Oil problem

[MikeL]

Anyone got any suggestions as to the following?

Out riding yesterday when the oil light came on at about 80 k. I throttled back and the light went out. I was only a few kms from home so rode back carefully checking the oil light every few seconds, but it stayed off. Back home I put the bike on the centre stand, waited 3-4 mins and checked the oil level. Down to the minimum. Strange, but I assumed it was a correct reading, so added oil to bring it up to just over the halfway point, then left the bike overnight. Started it up, warmed up for a few mins then decided to check the oil level. Again left it for 4-5 mins but to my surprise it was way down again. Freaked out, checked the concrete underneath for any sign of a leak - absolutely nothing. Waited another 5 mins just in case it hadn't all drained back into the sump, then looked again. Still way down to the minimum. Added oil again (must have put in half to 3/4 litre between yesterday and today). Then rode it in to Mt Eden for a chat with my friend Ricky. Puzzlement all round. No sign of a leak, no evidence of oil being burned (not that that would account for it). Back home, another check shows the level way over the maximum. So the question is: where did the oil hide? And now it's over-full, I suppose I should take some out. But how can I do that without losing the lot?

[Eddieb]

I'd be very careful how high you rev it while it's overfull.

Some of the more knowledgable chaps and chapesses could explain why and what happens but I believe the amount of internal pressure can get too high and cause things to blow or go pop if it's too full.

I would geuess it stays in the oil galleries and sticking to various rockers etc and takes a while to leak back down to the sump.

[toads]

check your radiator if your bike has one, it's possible you have a blown head gasket, don't want to be too pessimistic but if you have a leak between the water jacket and the oil galleries that would explain the oil disappearance etc, hopefully it's nothing like that, but oil in the radiator or milky looking oil in the engine will confirm one way or the other

[MikeL]

check your radiator if your bike has one, it's possible you have a blown head gasket, don't want to be too pessimistic but if you have a leak between the water jacket and the oil galleries that would explain the oil disappearance etc, hopefully it's nothing like that, but oil in the radiator or milky looking oil in the engine will confirm one way or the other

The XJR is air/oil cooled so no water to worry about. I'm wondering if there might be a partial blockage somewhere in the oil circulation though???

[FROSTY:Me]

shit its got me baffled dude --um could it be maybee the bike is soposed to have the oil level checked on its wheels not on the main stand.
I know with the xj's and fj's ive owned that when the oil light was on you needed to add a half litre of oil

[What?]

Next time you warm it up and then find the level down, whip the cam cover off. If the engine gets drowned in oil, you will at least have located it. You should also be able to suss out why it is not draining back to the sump.
If that's not it, the only place left for the oil to hide is in the gearbox, but I can't see how/why it would stay in there.

[merv]

I agree its bloody weird, makes it sound like its acting like a semi-dry-sump motor like my WR is. On the WR the oil is held in the frame tube when the motor is running but it all drains back into the sump when the engine is off. This could all be a possibility except for the oil light thing, the fact it came on really says something was not right and I'm guessing the XJR isn't a dry sump engine anyway. Sounds like you need to consult a manual fast.

[Jinx3d]

I wonder if your oil pressure switch has gone. Maybe it wasnt down at all?

Those things do pack in and bring on the light intermittantly.

Speaking as someone who pulled the big ends and oil pump out trying to find the reason the oil pressure light was coming on only to find.....

[merv]

You're checking with a dipstick or view window though presumably, so at that point its nothing to do with whether the pressure switch is working or not?

[Bandito]

Problem with your oil light coming on cn be solved by removing the oil light bulb from behind the instument panel-worked well on my old XJ550.

[MikeL]

Thanks for all the replies. At this stage it's still a bit of a mystery. What I propose to do is:
1. Assume that the oil pressure switch/warning light are functioning correctly and that the light came on because the oil level was low.
2 Assume that for some reason the glass view window may not be giving a correct indication of the total amount of oil in the system within 5 - 10 minutes of stopping the engine. Will check frequently over next couple of days but will wait 20 minutes at least after turning off.
3. Try to drain the excess 1/2 litre or so of oil without losing the lot. Otherwise will do a complete oil change.
Can anyone with a similar air/oil cooled engine confirm how long it takes after switching off for the oil level to be accurate? The owner's manual says to wait for a few minutes. Ricky at Mt Eden said 10 minutes but this seems excessive to me.

[FROSTY:Me]

um oil pressure?? Yams dont have pressure lights they have LEVEL lights
I must say I used to check my oil level cold on my xj/fj's
One waaay out of center feild idea is that the oil got pumped up the breather into the air box.
I remember overfilling an xj900 once and the oil pumped up the breather into the airbox then dripped a mess of oil out the airbox drain pipe.
Not likely but its a maybee

[Zed]

Thanks for all the replies. At this stage it's still a bit of a mystery. What I propose to do is:
1. Assume that the oil pressure switch/warning light are functioning correctly and that the light came on because the oil level was low.
2 Assume that for some reason the glass view window may not be giving a correct indication of the total amount of oil in the system within 5 - 10 minutes of stopping the engine. Will check frequently over next couple of days but will wait 20 minutes at least after turning off.
3. Try to drain the excess 1/2 litre or so of oil without losing the lot. Otherwise will do a complete oil change.
Can anyone with a similar air/oil cooled engine confirm how long it takes after switching off for the oil level to be accurate? The owner's manual says to wait for a few minutes. Ricky at Mt Eden said 10 minutes but this seems excessive to me.

Hope you get it sorted out soon Mike. It's not as bad as the guy at my work yesterday who filled his petrol Celica car with diesel!

[pete376403]

I'd be very careful how high you rev it while it's overfull.

Some of the more knowledgable chaps and chapesses could explain why and what happens but I believe the amount of internal pressure can get too high and cause things to blow or go pop if it's too full.

I would geuess it stays in the oil galleries and sticking to various rockers etc and takes a while to leak back down to the sump.

Overfilling a wet sump motor can cause serious power loss if the oil is high enough to contact the crankshaft. The oil wraps around the crank like a big rope and will just kill the revs. This is the main reason behind windage trays, crank scrapers and dry sumping - all to get the oil away from the crank.

[Shafted]

Sounds a bit too familiar this one

The oil seeming low could be the oil cooler not draining - sometimes they take ages if at all and sometimes seem to want to hold on to it ...

But the oil light coming on at 80 - not wanting to get you worried but I had an ongoing problem with a guzzi that had this symptom - after changing sender etc it still came on intermittently - finally cooking the engine on one big ride where I had decided it must be the dodgy italian electrics! Dipstick, me that is!

Anyway, the problem turned out to be a bolt that had come undone from the wire gauze strainer - and was floating about in the sump, occasionally blocking the oil line but going back when the pressure went down - real bitch - especially when I ended up buggering the big end! And we are not talking the aforementioned alter boys !

Anyway, on that experience,I would just drain the oil and take the sump off and have a good look around - shouldn't take long - at least it wouldn't have on the guzzi.

Much better to be sure than sorry

Good luck