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Head gasket, 1982 maxim 650.

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Corey, Mar 20, 2016.

  1. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    I'm new here so first off, Hello!

    I have a 1982 xj650. Bought it last year, it was my first bike. Learned how to ride fairly easy, and right at the end of the season it started spewing a gas/oil mixture from the shaft boot under the seat.

    This year I changed the oil, and fired it up. It rode up the street twice and then it died. I noticed that there's a whistle noise, so I'm guessing I have a head gasket leak that's allowing gas to get through and causing a loss in compression. I've never really worked on a bike so my question is, how hard is it to replace a head gasket on these?
     

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  2. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    not hard just make sure it is needed
    whats a shaft boot under seat? got a picture.
    did you check your oil level. does it smell of gas
    you check oil level in the sight glass right side of bike with bike on center stand
    compression test will help tell if you have a gasket leak.
    I see you are new here is some good reading for you.

    this link will save your life
    SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look

    Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle

    The Information Overload Hour

    The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

    IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN

    THE SECRET LIFE OF CARBURETORS


    Something New, Something Naked
     
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  3. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    go to this link and down load haynes manual it is for a 650 and 750

    XJ750 manuals
     
  4. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the Club.
    Stuck or worn carb bowl fuel valves. Open the oil filler cap and take a sniff. Smell like fuel?
    Possible exhaust header gasket leak.

    Gary H.
     
  5. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    Oil level is high because there's fuel getting in to it. There's some kind of overflow for when that happens causing it to spew out from the rubber boot area of the drive shaft. I don't have the tools to do a compression test. As I said, I'm new to this.
     

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  6. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    I cleaned the carb and changed the oil this year. It ran for a solid 10 minutes, enough to ride down the road twice, and then it died. It would Rev up as much as you want it to, but as soon as you put a load on it, it stalled out. Now it doesn't start at all. The spark plugs I put in last year are fouled much more than they should be. Gas is getting down, oils getting up, I'm guessing head gasket because when it does run it runs like a champ, I'd imagine that it would be lazy if the rings were going bad.
     
  7. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    your carbs need to be cleaned sounds like what ROC said above
    if your drive shast has a leak it should not be related to the motor unless you have a seal gone at motor that is flooding back down shaft if this can happen i do not know
     
  8. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    If you're getting ANYTHING filling up the shaft boot, you have some other seals gone bad, too---- there should be nothing but grease on the u-joint in there
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2016
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  9. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    The carb plungers are also stained dark brown, like oil is burning...
     
  10. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    You said...
    Then you said...
    We can't help if you already know the answers. Just saying.

    Gary H.
     
  11. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    I've been told that there's an overflow for the oil in that general area. There was A Lot of fuel In the oul. A lot more than 3 quarts when I drained it.
     
  12. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    If it runs like a champ it's not losing
    compression.
    "I've been told that there's an overflow for the oil in that general area. There was A Lot of fuel In the oul. A lot more than 3 quarts when I drained it."
    There's no overflow for oil on this model. If you put too much oil in it you'd have to drain the excess out from the sump. The excess fuel in the oil is a result of open or worn float valves allowing a carb(s) to over fill with fuel and run into the crankcase.

    Gary H.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2016
  13. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    I understand. I have already gone over the carb with someone that's worked on bikes for many years. I've tried to eliminate a lot of the easier possibilities. My posting question was "how hard is it to replace a head gasket on these".

    What I know is that there's a lot of gas getting into the oil. The petcock works as it should. The carbs have been cleaned. The plungers in the carb were stained darker than normal like there's oil burning. Also the spark plugs that were put in like 15 miles ago are fouled pretty bad. Also a sign of oil?? When piston rings go bad, there's typically a lack of power, and this was not the case. So I'm "guessing" that it's the head gasket. So I came to the xj gurus for some assistance.
     
  14. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    Depends on your skills set. It's daunting for some, not so much for others.

    Gary H.
     
  15. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    That's what we thought. So the carbs were cleaned. And the oil was changed. And it ran for about 10 minutes like a champ, and now it just won't start, period.

    Toward the point where it started dying out, it seemed normal at higher rpm, but once you got to 1k or so it was very sluggish. Then it got to the point where you could sit stationary, Rev it to 3k just fine, but as soon as you let off the clutch a little it starts to stall.

    I don't think the carb could cause all of that.
     
  16. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    Excess fuel being dumped in the crank absolutely would but ok.
    145849422896880724371.jpg
    Ever seen a holed piston? This is off my '82 max shortly after I bought her a few years back...I got lucky.

    Gary H.
     
  17. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    Really, really hard if you aren't ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that it needs to be replaced.
    If you slow down, let us help you diagnose the problem, and stop jumping to conclusions the job will be much easier.

    The carbs were cleaned. Great. The running conditions that you describe post-cleaning DOES sound like you still have carb problems. The enrichment plungers being stained dark brown definitely is telling us that fuel is getting past the plungers. The enrichment plungers should never have fuel getting past them; they control an air passage not a fuel passage.

    A head gasket failure would not cause fuel to get into the crankcase. It would not cause oil to drip from the engine output shaft. It would not cause the engine to run poorly in the way that you describe (you would have a constant misfire on whichever cylinder had the leak). And most tellingly it would make that cylinder run lean as hell, which you would see as a lilly-white plug, not a carbon or oil fouled plug.

    When the carbs were cleaned was the fuel tank flushed out? Was an inline fuel filter installed? Were any parts in the carbs replaced? Were the idle-air screws removed? Were the slides removed and polished?

    In short, did your guy do all of these things: In the Church of Clean


    Next I have a question. Does the engine spin freely when you thumb the starter?
    If you are really concerned about there being a head gasket leak, clean the engine then dust the head gasket area with talcum powder. Unplug the TCI (the plastic box undet the left side cover) and turn the engine over. If there is a head gasket leak you will see puffs of talc blow out from the crack.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2016
  18. Xjrider92117

    Xjrider92117 Active Member

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  19. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    +1. The fuel levels are critical to the running synch however the valves should shut off fuel supply whether the levels are correct or not. I agree, too high fuel levels would cause it to run rich but wouldn't dump fuel in the crank or have it coming from places it shouldn't as 550, hf and k-moe stated.

    Gary H.
     
  20. Corey

    Corey New Member

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    When the carbs were cleaned was the fuel tank flushed out? Was an inline fuel filter installed? Were any parts in the carbs replaced? Were the idle-air screws removed? Were the slides removed and polished?

    Everything was taken apart and cleaned thoroughly. My goal was to get it running. Didn't matter if it ran poorly, I just want to know that it's not a serious rebuild. It literally ran awesome last year, and then one of the final days it was nice enough to ride I pulled it out of the garage and it ran like complete garbage and started stalling and was sluggish, along with spewing a mix of gas and oil all over my driveway from the area in the attachment above. The fuel/oil mix was what I drained out when I drained the oil. After the oil change and carb cleaning, it ran good for about a mile and then started getting very sluggish and problematic again. It wasn't running rich, had all of its power, and then it was gone just as fast. And after it stalled it will not start again. I'm having trouble thinking that a carb will prime and work properly for a little while and all of the sudden just die out stick and fill the crank with fuel while the bike is running.

    I'm a new rider, also an anxious one, I'm pissed because I bought a lemon that worked for 2 months and I'm to the point that I've listed it for sale because I can't figure it out. So forgive me for assuming things, I've put a lot of time and money into trying to get it to work again and it's frustrating.
     

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