oil issue

[Nightengale]

i am getting ready to change my oil, since my bike is about to hit 3000 miles since it got her back on the road. so i looked at my oil level and it was about a quart and a half low. and i noticed what looks to be oil one the number one carb. (see pic)



the number four carb has a little on it as well, but a little hard to see in the pic



and the valve cover on the right hand side of the engine where the two rubber plugs are have started to leak alittle, so i am going to replace t
he valve cover gasket.



and also from the breather on the case, but slight.
and today while i was stuck in traffic i noticed that there was smoke coming from under the left foot peg, but i am not sure where it is coming from. it had smoked once before from the same area, when i was stuck stuck in traffic once before, but that time i lost my clutch, and let the bike sit for about twenty min. then everything was just fine. I used 20w/50 motor oil last oil change. my question is two parts,where am i losing the oil, because the stuff that i see doesnt look that bad, second where is the oil coming from on the carbs? i want to fix this issue asap since i ride it to work every day i can, so i am a little worried since i am strapped for cash right now. thanks in advance for the help.

[conquest87tsi]

Oily

I don't know about the oil on the carbs, that is really strange. Did you purchase those hemi-spherical plugs along with the valve cover gasket? It is most likely leaking from the plugs, not the gasket itself.

[Nightengale]

yes

I don't know about the oil on the carbs, that is really strange. Did you purchase those hemi-spherical plugs along with the valve cover gasket? It is most likely leaking from the plugs, not the gasket itself.

thats what i thought because it is only on that side of the bike, and i havent ordered the gasket yet , but i was going to get new plugs too.

[Yard Dogg]

The oil on the carbs is probably blow back from the leaky valve cover gaskets. The smoke on your pipe could be a leaky seal around the shifter shaft. From now on, every time you change oil, try to replace a few gaskets and seals. You don't even have to buy gaskets. I just scrape off the old gaskets and use Ultra Black silicon. Unfortunately, motorcycle O-rings are always smaller in thickness than what the local hardware store carries, but you can buy all those at any Oem Yamaha parts vendor online. They add up, but last a long time too.

[Yard Dogg]

You know what, that oil on your carb may not even be oil, it could be fuel with dirt in it. Almost looks like the bowl drain plug is seeping and it's running up the carb when you ride. Did you smell it?

[James England]

To me, the oil on the carb looks like oil that's blowing onto it. There won't be that amount of oil in the fuel. The leaks from the camshaft end caps is more than slight, I'd say. Take the rocker cover off and the caps, clean everything and run a bead of RTV on everything, including the curved part of the caps.

Clean the engine with degreaser, especially in the area near the exhaust pipe. I would dust that area with talcum powder and then run the engine with the bike stationary. If there's a leak from the gearchange shaft, you'll see a trail of it through the talc. That seal is readily available and can be replaced very easily, without removing anything except gearchange lever and the seal itself.

[WMarshy]

+1 what James said. No need to replace the valve cover gasket or the half moon plugs. You'll find 9the out of 10the bikes weep oil at those plugs, some very little and other a lot. You will have to lift that side of the valve cover to take them out to clean them and the head. If the cover gasket stays on the cover and doesnt rip then reuse it, no need to replace it. Use some black gasket msker around the half moon plugs and assemble. Make sure your crank case vent isnt blocked. If you or a PO put a PCV on the breather chuck it in the trash. If the crank pressure builds b/c a failed PCV or blockage the half moon plugs have been known to blow out.

Another area to look for oil leak down on the left side is the crank seal behind the timing advance. Take your cover off and see if their is any oil behind it. Otherwise the shifter shaft seal could drip on your exhaust and explain the smoke...good luck.

[natemoen]

Clean the old gasket off of the valve cover area and run a bead of RTV across the area and around the cam caps. Go thicker on the cam caps.

The stuff on the carbs could be oil blown off the valve cover or it might be gas slowly weeping from.the butterfly shaft seals and it just collects dirt when it is damp.

Smoke from pipes, most likely culprit would be the oil pan gasket dripping a little on the headers.

[CatatonicBug]

Get rid of the stupid valve cover gasket entirely! There is no need to have ANY gaskets on the engine except for the Head gasket and the exhaust gaskets. Use RTV to REPLACE all of them, and you won't have ANY leakage, including around those cam plugs. If the rubber on the plugs is hard, replace them as well, but be sure to thoroughly clean all mating surfaces and run a nice solid bead of RTV along them. "The Right Stuff" comes in a pressurized can that makes application a LOT easier than trying to use a tube.

[GLoweVA]

Hey John, my 2 cents:
I agree that if the half moon plugs aren't cracked or anything like that, just clean them up and use some RTV/gasket sealer stuff around them.
I'm on the fence about gasket vs. no gasket. If the one you've got it good, re-use it.
As far as the carbs.... I might have to think about the shaft seals also. Smell that residue and see if it smells gassy or oily. Obviously something is leaking and the dirt is sticking to it right there. With your setup, (Pods and straight pipes) you could be getting a fair amount of back pressure thru your carbs on a decel thus causing the out leaking past the seals, and maybe the guy that setup your carbs when he cleaned them soaked the bodies in carb cleaner a little too long and those shaft seals may leak by a little. (just a thought)
Or, It could be blow by from the valve cover, but then you'd probably see some of that oil leakage driping/running down the jugs on that side of the engine.
The smoking side on the left, could be the shifter shaft seal or maybe the seal inside the timing cover. Easy to check, pull the cover off and if it's in there, you'll see it. My G leaks there, but it's not that bad yet.

See ya,