Oil Leak Coming No Coming From Oil Filter Cover

[OneEyedSteve]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum as I bought my 1982 Yamaha Maxim 400 about 3 months ago. When I bought it, it needed new oil and I wanted to get riding right away so I drained the oil and put new oil in, however I did not do the filter as I was anxious to get on the bike. Now it was time to do the oil again, so I got a new filter and replaced the filter as well. When I did the filter, there was no spring with the old one so I thought nothing of it. After further investigation, it seems like the spring could be an important component? That being said I might have also put the filter in upsidown as I couldn't find a clear explanation of the correct orientation to install. Long story short, I topped it up with 2.3 liters of oil and went for a quick spin (15 mins). When I got back home, I flipped my kickstand down and it was all oily, taking a look under the bike the chain and all of the rear components were covered in oil. Does anybody have any ideas as to what might have happened?

After further investigation I cleaned everything up, put some more oil in, ran the bike and got on the ground and watched. There is no oil coming from the oil filter cover area, just further towards the rear of the bike...

Please help!

Thanks,

 

[bcware]

I can't speak for the maxim, but mine does have a spring and the filter is directional.

If there is a spring missing and the filter is not in the right direction it will not function; oil will likely bypass the filter and not be cleaned by it. I'm not sure if this could cause any acute damage per se. Try and check the repair manual for detailed instruction; it is available on this site for download.

If the oil is really pouring out of the rear around the kickstand/chain area I would suspect the push-rod oil seal. Once the oil level gets high it goes above the level of the push-rod seal; if there is a leak it will be exacerbated by a high oil level.

Make sure you are measuring the oil level correctly; the bike should NOT be on the side stand; it must be vertical.

 

[16VGTIDave]

I have never seen a spring with the oil filter on the DOHC engine. It isn't listed in the manual or any parts diagrams I've seen. It is also difficult to install the filter upside down as the cover wouldn't fit properly.

bcware mentioned some of this already.The main possible places for oil to leak are the oil pressure sending unit, clutch push rod seal, countershaft seal, and neutral switch. Start with a good cleaning (spotless!) and a short ride should reveal the source. Of course, over lubricating the chain would have oil being sprayed everywhere, so don't discount that possibility.

 

[OneEyedSteve]

Thanks or the comments. Unfortunately, I don't think the problem lies with having to much oil. I drained an appropriate amount of oil, fired up the bike and was ready to go for a test ride. I rolled it out of my garage and was warming up in the driveway, however there was a line of oil from the garage to the driveway and it started pooling under the bike before I even got going! So now I really don't know what the problem is, I have attached some pictures as to where the leaking is coming from, maybe someone has had oil leaking from the same place? Anything helps.

Thanks,


Images:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s99b6b35b8thu2a/Bike1.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bp32gyt5kfwoq61/Biike2.pdf?dl=0

 

[bcware]

Honestly, I can't see what you're pointing to in those pictures; they are grainy and dark.

Maybe you can find a picture of the engine from google and circle the part that is leaking.

 

[Lou Ranger]

If you compare where the arrow is pointing on the "bike1" pic, to the drawings of the engine in the appendices of the manual for the dohc, there is no part of the engine in that vicinity.
If the dripping point is really there, then it must be the chain that is carrying the oil to that point.

So I think you need to locate where on the engine the oil is leaking out onto the chain. Dave's suggestion to clean everything down to the bare metal would seem to be the best approach - which means under the sprocket cover etc.
It won't be pleasant - lots of sprocket "fudge" to dig & scrape out and wipe off.