03 RX1 10,200 miles - oil burning fix

[Sled Dog]

Who every told you a fourstoke does not use any oil? 5.0,Ls1,Ls2,4.6, on and on they all use oil not a new thing to me. For a motor to be at 8,000-10,500 rpm all day it will use some. Put ant street bike in frist gear and ride for 1,000 miles at 8000-10,500 and i know it will use some oil.
Now 1 qt every 300-500 miles is where i draw the line.

Skydog

Ok touch up once in a while but to have to worry about it come on might as well be a two stroke then.

 

[DaveyBoy]

The findings with low tension oil rings are they use some oil not as excessive as we are with the RX-1`s as it gets worse with time I also was stating that to who it was that posted the 4.6 fords useing oil.But i have seen engines new and old use a whisker of oil cause of useing synthetic oil Boston u will have a PM

 

[Mighty]

They only use oil when running synthetic oil if u put regular oil in it it will not

BS

 

[DaveyBoy]

U are entitled to ur opinion call me 1-978-343-4440

 

[03griz]

Guy who I bought my 03 from told me he tried synthetic once and it used oil. Told me not to use it. BS or not my sled is not using large amounts of oil!

 

[Sled Dog]

I really cant see synthetic causing oil consumption. Any oil is going to go past the rings if allowed too. The synthetic would leave a superior film on the cylinder wall if this film is allowed to go past the rings then yea I could see it using more because there is a better film on the cylinder walls. Synthetic oil surpasses dino oil on every test they ever came up with.

 

[nhrxrider]

I have been around the block on this subject, more times than I care to think about. Yamaha came through in the end for me, and I applaud them for that, but the problem still exists for other owners.

The problem is with the DESIGN. Blaming it on fuel in certain parts of the country may be true, but they designed these sleds to be used in these areas, so they should be able to RUN in these areas. If they only used oil when used in 90 degree temps while asphault dragging, fine, thats a situation problem, not the design. But for the fuel in new England to affect them in their natural environment, when used as they were designed, means the design is faulty.

I found no connection between oil usage and the type of oil I ran. My problem began when I was still using dino oil, and continued for 2500 miles of dino oil usage. I switched to synthetic (1 change of Mobil-1 and 1 of Amsoil) because people suggested it might cure the problem. It didn't. The problem got progressively worse as the mileage increased. I tried Seafoam with no luck. Maybe it would have helped a little if I ran it long enough, but it didn't do anything in a couple tankfuls.

This is a very sore spot for us, as 4-stroke owners, because many of us bought these engines to eliminate having to carry oil, and have a clean burning sled. Having them use oil goes completely against the main selling point of these sleds. It would be like someone buying a Corvette and finding out it only goes 50 mph.

Owners of '03 and '04 models should keep the pressure on for a real RECALL of these engines. The excuses about the high RPMs our engines turn is complete B.S. Formula-1 cars run at much higher RPMs but consume almost no oil. Circle track cars are subjected to sometimes hours of 6000+ rpms and very high side G loads with almost no oil consumption. Road race cars can run for 24 hours at very high RPMs with almost no oil consumption. I have a friend with a 40 year old Fiat who roadraces, and in a 24 hour race he uses less than 1/4 qt. of oil. I have had to add 2 quarts in 1 long day of riding before.

The so-called "solution" of putting ring-free in every tank of fuel is also B.S. A nearly $10,000 machine shouldn't require fuel treatment at every fillup. We also shouldn't have to purchase this stuff, or have to carry it around with us if we plan to fill up a few times in a day, or do a bagger trip. I bought my sled so i wouldn't have to drag around oil in my tank bag.

Jim

 

[Motorhead]

Nhrxrider,

What engine components were changed out and how is it working out now.

I've read issues concerning rings and maybe pistons ?

 

[Mighty]

I currently run amsoil Full synthetic in the following engines:

1987 Audi 5000C Turbo with over 300,000 miles
2002 Saturn SC-2 Wifes car
2001 Saturn SC-2 Daughters car
2000 Jamboree MotorHome w/ Ford V-10
Onan Generator in the motorhome
Generac Generator in my shop
1997 Ford F-150 460
1968 Corvette 327
2001 Yamaha Quad 350
1995 Honda CB1000F
2005 Honda XR650
? Year Go cart with Honda 5.5 hp engine
23 HP Garden Tractor Gas Kohler
25 HP Garden Tractor Diesel Lombardini air cooled
Honda Roto Tiller
Soon to be 2006 Attak

I currently own all of the above listed items and not one of them burn a drop of oil.

 

[nhrxrider]

I wound up with a brand new '05 motor because the dealer who started the work made a mess of my engine. It was only supposed to get new rings. Thats all they should need, since the only differences (internally) between an '03 and '05 motor are the rings. The pistons are the same part number, but the rings are different for the years.

I'm still waiting to find out if '05 owners will start having any problems now that their sleds are getting older and have higher mileage. So for the problems seem to be with '03 and a few '04s. Is it strictly because of the change in rings, or is it just because '03s and '04s are old enough to have the most miles and age on them? I'd be willing to bet the '05 engines are all set though, since they went to the trouble of changing the ring design.

Jim

 

[Oak Hill]

WOW! I would rather add Ring Free to every tank as stated befor, than have my engine re-ringed in a dealer. Less chance of further issues. These are low tension rings and sticking rings are caused by oil baking. This has pleged the Automotive market for years. This is one reason manufactures are going to Semi or Full Synthetic oils. Did Yamaha build a bad product? I do not believe that they did. Should they have used Synthetic oil from the start? Yes, and probably would have not seen an issue. If Ring Free (Sea Foam) solves the problem, then use it. Pretty simple fix to me. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Tom-RX1]

I been useing mobil1 530 for over 6000 miles and have no oil burning but i do use an oil fortifier that cleans the rings .
Tom-RX1

 

[nhrxrider]

Well like i said, I tried using synthetic at around 2500 miles. I chose that time because I knew the engine was well beyond break-in. I had planned to switch to synthetic before but never got around to it. I was using around 1 qt. in 400 miles when i switched. I kept using synthetic until I was using 1 qt. in 100 miles. That was a ride with Boston rx1. He might remember when i topped off my oil before the ride, and came in a hair over 100 miles later with my oil light on. I have read about several others with an oil burning issue who used synthetic, so i don't think it would have helped. Some have the problem, some don't, and there doesn't seem to be any common tie for those who burn oil.

Jim

 

[ReX]

I wound up with a brand new '05 motor because the dealer who started the work made a mess of my engine. It was only supposed to get new rings. Thats all they should need, since the only differences (internally) between an '03 and '05 motor are the rings. The pistons are the same part number, but the rings are different for the years.

I'm still waiting to find out if '05 owners will start having any problems now that their sleds are getting older and have higher mileage. So for the problems seem to be with '03 and a few '04s. Is it strictly because of the change in rings, or is it just because '03s and '04s are old enough to have the most miles and age on them? I'd be willing to bet the '05 engines are all set though, since they went to the trouble of changing the ring design.

Jim

My 05 now has 11,250 kms on it.

Between 5500 kms and 9300 kms it consumed enough oil to just make it to the add line on the dipstick (needed an oil change then so I didn't add any).

Between 9300 kms and 11,250 kms it consumed enough oil to drop almost 3/4 of the way between full and add (took about 3/8 to 1/2 of a quart to bring it to full). It's been running an Ulmer stage 3 since 10,300 kms. With the higher rpms (cruise and WOT at lower speeds) it might consume a little more oil.

I'm fairly pleased with the oil consumption so far. Hopefully it won't turn into a major oil burner as the miles add up.

Assuming your new motor will be similar to mine you shouldn't see any major oil consumption with it.

How much oil do you have to add when the light turns on (mine never has)? How low on the dipstick does it need to be before the light turns on?

 

[ReX]

I spoke too soon in that last post...

Now with 14,600 kms on my 05 it just consumed 600 ml (over 1/2 a quart) in the last 544 kms (340 miles).

It consumed 500 ml (about 1/2 a quart) in the 1100 kms (690 miles) right before that.

I'm going to try some ring free or sea foam.