New bike, new to forum, bike that will not idle

Never mind, figured it out. Left side axle spaced thingy

 

http://www.yamahapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/yam/5004235af8700209bc7879d0/rear-wheel-xj550h-j-k

 

Quick question. What is this opening pictured? Smoke is coming out of it. Is this normal? It looks like there was a hose or other rubber piece that used to be attached. What should this look like? Thanks!

 

Looks like it's the crankcase ventilation, there should be a hose attached to the airbox.

 

Yep. Breather. The smoke that you see is oil mist. You need a breather hose to run to the airbox.

 

Alright, some updates.

Put a breather house connecting from crankcase to airbox. Haven't had any issues with smoke.

Replaced turn signal switch. I originally tried a cheap $9 one off of amazon. Couldn't get the turn signals to work, guessing it had something to do with the self cancelling unit. I just ponied up and bought a used stock one off ebay that was plug and play.

Question: Recently my oil level light has been turning on for a minute or two before turning back off. Basically the scenario is this, I start the bike up and let it warm up for ~2 minutes before riding. I start riding, and about 5 minutes into the ride the oil level light pops on. It stays on for probably 2 or so minutes before turning off and not turning on again. If I then stop and turn the bike off for a couple of minutes and then restart, the process repeats with the exception of the initial warm-up. I checked the oil level in the sight glass, and it is within the lines. Any ideas?

 

Sounds like sludge at the sender.

Gary H.

 

Or a low oil level.

 

He said...

Gary H.

 

Hmmm.... must be sludge then


Put Seafoam in the oil per the instructions on the can.

 

Word, I'll give sea foam a shot. Thanks guys.

 

Alright fellas, looking for a bit of advice.

The sea foam did not help, so I topped off the oil to the top line in the sight glass. Light turned off. I guess my sender likes the oil level high.

Went and rode on my day off today ~100 miles round trip. Bike ran great, no oil light. A little while later I had a few errands to run, so I hopped on the bike, and immediately on start-up the oil light came on and stayed on. Turned bike off, looked at sight glass, no oil visible even after waiting a few minutes. There was no oil on the ground or any other visible leaks.

K-Moe had previously mentioned ride it until it starts burning oil at a high rate. I would consider half a quart in 100 miles pretty high. There's no oil anywhere

So this here are my questions: I suppose the engine needs to be rebuilt? I've never rebuilt an engine. I realize everyone has to start somewhere, and I love to learn new things. Is an XJ550 suitable for a beginner? How long should I expect such a task to take me?

If I decided to take a crack at it, what parts am I going to be needing? Any ballpark ideas of cost? Right now all that I'm into the bike is the $500 I paid for it, $30 for brake shoes, $50 for a turn signal switch, and $40 for turn signals (not including any tools that I bought such as carb synch gauge etc). I've put around 1.5k miles on it since I've owned it, and it just recently turned over 40k miles on the clock.

I'm not afraid of not getting any of the money I put into the bike back out of it. Learning how to work on motorcycles is worth the investment to me...especially as I look at the tuition bills I pay to listen to professors talk about rhetoric...

However, I would like to know if it would be worth the money to proceed, being a college student I don't have a disposable income, but I do work and don't really have any other expenses. I head back to school here in a little over 2 weeks, but I can be back home most weekends and what-not to work on the bike if that's the route I go.

To bring everyone up to speed and to remind everyone else:
What I have done to the bike:
-Adjusted valve clearances
-New rear brake shoes
-Adjusted cam chain tensioner
-Replaced fuse box with blade style
-Cleaned carbs (but not taken to church)
-Vacuum sync carbs
-RTV over cracked intake boots

I ran a compression test on 7/14/16 which was about 1000 miles ago
Dry:
1: 117
2: 96
3: 107
4: 105

Wet:
1: 155
2: 110
3: 185
4: 150

What the bike still needs:
-Engine rebuilt?
-Front brake lines, m/c rebuild, caliper rebuild
-Tires
-Carbs taken to church
-Bearings (wheel and steering)
-Chain and sprockets
-Alternator brushes



Sorry for the long post, like I said I would just like some advice.

TL;DR
Bike is burning lots of oil. I've never rebuilt an engine before. Should I give it a shot?

 

Check the plugs and wipe your finger on the inside of the exhaust to confirm that oil is being burnt. The plugs will be sticky black, and the exhaust will be the same. Dry, powdery carbon is not indicative of burning oil.

If it is really being burnt then you have to first determine if it is rings or valve guide seals (or some of each). Pull the head and check the valve guide seals for cracks or signs of weeping.
Then you get to pull the cylinders and measure to see if the bores can just be re-honed and new rings put on. Standard size rings are still available, but anything else will be harder to come by (ask Chacal first).

Shopping for a used engine with good compression will cost less than getting oversized pistons and rings.

 

So I wiped my fingers on the inside of the exhaust, just soot. Pulled the plugs, none felt sticky but were black.

Left to right 1-4


1


2


3


4


I checked everywhere for leaking oil. All gaskets, exhaust, oil drain bolt and filter, valve cover, I found no indication of leaking oil anywhere.

Where is all of my oil going?

 

And you had the bike on the center stand when you last checked the oil level?

 

Yes.

 

It takes more than a few minutes for the oil to drop. Have you checked since then?

Gary H.

 

Yeah I waited about 10 minutes and checked it again before refillling with oil.

I failed to mention in my other post that this is the second time a lot of oil has disappeared. Last Thursday a similiar story, but not as much oil lost. Oil level near top of sight glass at beginning of ride, oil level still within the lines but near bottom of sight glass at the end of ~200 mile ride and cooling down for an hour or so. Topped back off and here we are 1 week later.

 

The plugs aren't burning that much oil. You might need to drop the sump and take a look.

Gary H.

 

Agreed. If you were burning oil that fast you'd see it out the tailpipe as a big billowing cloud of blue smoke.

Check around the oil level sensor, the neutral switch, at the main oil gallery plugs, and peel the u-joint gator back to see if any is coming out the rear seal. If it's coming out of the rear seal it'll tend to fill up the swingarm before you'd notice.

 

Pulled off left crank case cover, this is what greeted me



The bottom had a layer of gunk this thick


Similar size layer of gunk on the inside of the cover. Fair bet this is where my disappearing oil is heading to? I assume this would all be coming from neutral switch? Is there a seal or gasket or something behind the switch I can replace?

As far as oil galley plug, is that this thing?


Where is the u-joint gator?

 

For reference, here it is with most of the gunk scraped away

 

I think I answered a few of my own questions after looking through the xj4ever catalogue.

My plan of attack is to order and replace: neutral switch o-ring, oil sump gasket, oil sender o-ring, and exhaust gaskets.

Are there 2 visible oil gallery plugs on the left side? One looks like it might have a small amount of oil that may be leaking. If this is indeed a oil gallery plug, I plan to replace the o-ring on that as well. I will also be doing a spin-on filter adaptation as well while I have all the oil drained.

If someone could clarify on where the u-joint is that'd be cool so I can check and see if I need to order anything for that while I'm at it.

Am I missing anything else?

 

My oops. I forgot this is a 550; no shaft drive = no u-joint. You found the leak. Talk with Chacal for a new seal. Though I will say you will be giving up automatic chain oiling.

 

If $ allows replace the sprockets and chain.

Gary H.

 

Cool, thanks guys. Placed an order for that o-ring and spin-on oil filter. Also have chain, sprockets, and new spark plugs on the way .

 

If you can replace the seal for the countershaft, I would do that too (seal for the shaft the sprocket rides on).

 

Agreed. That's the one which is most likely to be leaking.

 

Well dang guys, little late on that one. I just got my neutral switch o-ring today. I guess I'll need to get another order built up...

 

Alright, so in the process of removing the rear wheel this morning for tires and sprockets, I am unable to remove the nut on the brake torque link. It is just spinning on the bolt and not going anywhere. I'm not sure how I stripped it, I used a torque wrench when I installed it. Anyways...any ideas on how to get this off?

 

Got it out with a pair of vice grips. The nut had no threads left inside and the bolt is pretty mangled. I assume that this is a special bolt that I will need to order?

 

It is a special shouldered bolt. Still available. Contact Chacal to get it quick, or Yamaha to get it slow.

 

Thanks!

 

Put an order in for that nut and bolt, as well as for countershaft o-ring and oil seal. I was looking into my manual after ordering to see what I was in for. It says that I have to have the crank case disassembled in order to do any work to the countershaft assembly. Is this true? Or can I get to what I need just by removing the front sprocket?

 

While I cannot say with 100% certainty, I feel that you could removed and replace the countershaft seal without having the motor out and apart. It may be tricky to get it out, but unless there is a lip cast into the case(s) preventing it from being pulled out (highly unlikely) you will be able to pull it out and gently press the new one in with a deep socket or similar object. If there is a metal sleeve that runs on the countershaft and inside the seal, the o-ring usually goes on the inner edge of that and runs alongside the bearing race.

 

Thanks. I couldn't find anything on this forum or in regards to these bikes. I did go to YouTube and it appears that these have to be replaced on KTM dirtbikes quite often and there were several videos. All of the pieces that they pulled apart looked about the same as the parts diagram in my manual. There were 2 different methods to get the seal out: one was tapping a screw into it and pulling with vice grips. The other was using a seal puller tool.

 

I'm afraid the motor might have to be taken apart and the seal replaced from the inside. The metal spacer doesn't seem to budge. I don't think it fits over the splines that the sprocket sits on.

Is it a bad idea to clean the area up, and put a small layer of sealant or something around the seal and hope that fixes the leak for now?

 

You need to use Google to search. The 550 is covered EXTENSIVELY here. Add site:xjbikes.com after your keywords, and get a service manual. Everything on here is supplemental to the service manual not a replacement for it.

 

I meant in terms of replacing the countershaft seal. I did use google search with the filter. I did search the forums. I have a service manual. The service manual states the engine must be apart to work on transmission components. I was not sure if it was possible to replace the seal without splitting the cases. According to my extensive google searching it is possible on other bikes. I could not find information regarding this bike. Thanks.

 

Hmmm, that must be one of the very few things that there's no writeup for.
The seal isn't shouldered, or have a lip, so you should be able to pull and replace as mentioned above. Lubricate the inner diameter, and wrap the splines with tape so the new seal doesn't get damaged.

 

Okay, thanks. Can I remove the seal without removing the metal spacer first? I've put vice grips on it (the spacer) and pulled but it isn't going anywhere. I put some pb blaster on it and I'll try again tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. It doesn't appear like it fits over the splines of the sprocket. When I try to rotate it, it rotates the entire countershaft.

 

Looking at the fische and the service manual....well I'm not sure.
It looks to me like the spacer has to be able to come off of the shaft. There is an o-ring behind it, which seals the spacer to the shaft so that the oil seal can seal against the spacer and not have any leaks.

 

I got the seal off. I was able to fit a small screwdriver near the shaft and seal.


Even with the seal off, that spacer won't come off. I'm guess it must be slid off the other way when the engine is apart.


Without replacing that o-ring, do you think my new seal will still leak?

 

I don't see how it could, the splines for the internal gear appear to be larger than the outboard side of the shaft.

http://www.yamahapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/yam/50042356f8700209bc7879c1/transmission-xj550h-j-k

I doubt that the o-ring would be leaking since the spacer is corroded to the shaft. It's probably never moved. The o-ring looks to seal against the spacer and the inner bearing race, so it rotates with the shaft.

Looking at your pictures closely the spacer is definitely rusted to the shaft. I can see the telltales of that, and that the spacer was machined to be a slip-fit over the splines.

I'd dress the outer diameter of the spacer with some 1,000 grit or higher finishing paper, and install the seal.

 

Sounds like a plan. Thanks K-Moe

 

It will come out. Grab it with some channel locks. Apply some heat gently if its stubborn. It will slide off.

 

Is it worth it to try? I'm afraid to damage that spacer or the splines, especially if it's not going to leak anyways.

 

It is clear by the second pic that the o-ring behind the spacer is not leaking (inside of the spline still dry). There is no reason to force the spacer off possibly creating more problems. Grabbing the spacer with pliers, channel locks, vice grips, etc.. could leave a rough surface that would chew up the new seal instantly.

Polish the spacer as suggested.

~Ghost

 

I assure you, the metal the spacer is made from is MUCH harder than that of a common pair of channel locks. You wont even scratch it.

That being said, if you don't want to remove it, then you surely can proceed as Kmoe suggested.

 

I assure you that I can, and have scratched these metal spacers with common pliers, channel locks etc... They are not as hard as you think.
I would suggest sliding a socket/pipe over the splines using a hammer to tap it. Breaking it free of the rust first.

You have no clue what someone else is capable of doing.
Suggesting using heat around exposed oil? The first thing an inexperienced person is going to do is grab a torch and set the oil and bike on fire!!

~Ghost