oil and sparkplugs

[dasuchbe]

TOO MUCH OIL!!!

Well, I finally got a chance to drain the oil. And now am having a bad feeling. I figured a 7quart drain pan would be big enough since it is only supposed to be able to hold 3.2 quarts. WELL IT FILLED IT FULL!!! There was a FULL SEVEN QUARTS IN IT!!!

Sheesh, I would not have thought you could get that much in there. So, any suggestions?? It did have a gas smell to it. There did not appear to be any sludg in it but there was a bit of sand. But the previous owner lived on a dirt road.

The other problem I have is the nut holding the filter is in place. Any suggestions? I am just planning on taking a big pair of vise-grips to it. Am I in for more trouble?

How does it go??? No rest for the wicked???

[TopCatGr58]

Re: TOO MUCH OIL!!!

Originally posted by dasuchbe
Well, I finally got a chance to drain the oil. And now am having a bad feeling. <SNIP>There was a FULL SEVEN QUARTS IN IT!!!

Sheesh, I would not have thought you could get that much in there. So, any suggestions?? It did have a gas smell to it. <snip>
The other problem I have is the nut holding the filter is in place. Any suggestions? I am just planning on taking a big pair of vise-grips to it. Am I in for more trouble?

Well, that bad feeling may be warranted. With a gas smell, you may very well have a fuel leak that is allowing gas to flow thru the throat of your carbs into your engine corrupting your oil. You really need to investigate this, and determine the presence or not of a gas leak at the petcocks, Octopus if you have one, and also the carbs float needle valves. You can destroy your engine very quickly running it with gas in it!!!!!

After you refill the oil, you may want to remove the sparkplugs, and turn the engine over for 15-30 seconds at a time to pump fresh pure oil into the engine to help displace any possible gas residue or just the thinned oil out from inbetween the friction surfaces before you actually start it up putting full stresses of a running engine on the metal to metal surfaces ie. connecting rods, piston wrist pins, cam shafts, etc..

Secondly, there should be 4 wing nuts that hold your filter in place, not just one nut. The wing nuts are on the bottom of the filter chamber, removing them will allow the filter cover and filter to drop down for removal. Where is this "nut"?

[dasuchbe]

OIL

Thanks for the info on the oil.

The nut in question is in the center of the cover over the filter. I have not seen the wing nuts yet. I am assuming they are on the inside. But it was dark when I gave up. My Clymer book shows a rubber seal on it.

[MartyA]

which bike are you riding? My 78E standard has only one bolt in the filter.

I can't believe you can cram 7 qts in there. Was there no overflow? I would think the back wheel would be dripping with oil. Yeah, don't ask....

[Mike Hart]

T.C. was describing the air filter.

Oil filter, yes, one bolt. You can get a new bolt, or you can weld a socket on the trashed bolt head.

Did those 7 qts of 'oil' seem thin and smell like gas?

[dasuchbe]

Oh yeah, it did have a gas oder and it was thin too. I thought that the little peep hole in the side was just dirty, never thought it might be over full. It was that way when i got it.

Have to see if I can get a new nut though, do not have access to a welder.

It really amazes me how some people can be so abusive to things.

BTW .... Its an 81

[nashville_bill]

Check out www.partsnmore.com for drain plug($5) and oil filter bolt($6). I just replaced mine with the ones they sell. Great prices on other parts too. I just checked their website and it shows both parts are in stock.

[skids]

Re: TOO MUCH OIL!!!

Hmmmm. Sand. I am not too sure about THAT. Borrow a 6-point socket and do your best not to let it slip. If you have already rounded it, you might try using a dremel tool and flatten two opposite edges to get a wrench on. If you do, be careful not to mar the housing too much. Plan on getting a replacement bolt if it is buggered up. Rfams have the O-rings for the housing. If you get a different brand, make sure you get O-rings with it because it is likely the oil hasn't been changed in a long time (unless you personally know different ;-) )

Originally posted by dasuchbe
(snip)

Sheesh, I would not have thought you could get that much in there. So, any suggestions?? It did have a gas smell to it. There did not appear to be any sludg in it but there was a bit of sand. But the previous owner lived on a dirt road.

The other problem I have is the nut holding the filter is in place. Any suggestions? I am just planning on taking a big pair of vise-grips to it. Am I in for more trouble?

[dasuchbe]

Thanks for the ideal about the dremel, I had not even thought of that.

One thing I am pretty certain about now is that the carbs have got to come off. I know the petcocks are not leaking because I have had the tank off and it did not leak, so I guess that is a good sign. But I have no idea about the octupus, it does have one and if I do leave the petcocks on I get a gas leak from somewhere. So I will try to check that.

[Ken Talbot]

Once you get the oil filter bolt off, consider having about a 19mm nut welded on to replace the stock bolt head. This will help lots if it ever gets overtightened in the future. BTW - the manual calls for only 23 ft-lb torque - check it with a wrench some time just to get a feel for how little that actually is....

[Bob]

oil filter bolt

Had the same problem on my 79 F with the over-tighted oil filter bolt & rounded head. Used my Dremel (man what a wonderful tool!) to "square" the bolt head some, but it just kept rounding off. Finally just cut a slot in the bolt head & used my impact wrench like a screwdriver. Got the bolt out just fine. Reinstalled the bolt with not too much torque until I can get a replacement bolt. Partsnmore is a great place to get XS parts! Will order new bolt when I order new shocks from them.