[Peninsula Winger]

imported post

I was on last week asking about smoke on start up when warm and got the answers on valve stem seals etc.... I have now dicovered that my '86 Asp with 41,000 miles is going through a bit of oil, about half a litre every 400-500 miles. I suppose this is quite serious ???? I have owned it for a month now.

 

[Goldwinger1984]

imported post

Is it leaking or actually burning the oil?

Vic

 

[BRowan]

imported post

Half a litre every 400 miles is bad for a Wing. Valve seals wouldn't explain this. Is the mileage right? 41k seems to soon for rings to be worn out, although a broken ring in one of the cylinders would do it. I know of a 1986 1200I with only 18000 miles that smoked badly all the time. It had been laid up for 8 years and corrosion had pitted two cylinders and the rings. Compression was low and it smoked like a pig.
You need to do a compression test for starters.

 

[Peninsula Winger]

imported post

There are no drips or leaks, it seems to be burning. Don't know anything else about the milage. It is a bit smokey on start up but nothing too bad.

 

[exavid]

imported post

I'd first suspect the valve guides. Worn out or damaged rings usually cause a lot of blow by so if you aren't seeing a bunch of smoke/steam from the crankcase vent it's unlikely it would be rings. Check the airbox and filter to see if there's any oil there, if it's oily it's possible blowby is being fed back into the intake by way of the emission controls.

A compression check as Browan suggested might isolate the problem to a single cylinder.

One other possibility is that there was a timing belt failure and damage to the valves or piston.Pulling the head will tell that tale.

 

[twisty]

imported post

Peninsula Winger wrote:

I was on last week asking about smoke on start up when warm and got the answers on valve stem seals etc.... I have now dicovered that my '86 Asp with 41,000 miles is going through a bit of oil, about half a litre every 400-500 miles. I suppose this is quite serious ???? I have owned it for a month now.

Peninsula Winger, first, make sure you are checking the oil the correct way (on the center stand & warm). If you are overfilling it, it will burn that overfill off pretty fast.

You might also try a different brand or heavier weight oil (like 20W50). Different oil types can use a slightly heavier or lighter base stock so can have an effect on oil consumption.

If none of the above helps the problem then try balancing the carbs. A poorly adjusted carb balance could easily allow that cylinder to fire weaker so would use way more oil.

Another thing to look at is: pull all 4 spark plugs after a long high speed run (let it cool first) then compare the plug colors. If one is oilier than the rest suspect a problem with that cylinder. Then run a leak down test on the bad cylinder.

Alsopull the air cleaner element & clean & inspect that, a plugged air cleaner can allow oil to be pulled past the rings on theintake stroke.



Twisty

 

[rcmatt007]

imported post

you might also check the vent/blow by system. crankcase pressure is relieved through a vent that goes up near the air filter (so fumes go back through the engine) and then drains into the black plastic thing on the left lower side of the engine. If the vent is plugged, pressure will build up in the crank case which will force oil into the cylinders... of course, I once had a '65 chevy where the rings were so worn I added a qt of oil everytime I got gas

 

[Peninsula Winger]

imported post

What can I say about this forum, it's just fantastic, it was a real find. I really appreciate all this knowledge. I will go through what has been suggested.

Thanks again

Peninsula Winger:clapper::clapper:

 

[JOHNO]

imported post

I've just had a similar problem and the cure was diverse. The bike was using oil and the emision tank was filling up to often. So I suspected a head gasket at least.

So when I got down to clean all the winter gunk from the underside of my engine, not looking forward to an overhaul, I found oil around the back end of the engine and mainstand and a lot of sooty marks indicating a blown exhaust except there were no exhaust leaks to be found,

I carried on cleaning and polishing and then started the engine, a wisp of exhaust emitted from one of the joints (only happened on start not with engine running) I dismantled the exhaust and found two joints were passing gas(painful) Resealed these with joint compound and put the bike back into service.

Since thenthe emission tank has remained empty and the bikehasn't used an ounce of oil. I can only think that the lack of backpressure was allowing the valves/rings to pass.

 

[Guest]

imported post

Peninsula Winger wrote:

What can I say about this forum, it's just fantastic, it was a real find. I really appreciate all this knowledge.

Hey Peninsula Winger :waving:Yeah this is the best forum on the net. :clapper:Visit often and present your problems to these guys and they will sort them out :clapper:

:leprechaun::18red::leprechaun:

 

[FitzAl]

imported post

rcmatt007 wrote:

you might also check the vent/blow by system. crankcase pressure is relieved through a vent that goes up near the air filter (so fumes go back through the engine) and then drains into the black plastic thing on the left lower side of the engine. If the vent is plugged, pressure will build up in the crank case which will force oil into the cylinders... of course, I once had a '65 chevy where the rings were so worn I added a qt of oil everytime I got gas

Very good point rcmatt007. Sometimes we forget to check the simple things.

 

[Peninsula Winger]

imported post

Well I had a quick look at afew things today. The vent mentioned was clear, the air filter looked ok there was a verey small amount of oily sludge, just a smeer around the inner edge of the bottom of the filter housing. The black plastic thing was full of water appeared to be water, so I drained it. The guy I bought it off said that one of the carbs was out of balance when I bought it causing the vibration which is well talked about on these pages, at around 2000rpm. I have been recomended a mechanic just a mile from me that is very good at working on wings, so will get the carbs looked at.

That's all so far. I went out for a 30mile run this afternoon and after starting up a couple of times there was very little evedence of any smoke.

 

[Kyle]

imported post

Some of these bikes are fussy on their level. On mine, when filled to the top line in the glass view, it doesn't take long to burn down to the center line. It will remain at that level to almost the time for an oil change. I was adding oil every time it went that low in the view glass tokeep it at the top level line. I asked my wrench about it. He claimed his was happiest at about the 3/4 mark and burnt off anything above that level, and suggested I monitor it and see where mine seemed to stabilize.

Kyle

 

[exavid]

imported post

Throwing off the top bit of oil in a horizontally opposed engine isn't uncommon. Flat four aircraft engines are great for throwing out the top quart when they get some time on them. A little blowby in this layout is all it takes. I used to leave the a quart out of my old PA-20, it was supposed to have eight quarts but you'd have the same amount left after a three hour flight whether you put in eight or seven. As long as it stayed above six I was happy and so was the engine.

Most engine designers don't specify the sump capacity for what the engine actually needs, they designsothere's enough to go for a good while between checks because they know a lot of people never check their oil. I know, I know, it's unbelievable, but some folks never check unless the red light comes on or they have the oil changed, usually well beyond the proper interval.

Anyway it sure won't hurt to leave the oil down a bit since I'll bet the engine will still lubesafely down to two quarts or less.