Crankcase O-ring replacement/Temp. Gauge

doodsaibot

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Long story short, I went on the most awesome ride of my life the other day. After I arrived at my destination, I parked the bike and saw oil POURING out of the crankcase like a busted fire hydrant. More specifically, it was coming from the seam of the oil filter cover. I removed the filter cover today to check if the filter and all O-rings were still there and as I expected they were all in place. I imagine they are the original O-rings so did they just crap out on me?:wtf: I have never seen any oil loss from this bike until that incident.:shrug: The ride that I went on was more aggressive than any other ride thus far. Plenty of uphill jaunts, twists and turns and speeds that varied from 45 - 65 mph with only a couple of stop signs. I never redlined. I assume I will just have to order new O-rings but I was wondering if I should use a sealant to make double sure that this doesn't happen to me again.
Oh yeah, I was thikning about installing a oil temp. gauge after I solve this other little problem. Any one else have luck with that?
 
New o-rings sound like a good plan. No sealant though, it may blow out. Also check the filter cover to see if it is warped or cracked. Be sure to NOT over torque the bolt as this may cause leaks and/or broken parts.

I have an oil temp gauge on my bike. I installed the sending unit in the plate (steel) on the bottom of the engine so it reads the temp of the oil in the sump - not the pressurized area feeding the crank. Not the best location, but the easiest and least likely to cause problems. The highest oil temp I've seen has been 115C (240F) when I came to a stop at a long traffic light, just off the highway where I'd been running around 130kph (80mph) with traffic. While moving, the oil had been running 80C (175F). Cooled right off once I started moving again. Nothing to be concerned with, even for Dino oil.

When are you going to finally wind her up? She will sing a beautiful song up above 9K RPM. ;)
 
Thanks, Dave. The oil temp. gauge idea was sparked mainly out of my curiosity. I always wondered what temps I would hit on a longer jaunt or even in stop and go traffic with quite a bit of idling at those long red lights. You ain't lyin about those high revs though. This bike does sound quite amazing! :bike: As far as the O-rings failing on my like that, I figured they would have at least started with a small leak and not a deluge such as it did.

But I suppose there is a huge chunk of the story I didn't really want to mention but here goes. Let's just say that I had uh...*ahem* one hell of a Sunday.

I never really had a destination, I just wanted to get out, ride and have a good time. After making it through those roller coaster hills I decided to stop at a gas station. I was going to top off the tank, then turn her around and do it all over again. :D I geared back up, checked her all over after that awesome run through the hills and fired her up. I hopped back onto the road and made it about 200 yards away as I made a turn onto the highway that would eventually spit me back onto those hilly country roads. As I was leaning into the turn, I no longer felt any engine vibration under me. The bike stalled out.

I thought, "OK, just steady her out then bring her upright." I had no choice but to finish the turn and I figured I had more than enough speed with me to coast over to the shoulder. As I was about 70% of the way through the turn, the rear tire came out from under me like I was sliding on ice. That moment happened extremely fast. I only caught a glimpse of my bike as it slid away from me down the road. I was now laid out on a highway with traffic behind me.

Fortunately for me, I fell relatively close to the shoulder and was able to crawl out of the way. Fortunately for my bike, (and the driver behind me) he was maintaining a good distance and avoided steamrolling my Maxim which had also ended up just short of the shoulder. I popped up off my ass, picked her up, and rolled her off the road.

I looked back at the turn I was making and noticed a trail of fluid. The rush was still going strong so I propped her up on the center stand and this is when I noticed oil POURING out of the oil filter cover. I looked over the tires and saw that the back tire was ABSOLUTLEY lathered up with what seemed like all of the bike's oil. I looked back up the road towards the gas station and saw that the oil trail started a good ways back.

At that point, I felt real tired so I just chilled out for a bit. My left knee, my left arm, the left side of my butt and my left hand were thumpin pretty good from the impact. I looked over myself and noticed the polymer sliders on the heel of my left glove were ground down pretty good but did their job. They could probably handle another round if they had to. The armored knuckles on my gloves were lightly scratched up but did their job as well. My pants were not ripped or damaged. My jacket did not show any signs of damage. The armor plate in my forearm sleeve left a red mark on my skin from being pressed into it but did not hurt me. I don't think my helmet contacted the road as there were no visible signs of damage but I am not 100% sure. I didn't sustain any road rash.

So all in all, my rear tire was soaking up every drop that oil leak had to give as I road away from the gas station. :banghead: My bike surprisingly suffered no major damage. I have a bent gear shifter but I was still able to shift it into neutral(new one on order). The foot rest hyperextended then simply came off as I tried to bend it back. I may have to get another mount for the foot rest but I think I can save it as is. The handlebars look fine but they are tilted up by about 6 inches. I think I will simply be able to loosen them and then reset them. The plastic that extends passed the left handle grip was shaved down at a 45 degree angle all the way down to the outer edge of the rubber grip. The rear left directional light was bent upward but still works and I was able to level it back out. Talk about a bullet proof bike. Whew! All that over 9 dollars worth of O-rings.
 
Damn guy, that is quite the story! Glad to hear you are okay. You are going to have a heck of a time getting the oil off the tire. Even when it looks clean, the rubber may have absorbed oil, and it will surface at the wrong time. May be worth replacing the tire just to be safe.
 
I have some simple green and maybe some tire cleaner layin around somewhere. Got some good sponges, a pressure washer and some good ole fashioned elbow grease too but you may be right about a rear tire swap. I am eager to get back out on the road but I don't want to take an unnecessary risk if that absorbed oil wants to come back out to play. Maybe I could just burn out in the parking lot? :laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Just checked the oil filter cover plate and saw these two cracks. :eek: Both of them run towards the middle and reach around to the other side of the plate. Through and through. :doh: Time for a new one. More than likely these cracks contributed to the massive oil leak I suffered from. :banghead: I am guessing that when the plate got hot, these cracks expanded just enough to let oil pour through. I had never noticed these cracks before but that's not to say they weren't there but only smaller.
 

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Those cracks would cause a leak, but I can't see how they would cause a massive oil loss unless the oil pressure was causing the cover to flex. You may be able to get the cover welded if you can't find one for a reasonable price. Boiling the cover in a mix of simple green and water should, eventually, get the oil out of the aluminium.
 
That's a good point. This cover still feels pretty solid in my grip so it probably was not the main culprit. The new O-rings will arrive this Monday. I threw the old ones in the trash with great contempt. In regards to the cover, I'll weigh out my options of total replacement vs. repair and see which pans out best. I won't take any chances and put it back on as is. This is such a rotten feeling. I am missing out on a some good riding right now. I am hoping to have the Mighty Maxim roar back to life by next weekend.
 
I don't know if it'd cause a problem, but is the oil filter bypass valve working?

Just speculating but if it were not functional there might be a pressure buildup in the filter assembly, contributing to the cracking or the flow through the cracks.
 
I was able to set aside some time to work on the Maxim. I acquired an oil filter cover that is in good shape. I replaced the o-rings as well. I put oil in the bike and turned it on. Immediately the bike started pouring oil out of the center of the oil filter cover. I did not over torque the bolt so is this a sign of a failed bypass valve? :doh:
 
That certainly isn't right! Double check that you have all the o-rings in place. Check the bolt for cracks as well. Sorry, not near my work shop computer so I can't check the service manual and provide further details.
 
I just found a diagram of the oil cleaner setup. I have all of the o -rings in their correct place but I noticed I do not have the washer plate that sets between the oil filter cover and the bottom grommet of the oil filter. :doh::doh::doh: Thinking back to the oil changes I have done, I never noticed that washer plate even being there.The bypass valve doesn't have any cracks that I can see. Am I correct in saying that if the bypass valve was not functioning properly then she simply would not run?
 
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