nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Hi
I have a problem with my '03 shorty. Since new it has used some oil, but it seems to be getting worse. I kept track of the usage this past weekend after topping off the tank Friday. I put less than 60 miles on Friday night, 288 Saturday, and only 25 miles tonight when the oil light came on again. It took a full quart to bring it to full. I did some fairly hard trail riding, but its nothing like the kind of use a mountain sled gets. I didn't have it on its side since filling it Friday (although I did tip it up a little to check out my skis Saturday...but only for a minute or so). There is no oil in the engine compartment that I can find, and I haven't seen any in the air cleaner housing. Tony was riding behind me all day Saturday (288 miles) and he never mentioned seeing any smoke or oil smell. Anyone have any clues where to look? My sled is now at the dealer for the seat repair, so I have no idea when I'll get it back...but I want to know where I should be checking first, if this is a somewhat common problem. Thanks.
Jim
I have a problem with my '03 shorty. Since new it has used some oil, but it seems to be getting worse. I kept track of the usage this past weekend after topping off the tank Friday. I put less than 60 miles on Friday night, 288 Saturday, and only 25 miles tonight when the oil light came on again. It took a full quart to bring it to full. I did some fairly hard trail riding, but its nothing like the kind of use a mountain sled gets. I didn't have it on its side since filling it Friday (although I did tip it up a little to check out my skis Saturday...but only for a minute or so). There is no oil in the engine compartment that I can find, and I haven't seen any in the air cleaner housing. Tony was riding behind me all day Saturday (288 miles) and he never mentioned seeing any smoke or oil smell. Anyone have any clues where to look? My sled is now at the dealer for the seat repair, so I have no idea when I'll get it back...but I want to know where I should be checking first, if this is a somewhat common problem. Thanks.
Jim
JDKRXW
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
What kind of oil are you using?
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I think at my last change I used Castrol. I want to change to Amsoil, but if I have to add oil on long trips, it will be very hard to find unless I carry a few quarts of my own.
Jim
Jim
JDKRXW
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Is the Castrol synthetic?
How many miles on sled when you switched FROM YamaLube?
How many miles on sled when you switched FROM YamaLube?
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I'm not using synthetic yet. I did the first change at around 500-600 miles. The oil looked pretty dirty, and I don't like to run break in oil very long. I've got quite a bit of training as an auto technician, with ASE certifications, and I do the same thing with new cars. Anything that was dislodged during the first startup and break in of the engine should be changed out before the standard oil change intervals. At least my opinion.
Jim
Jim
JDKRXW
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I was suspecting you went to synthetic with too few miles but that is obviously not the case.
If you can't find any little leaks into the engine compartment, you are burning quite a bit.
BTW, have you cut a slit into the crankcase vent line in the airbox? This will relieve crankcase pressure if the tip of the line gets frosted over (the 04's come with this little slit, and it will stop oil getting pushed out of the engine... in the form of leaks in really cold weather)
If you can't find any little leaks into the engine compartment, you are burning quite a bit.
BTW, have you cut a slit into the crankcase vent line in the airbox? This will relieve crankcase pressure if the tip of the line gets frosted over (the 04's come with this little slit, and it will stop oil getting pushed out of the engine... in the form of leaks in really cold weather)
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I haven't done the update to the vent hose, but I did read the post about it. I'll be sure to do it when I get the sled back from the dealer...hopefully its part of the problem. I wanted to switch to synthetic as early as possible, but I wanted to make sure I was well past break-in, so I wanted at least 1000 miles on it. Now I have around 3700...I guess its broke in. Its also time for another oil change, and I'll be doing the filter also...I don't want to wait for 12,000 miles. I want to go to Amsoil this change, and hopefully I won't have to keep adding more.
Jim
Jim
YamahaRx-Warrior
Expert
Use some sea fome
Seems to cure the oil comsiption just pour it in the gas.
Seems to cure the oil comsiption just pour it in the gas.
