Gas in my oil...how bad is that?

Hey all...still kinda new here....tried the search "gas in oil" and came up with a bunch of results.....none of which answered my question.
Bought a non-running '82 XJ750 Maxim a couple of weeks ago and have been slowly checking off my "to do" list (valve clearance later this week).

Anyway, went to change the oil and filter today. Put my drip pan under the bike....emptied about 6 quarts of oil/gas (smelled more like gas than oil).

Question is this....How bad is this?

P.O. claimed bike would run about 2 miles then bog down and not start again...long story/short,,,starter was fried (thanks for the rebuild kit Len)...I also rebuilt the petcock and drained the tank. P.O. also claimed to have rebuilt the carbs...twice, judging by the half-a$$ work I've seen so far, I'm tempted to just pull them too and clean'em myself.

Are these symptoms that might point to something else I should be fixing/look for? Like I said....checking valves later this week so I'll be posting about that too.

As always, thanks for your input.

Pat

 

Gas in the oil is a result of a compound problem: Fuel getting TO the carbs when it shouldn't be (petcock problem, or left in PRI.)

PLUS

Fuel not being HELD BACK by the carbs when it should be (float levels, float valves, needles, seats, seat seals, etc.)

Since you rebuilt the petcock (and hopefully tested it afterward) you've solved half the problem.

Now you need to address why it was that the floats were allowing gas to get past them. It could be a needle valve issue, or a simple matter of them not having been adjusted correctly when whoever it was previously messed with the carbs.

 

^^ what he said.

The fuel in the oil will thin it out and not to mention, that much fluid in there could splash and foam further reducing its effectiveness. I would NOT ride the bike until you solve the issues Fitz outlined, then change the oil/filter.

 

Time to pull the carbs. Clean, set float height, sync, the works.

You will also want to change the oil again after a couple hundred miles to make sure the rest of the gas is out, although I did mine after just 50 miles.

You will also want to replace the air filter and plugs.

 

yeah what he said and more. I rebuilt my carbs 4 times and couldn't get them right. The last time I rebuilt I changed the oil as well. Still would not start. I got tired, took it to the shop. I picked it up yesterday and my mechanic says I changed the oil and it had like 7 quarts of gas and oil mixture. Float was stuck and caused the gas to get in there.