Help Needed - Huge oil leak

Hello All,

I recently got my first bike, an xj maxim 400, about 2 months ago. She looked really clean and amazingly enough, only had 13XX miles!! I was having usual carburetor issues that made were annoying sometimes but I never had to ride more than 15 miles so it wasn't too bad. I ride to work twice a week and never had a serious problem, except loosing power at one point, however it only happened once. Maybe not even worth mentioning.

I was desperately waiting for winter break to either work on the bike or take it to a mechanic (since I'm a full time engineering student I really don't have time - I know it sounds lame.)

Here's what happened....
Last week when I was riding to pick up some groceries, I suddenly felt as if the bike was loosing weight. It felt quite weird and a second later I found myself swirling frantically on the road. When I mean swirling; I mean literally gliding left then right.....As if I was riding on ice...
Being a newbie rider I was quite scared and didn't know what to do. I held the clutch and I don't clearly remember but I shifted down from either 4th or 3rd gear and tried to pull right. While I was shifting down, the max. RPM I clearly saw or notice was not more then 5000.

I pulled right and the first thing I noticed was that my entire rear tire and the frame part near it were all greasy and I could still see some drops dripping. I was curious and tried to start the bike, but nothing happened.

My question and biggest concern is; "Do you think there's a serious damage/problem with the gearbox/tranny??" and any ideas why a huuuge spontaneous oil leak?

Thanks for reading....

 

Is it possible yopur crankcase was full of gas and oil and it blew out of the vent or something.
My 750 flooded and I went about two blocks and the oil came out like that once. Learned a good lesson to always check the oil level before taking off. Also never leave the petcock on prime.

MN

 

MN-M may be on the right track, here. If you've been having carb issues, leaving the petcock in the "prime" position could have dumped a bunch of fuel into your crankcase, which could conceivably cause the symptoms you describe.

A couple of questions to help solve the riddle:

Have you tried to start the bike since? If so, what was the result? Did you notice any smoke, particularly white smoke, while all of this was happening? Was the oil you found on and around your rear tire thick and smooth like pure motor oil, or was it less viscous? Did it smell of gasoline?

Keep us posted.

 

Even if you didn't leave the petcock on "PRI" it could still be (and most likely is) a case of fuel filling the crankcase and the resultant mix pumping out the breather.

A petcock left in "PRI" (or that has a problem) is part 1.

A stuck float or floats is part 2. (The gas cannot get past the carbs IF the floats are working correctly.)

When these two factors combine, the condition described above occurs.

The first thing to do is to open your oil filler plug and stick your nose in the hole, if it smells strongly of gasoline then the problem is confirmed.

You then need to immediately do an oil and filter change, you don't want to run the motor on gas-diluted oil.

Be sure to check your air filter; chances are very good it's become saturated with oil and will need to be replaced.

Petcock contributing or not, if this is what happened you have carb float problems and you need to attend to them or it will keep happening.

Completely off-topic but very important: Have you checked the rear brake shoes for signs of delamination? A bike that sat as much as that one had to is a prime candidate. Don't put it off and assume "the brake feels fine." It will, right up until it drops you on your butt. Honest: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

 

I thank you all for your messages and I apologize for not getting back so soon. As I mentioned before, I'm a full time engineering student and the first few weeks of December are usually not the best time for us students. I had my first final exam this week and I have 4 more that's coming up.

A lot of unfortunate things happened to my bike which has upset me quite a bit. After the leakage I took it home and it's been sitting there since.

Right after the incident I tried starting the bike but only the lights turned on. The engine didn't run at all. That was about it. A day later I went out and tried again but this time the plastic housing around the ignition decided to break off. You surely will think that I was angry or in a mad mood, which I was, and tried "punish" the bike, but I really didn't exert any more force than I usually do. The plastic around it was really old and once I took a look at it under sunlight the next day I clearly saw that the plastic's life was done long time ago.

I got myself a brand new ignition set and installed it just today. (I'll open a new topic about this) Now that I have the ignition installed I tried to start the bike again but nothing turned on this time. Not even the lights. When I was putting the parts in I accidentally tapped the copper piece with the screw driver and saw a huge spark. I'm guessing that I must have burnt a fuse or something. Because I checked the battery with the maxim's horn and it sounds okay.

 

The bike never started after that. I remember that I felt some burnt rubber smell when I stuck my nose underneath and around the engine but it wasn't anything severe. Maybe it use to happen all the time but I never noticed.

The oil that was on the ground and around the rear tire was def. very viscous. I remember soaking it up with paper towels and really hard time to figure out what it was because it wasn't anything like oil. I'm not quite sure of the smell though. To be safe I'm just going to have to say I don't remember.

 

I never was able to get used the brakes on my bike and I can't really say I know how to break. I usually rely on shifting down. I thought I'd get used to them by time but I guess I don't have much miles yet. What you're talking about is quite a serious problem and got me thinking right. You're right, I too, have 1.5 K miles but this is 28 year old motorcycle. I will definitely look into that. Thank you for pointing that out.


The other task that I have to complete would be the oil change and air filter change. However, would this solve my problem? (Assuming I don't have carb. problems?)

After what happened I thought I cracked a piece in the gearbox or something serious and costly like that. Is that likely and anyway to understand?

 

(another engineering student . . . ) :roll:

Is your engine locked-up?? Have someone help push it in 2nd gear, clutch pulled, then, at 4MPH pop the clutch. What happens??

What voltage does your battery show at rest (12.6 is good)

Test your petcock for function. Unhook the fuel line. Does it drip? Have a cup handy. Suck on the smaller tube. Does it flow? Test "PRI", should also flow well. Tell us what you find.

Change your oil. It almost sounds like your drain plug fell out, but I'm sure you would have checked that. 8O :lol:

 

take off the oil lid... does it smell like gas?
when you try to start your baby... does the starter engage?

 

Yes the whole engine was full of gas. I had the carbs opened up today and a thorough cleaning was done. I drained all the fluids and tomorrow I'll be changing the oil filter along with the air filter. I took plenty of photos, I'll post them soon

 

I'm not familiar with 400s, but you can't just remove the engine side cover (left) and turn the engine over manually with a 19 mm (or 3/4 inch) open ended wrench to make sure it isn't locked up? That'd be a little easier/safer, assuming of course you can get the cover off (you'll discover the usefulness hand impact wrench very quickly if you can't)

Gas mixed with oil does not make a good lubricant. So hopefully you didn't run it that way too long.

Also, check your float height using the clear tube method. This will ensure that you aren't flooding your float bowls and is a sign that your carb cleaning went well. Also, as mentioned earlier, check the function of your petcock (gas only flows on PRI, flows with a vacuum in ON and RES).

 

Not on that 400 twin.

On the DOHC ("half an XJ") twins, you remove the screw plug in the generator cover on the left side, and turn the motor over via the generator shaft/nut.

Any time you need to turn the motor manually, like for a valve adjustment, for instance.

 

Have you taken a Drop Light or a Flashlight and looked for a leak?

Look on the floor for drips.
Follow the "path" and see if you can locate the source.
Check around the Cover that's over the Front Chain Sprocket.

 

due to the problem in the carbs and me running the bike on pri all the time, the thin and diluted mixture of gas and oil leaked from all the possible places. My air filter had some leakage mixture on it aswell.