Gas in Oil (I think)

[unixgeek]

I changed the oil the other day and pulled out way more than the required 2.9 quarts. It didn't smell gassy but it also didn't separate.

I filled it back up and decided to keep a close eye on the level. After a few hundred miles, I noiced it creeping up the inspection window. I can let the bike sit at length with out the level rising. I also disconnected the line from the petcock and found that the petcock is not leaking.

Seems like the fuel is leaking in while the bike is running. The only thing I can think to do is tear apart the cards and check the float needles.

Any suggestions?

[interfuse]

Oil expands when hot.

[PitterB4]

2.9 quarts?  It's been a while but that seems REALLY light.  Is that right?  (OK, just researched it and I guess it is!)

When I was having petcock/float/o-ring issues and ending up with gas in the oil, it was noticeable by smell instantly.  If you are getting gas in there, I would guess that it's most likely a float(s) that's either set wrong or stuck.  Is it running well otherwise?

[hangin_biposto]

I would also suggest inspecting the floats to see if they are sticking. Make sure the carbs are clean as a whistle as any junk in them could cause the floats to stick. I had this problem with mine.

Good luck!

~Meagan

[andrewsw]

I can't imagine that you would be dumping enough gas into the engine to cause it to spill into the oil without also having severe running problems.

Review the obvious things like: you're really putting in the right amount of oil; you're adjusting for the amount of oil in the filter; maybe it actually *is* leaking in through the float bowls, but because the fuel petcock isn't leaking (that's good!) you won't see more than one float bowls worth in the oil when it's sitting. During the time that you're running it, stopping and starting etc you get multiple bowls full into the oil. But still, I would think you'd notice the smell as well. Regardless, AOL the others and check out the float bowls, floats and needles.

A

[hangin_biposto]

Talk about issues - mine dumped so much gas that the oil rose way above the top of the sight window and filled the cylinder of the offending carb! Unaware that the cylinder was full, he pulled the plug and tried rolling it over... shot through the hole and showered the ceiling with gas!!  That's fixed now, btw!!!

[unixgeek]

I've been on vacation and haven't had a chance to look at it.

I just got in from the garage.  I pulled the fuel out of the bowls and measured what I took out, hoping to find a carb that was obviously the problem.  I pulled out 48ml, 50ml, 49ml, and 50ml from cylinders 1-4, respectively.  To me, this seems like way to much fuel to be pulling out of each carb.  I'm wondering if someone with known good carbs would be willing to run the same test.  Or even better: Maybe someone just knows how much I should be able to pull out of each carb.

I think I'm going to be tearing into the carbs again.  Anyone know where I can pick up float needles for a fair price?  In addition, what jetting should I be considering for a V&H SS setup?

And the kicker: I won't be riding for a while because my cat took a piss on my leathers. :-(  Any cleaning suggestions?

[andrewsw]

I pulled out 48ml, 50ml, 49ml, and 50ml from cylinders 1-4, respectively.  To me, this seems like way to much fuel to be pulling out of each carb.  I'm wondering if someone with known good carbs would be willing to run the same test.  Or even better: Maybe someone just knows how much I should be able to pull out of each carb.

I don't think that's necessarily too much, though I've not measured mine. I think I get a total of about 1/2 cup from mine, including the fuel in the fuel line. You're getting ~= 200ml, @ 5ml/tsp, 3tsp/tbsp, 4tbsp/1/4cup, that's very roughly 3/4 cup, so I don't think it's completely out of line. THe only way to know for sure is to actually measure the float level...

And the kicker: I won't be riding for a while because my cat took a piss on my leathers. :-(  Any cleaning suggestions?

begin by putting the cat in the washing machine...

[interfuse]

I've never measured how much gas gets drained from each float bowl, but 50ml sounds good to me. Jay's the man for carb parts.

[unixgeek]

Here's what I've done:

I pulled off the carbs, inspected the float needles (they look fine), and measured the float height. It was just about 15mm on each carb.

After putting the carbs back together, I hooked them up to the fuel tank and set the petcock to "prime". The carbs filled but didn't start overflowing. I let them sit like that for a couple of hours. Just the slightest hint of wetness on the engine side of two carbs. Not enough to reproduce what I'm seeing in the oil.

Next, and this may be naive, I wanted to see how the carbs might work on the bike so I lifted up the slide and blew compressed air through. This made them sloppy with fuel and I suspect it proved nothing. :-)  I think the next step is to toss them back on the bike and run it without an air box to see what there is to see.

Thoughts?!?  Help me before I do something stupid like convert this bike to FI!

[interfuse]

I still think you're barking up the wrong tree.

It's easy to put too much oil in with the window system. Check the oil level with the bike HOT. Make sure you wait a couple of minutes for all the oil to come down to the pan. If you check the level with the oil cold or without waiting all the oil ends up in the upper portion of the motor and takes its sweet time to make it down to the pan.

[unixgeek]

How much would I have to overfill it to fill it beyond the window?  I I know with 100% certainty that I didn't put more than three quarts in.  Also, every time I parked the bike after a ride, the oil level was noticeably higher in the inspection window.  Overall quantity aside, I can tell you that the oil level is rising the more I ride the bike.

[andrewsw]

maybe you've found the solution to $130/bbl oil?