oil in exhaust?

[KUSHLIFE]

is it worth doing can chain, valves, timing and carb work to see if this goes away? or are the oil rings prob smoked? 81 xs, stock carbs w pods, straight pipes. did cam chain today and was pretty loose but wondering if it's worth it do do rest. also if i do need to do new rings will i have to do all the above again? ran fine but burned up the oil with no leaks, thought i leaned out the carbs but now oil is in exhaust...not dripping out but wet inside....hmmm that statement sure could be misconstrued- haha

thanks

 

[xjwmx]

It's hard to imagine wet oil in the exhaust. It would have to be puffing out vast amounts of blue smoke first and that would be the complaint instead....

 

[KUSHLIFE]

right? only a touch of smoke when started last week and then nothing? ran just fine. noticed it when i was checking the inside of the pipe to see if it was still running rich

 

[Belle]

Look at her plugs first if she ain't ready ta date yet they'll be all oily & black. If that's the case & ya still wanna try ta get it on w/ her then ya' will need ta work out the issues but there's no reason ta hurry, if her rings are blown now they'll be blown later too.

 

[JP50515]

Had the same issue. in the process of doing a complete rebuild to try and fix it. Didn't blow smoke until the day before I pulled the engine.

 

[gggGary]

Bad exhaust valve seals can do that.
I got a 20K mile 79 running last summer oil filters cam valves set carbs full overhaul. but never ran "great", I had other projects and it sat till last week, got it out rode it and the RH plug oil fouled in 10 miles. Put in a hotter plug and rode another 20 miles. Pulled that plug, it looked fine. Put the regular plug back in and put 60 miles on it yesterday, it's running fine and the plug is dry. Some times a sleeper will "heal" from a few wake up woes. I am keeping my fingers crossed but planning to put some miles on her.

 

[KUSHLIFE]

yeah, brand new exhaust and seals (pandemonium hot rod exhaust). burned up 2qt of oil in first 1k miles after we put it back together and was black as $h!t, now oil is looking good but seeing it in pipes. one plug is a touch wet and a tad black, the other is fine to dry?. want to run it and see what happens or if it will sort itself out but also don't want to blow it up either of cause any other issues. if my gf's bike and want have it running as best as i can get it running for her. maybe this will help- we live at 9600ft above sea level, went to denver (5300ft) and never had to adjust carbs...mine however was losing power on the way down from running too lean, adjusted the synch screw inbetween carbs (right) and ran fine the time we were down there. both bikes were purchased from the denver area.

Bad exhaust valve seals can do that.
I got a 20K mile 79 running last summer oil filters cam valves set carbs full overhaul. but never ran "great", I had other projects and it sat till last week, got it out rode it and the RH plug oil fouled in 10 miles. Put in a hotter plug and rode another 20 miles. Pulled that plug, it looked fine. Put the regular plug back in and put 60 miles on it yesterday, it's running fine and the plug is dry. Some times a sleeper will "heal" from a few wake up woes. I am keeping my fingers crossed but planning to put some miles on her.

 

[KUSHLIFE]

yeah, brand new exhaust and seals (pandemonium hot rod exhaust). burned up 2qt of oil in first 1k miles after we put it back together and was black as $h!t, now oil is looking good but seeing it in pipes. one plug is a touch wet and a tad black, the other is fine to dry?. want to run it and see what happens or if it will sort itself out but also don't want to blow it up either of cause any other issues. if my gf's bike and want have it running as best as i can get it running for her. maybe this will help- we live at 9600ft above sea level, went to denver (5300ft) and never had to adjust carbs...mine however was losing power on the way down from running too lean, adjusted the synch screw inbetween carbs (right) and ran fine the time we were down there. both bikes were purchased from the denver area.

thanks by the way-sorry

 

[KUSHLIFE]

Had the same issue. in the process of doing a complete rebuild to try and fix it. Didn't blow smoke until the day before I pulled the engine.

cool, what are you finding may have been the issue? adjusted the cam chain today and thinking of doing the valves, timing and trying to sync carbs but not sure if it's worth the time? thoughts?

 

[KUSHLIFE]

Look at her plugs first if she ain't ready ta date yet they'll be all oily & black. If that's the case & ya still wanna try ta get it on w/ her then ya' will need ta work out the issues but there's no reason ta hurry, if her rings are blown now they'll be blown later too.

yeah, one is a bit wet and dark, the other looks pretty normal. will it cause more damage if ridden with the oil ring blown (if indeed that is the issue)? damage to piston, cylinders, anything else??? i'm a painter and fabricator...learing about motors...sorry if any dumba$$ questions....

 

[Dot Heton]

My bike blew a little grey smoke out of the exhaust if it wasn't tuned just right. I tore it down and found bad guides in the head and broken rings on one piston. It's going back together now. I think a rich condition washed the cylinders and caused the problems.

 

[Belle]

Yeah guy, if the piston rings aren't riding the cylinder walls w/in tolerances it will crash & burn. If for some reason ya drug some piece of junk in & its riding w/ your pistons it could be diggin' into the cylinder walls--the list of possibilities is extensive.

First things first here--get used ta general maintenance & upkeep, there's no such thing as a trouble free bike (except for maybe the Honda Goldwing).

Being you, I'd probably clean up the plug & take it for a run a few minutes & see if the problem persists & just how fast it begins to recur. Next I'd do a compression test, don't have one--get one or borrow one & follow the directions that comes w/ it, its a great first line defense tool.

But there are a few other measures that might get a few more miles out of her: one--use an oil flush & use a heavier oil (at the auto parts store they have a lot of oil additives which help clog leaks--but understand ya are using a temporary fix & the problem is goin' ta persist); two--lots of guys use a heavier oil than 10w40 in warmer conditions, I know a guy that runs SAE 30 during the summer, little harder ta start in the cooler temps but I've also been known ta drain a quart and add a quart of the 30 weight too whenever its really hot out (have ta understand--this may not be perfect but it has worked for me & its his standard oil change every Memorial Day & then by Halloween he's down ta 20w50 again, awkward ta the regularly recommended 10w40).

In general, oil should not be excess in the combustion chamber its only purpose in the engine is ta lubricate the working parts so, any entry like that is a first sign of bad to come. Get a manual & follow some of the alternatives, however, ya might get ta feel her up for awhile, but be heed the warning: trouble is likely coming & your GF isn't likely ta be real happy pushing 400 lbs down the road.

 

[xjwmx]

I take back what I said before. Like gggary says, if the seals or guides were bad enough oil could leak into the exhaust without necessarily getting into the combustion chamber to burn and smoke.