsewhere, and that will have to be diagnosed with a few more tests. Report back on what the bike does when you attempt to start it with a jump from a car.

 

When you have time read "The Information Overload " thread. Lots of great info there.

Listen carefully...we don't want you injured.

The stock petcock in position:

On: Allows a running bike to draw necessary fuel to feed carbs.

Prime: Allows a continuous flow of fuel whether running or not.

Reserve: Is used when the tank fuel level drops to a certain point. Acts the same as in the "On" position.

Bike off:

Make certain the bike is in neutral. Hook the auto cables to the bike making certain neither connection touch the frame. Turn the ignition to on position. full open the enrichment (choke). Turn petcock lever to prime. Flip the run/off switch to the run position. Take a old screwdriver and touch the two post on the solenoid (not the battery).SPARKS WILL FLY so DON'T HAVE YOUR FACE NEAR THE SOLENOID WHEN YOU DO THIS!
If the solenoid is ok it should pull and send enough juice to the starter to start the bike. If it starts flip the petcock to the on position and adjust the ec to bring the idle down.If it doesn't start reset everything, turn the petcock to the on position, turn the choke to half and use your left hand to jump the solenoid while using your right hand to quickly blip the throttle. Hopefully it'll start. If this works the battery may have a weak or dead cell. Hope this helps.

Gary H.

 

Okay so.. I jumped it and instantly the starter began trying to start on its own!! Still couldn't start the bike it's being drained and he terminal is fire hot already...must be a ground somewhere ? Something is completely draining the battery it has to be the starter solenoid

 

Soooo frustrated right now!! Might take the lunge and have to take it to the only shop around here...a hot rod please where they'll take me for every penny. -_-

 

Don't go to a shop. You have found part of the problem. Do you have a multi-meter or test light?

The solenoid has two big terminals, and two small terminals.
Check for continuity (resistance) between the two large posts, with the battery unhooked. If those terminals have no resistance then they are welded shut and the solenoid will have to be replaced. Also check the leads at the two small terminals. There should be infinite resistance between those terminals unless you press the starter button .

 

Another thought---- also take a quick check to see if your starter button is stuck in. I've had that happen before on another 700 that i used to have

 

[jumping in]

Solenoid could be connected the wrong way also. I had that problem on my maxim, just switching the battery connections solved that. We should get a look at how it's connected before it's deemed welded shut.

 

There is resistance on the terminals,

 

Not stuck in, wish it was that simple,

 

The two large terminals on the solenoid should be open, that's why you stick a screwdriver across them to check for a bad solenoid that does not engage and apply power to the starter. If you check the two large terminals on the solenoid with the battery disconnected and they are shorted, then the solenoid is welded shut and should be replaced.

The two smaller wires on the solenoid (pigtail) the continuity should be about 4 ohms. One side has 12V and the other side is grounded through the starter switch via the starter cutoff relay when the starter switch it is depressed.

If the two large terminals check open as they should, then the only way the starter is going to spin is if the starter button is stuck as hogfiddles suggested - or incorrect wiring.

Which terminal was "fire hot" and how long did you let the starter spin? Even with a shorted solenoid or stuck starter switch none of the terminals should have become "fire hot" unless the starter spun for an excessively long time.

If the two large terminals are shorted I would suggest replacing the starter solenoid, the battery, and possibly the starter. At a minimum, the starter should be pulled and evaluated for damage before attempting to start with a new solenoid and battery.

Here is a good link for testing the starter circuit to help identify some of the parts:

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/how-to-test-your-starter-circuit.7828/

 

So I spoke to my brothers friend, apparently builds his own cycles so he's going to stop down and take a look for me sometime tomorrow after work, hoping he can further assist me,
In regards to big moe, I really don't want to take it to a shop either... Just frustrating being so new to the hobby and making such little headway after so many hours the last 3 days. Ended today here. Now dark out :/ I guess I just need to have some patience.

 

That's what I planned on replacing being that I can't pin point what the issue is... Sucks. Will take a look at the link now

 

Gotta have patience, but you know what? Being right here is better than going to a shop. It may take longer, but it's cheaper, and it'll get done RIGHT.