4 qts of oil in my XJ550 Seca!

So, I just picked this lovely thing up on Wednesday. When I bought it, I cold started it, ran it through all six gears, parked, seemed great. Started it up today and noticed there was a rattling sound coming from what seemed like the bottom end. After some research (and registering for this site!) it seems as though that sound is relatively normal for these beauties, usually the cam chain it sounds like (also, not a mechanic, and my only experience so far is with a 95 cb750 partial resto). Usual fix seemed to be to adjust idle up (1050-1300), or add oil as the the cam chain could be too dry.

Well, throttle adjustment did not solve the rattling issue, so I decided I might as well do an oil change, even though the PO said it just had an oil and filter change about 400 mile ago, and the window showed full.

Anyway, TLDR, I pulled the front oil plug and filter housing and started tinkering with my cb750, and after I went back to the XJ, there was almost 4 qts of oil in the drain pan! So, seeing as how that is, at least to my limited knowledge, WAY too much oil for these bikes, could that also cause the cam chain to rattle? Or, more importantly, what other issues should I be looking for due to oil overfill? Or maybe I’m just overreacting, but it seems like way too much oil in this bike!

Oh, and it’s a ‘81 XJ550R Seca, just under 18k miles. Really hoping I didn’t get ripped off.

 

4 qts way to much oil. 2.3 quarts with out a filter change and 2.5 with a filter change
adjust the cam chaim adjuster.
the rattle chain is the primary chain adjusting rpm to 1200 rpm quites it down .

could be you have fuel leaking into the crank case from the carbs

oil over fill can cause hydro lock.

when filling with oil there should be an air bubble in the oil sight glass when bike is on centerstand. if not it is over filled . I ad an ounce or two at a time when I have to add oil to top off.

 

Yeah, I thought it might have been overfilled since I could only see oil in the sight glass. Pulled the filter as well, have new KN coming Tuesday. Picked up 3 qts Castrol Power 1 10w-40 4T full synthetic at my local auto crap store. Will that be ok? A little nervous sbout full synthetic in an almost 40 year old engine!

Also, now that the oil has been sitting in the pan a while, I leaned in to take a whiff, and it smells strongly of fuel. Do I have a bigger issue than just oil over fill and cam tensioner?!? Would that be the fuel leaking into the crank case from the carbs as you stated? What would be the cause of that?

Sorry for the n00b questions! As I said, my bike mechanical experience is pulling the carbs off my cb750 to clean them and that’s about it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Would love to keep this old girl stock and running smooth for years to come!

 

oil needs to be wet clutch compatable look for JASO MA MA2 on the bottle.e jaso compliant oil is for motorcycles.

I use shell rotella T4 it is diesel oil but good for motorcycles as it is jaso rated about 15$ a gallon at walmart

https://www.kellerheartt.com/products/shell-rotella-t4-triple-protection-15w-40-3-1gal?msclkid=866e8d6eb3d01c421190d1e01f29a5ef&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA - Shell&utm_term=1101400153854&utm_content=PLA - Shell

 

your carb needle valves are leaking.
it could be the bowls were empty and the needles stuck during filling you have to rap on the bowls when filling them up for the first time or after they have drained/evaporated to empty


look at your inbox

 

Many thanks. I think I might be ok after the oil change. The PO said that the markings on the petcock were “incorrect”. He said that forward was on, and backwards was off. The petcock looks original, and clearly says RES (forward), ON (down), PRI (back). Now, I will say, the handle is opposite of my Honda, in that the “longer” part of the handle points opposite of the markings on the petcock, whereas, the XJ’s “longer” end points towards the markings, thus the arrow pointing at that way.

Is it possible he had it on prime too long and flooded the engine?

 

if the needle valves are working you can leave it on prime all day long.

remove the carb to airbox boots and you will see the fuel flow out the main jet needle under the slide or the holes at 3:00 and 9:00 position on the rear throat of the carbs.

if you rap on the bowls and short burst the prime setting you will be good if the needles are not leaking.it only takes a few seconds 10 at most to fill the bowls and do this on the center stand.

the carb boots are hard to remove heat them with a hair drier to soften them you can push them back into the air box.

 

There is no 'off'. Here's what the petcock settings mean

ON - when the engine is running, the vacuum opens the petcock to allow fuel to flow. When your tank gets low, you'll start to stumble as you start to starve for gas as the bottom of the upper screen in the tower is reached. Time to reach down and switch to RES.

RES - "REServe" - same as above, except you better get straight to a gas station because when it starts to stumble again-- it's because you ARE out of gas. If you run out, now you switch to PRI.

PRI - "PRIme" - this is the free-flow setting, and it bypasses the vacuum side of the petcock to allow fuel to flow into the bowls. It also can be used in the event the vacuum side of the petcock fails.

 

I would not run synthetic oil , can cause clutch slip and starter clutch problems. If bike was a dry clutch would be fine , but it is not.

 

There is nothing wrong with using synthetic oil providing it is the right type

 

Im running Ipone synthetic in my bike, it actually increased clutch grab on my nearly worn out alredy slipping clutch.
I have since replaced clutch.

 

the starter clutch in nothing like the transmission clutch

many use synthetic oil with out problems. if problems occur when using synthetic oil switching to regular motorcycle oil may relive the issues but it also indicates you will need to do the clutch or starter clutch repairs soon.

also do as K moe suggested in this thread if starter clutch starts slipping
Starter won't engage when Hot

​

 

Thanks for all the help, it’s much appreciated!

Thought I’d post an update because I think something is definitely not right on the fuel delivery side. First off, new oil and a slight adjustment to cam chain tensioner did the trick for the slight rattling, so thanks for that nugget. Second, oil level still stable since adding new on Sunday, so I’m assuming the floats and needles are good.

Now to the strange. There may have been something to the previous owner saying the petcock markings were “backwards” (which I know is not possible, but stay with me). When I started it up after the oil change, I let it idle and went in to grab a drink. After about 10 minutes, it stopped running. I thought maybe it overheated, but considering it was only about 50 F, I ruled that out. Then it wouldn’t start back up again. Petcock was in the “ON” position. I switched it to “Res” (arrow pointing left) and tried again. Still no go. Switched to “PRI” (arrow to the right), started almost right away and ran great. Idled for 10 minutes, no issues. Had to quit since it was getting late. Switched back to “ON”, left it...

Until today. Started it up. Needed full choke, not surprising since it only got up to about 45 F today. Let it run for a minute and started turning down the choke. She started struggling immediately, and giving it throttle didn’t help much. Eventually it shut down and wouldn’t restart even with full choke, until...

I switched it to “PRI”. Started almost immediately with full choke, and was able to turn down the choke immediately and she purred like a kitten for 10 minutes without so much as a sputter.

So, questions and pics:

1) Is this the original petcock? (Looks like it to me.

2) Did these models come from the factory with an in-line fuel filter? (Guessing not since it’s not on any parts diagrams)

3) Is there supposed to be a vacuum tube on the secondary port on the backside of the petcock? (Assuming yes since that is the vacuum diaphragm, I think?)

4) If there IS supposed to be a tube on that port and it’s not there, would that then cause fuel starvation when it’s in the “ON” and “RES”? (Again, assuming yes since I think it’s a vacuum tube)

Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to arm the experts with as much info as possible. Thanks in advance for any feedback, and for reading all the way through!

 

That's the correct petcock, but the vacuum line isn't hooked up.
Without it the only time fuel will flow is in the prime position.
When set to on (the place it's normally left at) ,or prime the engine vacuum will pull on a diaphram that opens a valve to allow fuel to flow.
Prime is used to fill the float bowls after the bike has set for a few days without being run, and the machine should not be left on prime or; 1. you will run the tank dry wthout any warning. 2. fuel may end up leaking past (potentially) weepy float needles and into the crankcase.

There are vacuum ports on the intake boots. The normal place to hook the petcock vaccuum line up to is the #3 port. All other ports should be capped. Be sure to use proper vacuum line. Anything else will collapse under vacuum once the engine warms up, and then the float bowls will stop recieving fuel.

 

But any of the 4 ports will supply the vacuum. The reason for hooking to #3, is because #3 is the carb that the other three are synced to.

 

My assumptions were correct then. So now all that’s left to do is double check the oil level again today, because I left it on prime to check the floats and needles. If my oil level is higher, then I’ll know that I need to pull and clean/rebuild carbs!

Oh, and of course, replace the missing vacuum line! Why would someone remove that in the first place? I guess it’s possible that the vacuum diaphragm on the petcock is no good, and instead of replacing the petcock, they decided to just run it in prime. Maybe I should replace the petcock and vacuum line...

Anyway, you guys have been a huge help! I’m sure I’ll be back to harass you some more soon! Thanks.

 

The petcock has probably never been rebuilt before, and it's 38 years old. That's way past its service life (same for other rubber parts in the fuel system, etc.). The leaking float valve needles (again, rubber parts) may have been an anomaly, or, more likely, just worn out. The "leave on prime" solution to a (possibly) non-working petcock is not a sign of proper maintenance by the dreaded PO (Previous Owners) and you can anticipate the same in all other areas of the bike, which are many.

Recall the saying from professional spies: "If there's ever any doubt, then there is no doubt." Your brake system would be the first/next place to examine under a fine-toothed comb. And I'll bet the fork oil is dirty and thick as sludge..........

 

you will want 4mm id vacuum line and clamps. you should look to see if the open port has been capped off until you get to replace the vac line

 

Rebuild your petcock , Chacal has the rebuild kit , with a fully functioning petcock you won't have to worry about leaving on PRI and the possibility of a crank case full of fuel.

 

Rebuilding the Yamaha Vacuum Fuel Valve w/pics

 

I was gonna comment but... These guys are gooooood! Ditto on everything

 

5-yr old thread

 

Old is new again

Reminds me of my XJ650 when I put too much oil cause of the method of checking it.
I did not warm it up enough and looked at the site glass too soon, so I added oil and it was too much.
Purchasing a 2nd XJ, I saw it had too much oil in it after warming it up good then letting it sit an hour. I think I pulled out 1/2 a quart.
Now I let it warm up good an hot, let it sit an hour, then put in some more oil and let it settle to 1/2 full. Then run warm up good and hot again, let sit and check in an hour.
I may be going to far on how long I let it sit but its been working for me.