Running XT 600 on one litre of oil
 

I've just bought a 1997 XT 600, ridden it home and then checked the oil level. It has taken 2.3 litres to get the level about 2 cm up the dipstick which suggests to me that the previous owner has been running this on less than a litre of oil. I can't believe it hasn't seized. Does this even sound possible or does anyone think there may be some fault in the recirculating system? The seller said he was riding it every day so I have no idea how many kilometres have been done. It could of course just be more evidence of how bullet proof these things are. :thumbup1:

Take bike for a ride, when you come home let it idle for 3min and check stick. I think you have overfilled it now, sometimes oil is not even in system or you have problem with valve and oil is down in engine. Best way to find out drain engine and front and measure.

Thanks xtrock. I did take it out for a ten minute spin after adding 1.7 litres and it still showed nothing on the dipstick. When I got back I put in another 600ml and finally saw oil on the stick. I'll do it again this afternoon but I think your advice about changing the oil is probably the best. The original oil must be horrible by now.

Yes you should have drained it at the beginning. there was one guy that only drained engine and refilled 2,8l.. Never know what people do so start from the beginning and change filter, new brake fluid, new oil fork, check brake pads, chain, sprockets, wheel bearings, 3tb have grease nipples on the swingarm and linkage, you have on the linkage.

Expanding on this a bit. This engine is a "dry sump" engine. It is not exactly dry but the bulk of the oil is external to the engine in a tank or in the frame depending on the model. The engine has a flow back check valve that is supposed to stop oil from draining back into the sump when not running. This valve is not perfect and if the least bit worn or dirty the oil will drain back. Checking oil after sitting for quite a while will always show the oil to be low, never fill it based on this.

As already stated, run the bike for a few minutes around the neighborhood to warm it and get the sump all pumped out of excess oil. Check oil soon after shut down making sure the bike is upright.

The flow back valve is a steel ball and a replaceable rubber sealing surface located at the bottom of the clutch cover case. It is very easy to replace, the rubber seat is all that needs to be replaced as the steel ball is rarely defective. Be sure to have a replacement clutch cover gasket in case the old one tears and they usually do.

This is a recurring theme with new owners. This why I expanded on this for those who come along and read and learn. This is what forums are good for.

Thanks for the helpful replies. I hadn't thought of the possibility that the oil might all be sitting in the sump. At least I've now got a handy checklist of all the bits I need to do before I get out and have some fun on it. Now I just have to find a manual.... (The links in the Sticky section at the head of this forum don't seem to be working anymore).

Try this one, you dont need for the 4pt, 3tb have same spec on most of the tech stuff. Repair / Service manuals - Yamaha

Thanks for the detailed advice steveloomis. As you probably guessed this is my first attempt at getting an old bike back together so your information is really useful. Can I just ask - is there any way to tell if the flow back valve and recirculating system is working without opening up the engine? Or should I just replace the rubber seal and gasket anyway at the same time as changing the oil and oil filter? Thanks again for your help.

Check oil level when you park bike, check again next day. If the same amount valve is ok, if its empty you need to change. Just remove cover and change it, its easy.

More info & pics i posted of the valve HERE

And like the guys are saying, check when bike is level (not on side stand).

Mezo.

Very good pictures, just scroll down until you see the check ball seal and spring behind the ball.

Great. I've bought all the bits and am looking forward to getting into the job this weekend. Would you say a torque wrench is essential or can I get away with just using common sense when tightening?

Yes buy torque wrench, specially for the 9 and 10nm like the cover for oil filter. Yes you can do at by feel, but one day you do a little more and threads are gone..I use it for all bolts.

If you are going to remove the clutch cover to renew the oil valve, while it is apart it would be a good idea to remove the crankshaft and balance shaft nuts and check the woodruff keyways for wear since these nuts tend to come loose and allow the keyways to flog out, with disastrous results.
You'll have to remove the clutch to access the balance shaft nut.
Here is a thread with more detail
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eck-your-73934

Also beware, the oil filter cover bolt threads are easy to strip.

Bob

You'd be surprised on how little oil some motors can survive on. It all depends on the pump scavenge.. Definitely not recommended though. Some motors will blow their heads if you run with just under the dip stick.

Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

Wow it was worse than I thought. I've just drained the oil as per the manual instructions and got just 2.4 litres out. Bearing in mind that 2.3 litres of this was the quantity I put in it seems the bike has been running on the residual half litre or so that stays in the engine. Bearing this in mind is there any thing else I should check, apart from the bits very helpfully mentioned above, while the oil is out and the crankcase cover is off? Sorry for all the questions but this is a new adventure for me and I would like to get it right.

Did you remember to drain the pipe in the frame?

This is how you learn, keep asking.

I think so xtrock. I opened both the crankcase plug and the one in the front tube of the frame and removed the oil filter so I don't think there can be much oil left in there.

Ok, if bike have been running on the smell off oil i dont know about the engine condition. How many km are we talking about?

Unfortunately I have no way of knowing how far it has travelled with so little oil. The speedo cable is missing, the crankcase oil plug was badly sealed with a bit of plumber's tape and half of the crank case cover gasket was missing. But I took it on as a fixer and it sounds great and rides great so I'm sure I can overcome whatever damage might have been caused. The heart is there - for me it's just a case of knowing what damage I should be looking for, finding out how to fix it and then getting it back on the road.

Compression test, adjust valves first. When you doing the valves check the cam for wear and colour, what mileage you have on this bike?

Thank you for the advice Bobmech. I've opened up the crank case cover and it all seems tight with no play in the cogs - there is a flap of metal bent over one face of the counterbalance nut which seems to have locked it all in place. Given my lack of experience in bike mechanics would you advise me to leave well alone and not investigate further? Or is it imperative to check the keyways as you suggest?

I would strongly suggest removing the crankshaft and balance shaft nuts and check the condition of the 2 keyways and retorquing the nuts preferably after cleaning and applying loctite to the threads.
To undo and retighten the 2 nuts, the shafts can be locked with a copper coin(being soft) between the teeth of the 2 gears.

Also, to remove and refit the clutch basket, it needs to be held when undoing and tightening the centre nut(if you're not using a rattle gun). Beware- the clutch basket can crack/break if not held with a suitable tool or strap.

If this is above your experience level it might be better to get someone else to do it for you.

Bob

Ok thank you. I'm going to go for it. I've got a torque wrench on order and will open it up, hope for the best and just learn as I go along. At least when I close it all up again I will know there is nothing unknown going on in there. Thanks again for all your advice.

I'm very carefully working my way through this. So far so good. The only looseness I have found so far is in the plastic (nylon?) gear driving the oil pump which appears to have about 2-3 mm play in it. Is that normal? The oil pumps out fine when I hand turn the engine so the pump itself seems to be working. Should I be thinking about replacing the oil pump gear wheel while I've got the thing open?

Sorry to keep hammering on in this thread but I've hit another issue I can't explain while putting the new oil into the bike. I drained the old oil, did all the checks and put a new oil filter in. Then tried to refill with the specified 2.8 litres of oil and found the tank was overflowing at 2.5 litres. I've had the bleed screw on top of the oil filter open but wondered if there could be an air block somewhere else or if the oil strainer (which I gave up on removing) could be totally blocked. I left it for an hour to see if it will drain down but the level hasn't changed much.

Normal. You've filled the frame with oil. Start the bike to get it to go to the bottom, then top op the last amount.

Cool. Thanks Jens. That worked great.