Oil Level High - Pull oil Drain plug and barely drizzles --

[birdbrain]

Hello this is my first xs400 2e (kickstart only) -- When I go to drain the oil using plug on the left hand side of bike (the one underneath is stripped) oil doesn't really gush out.

It just drizzles. And dip stick reads way over the line and onto the stick itself. Has anybody ever dealt with this? My concern is that the oil may be foamy or stuck somewhere.

Thanks

 

[tstidham]

You may want to pull the bottom cover plate and filter screen and make sure it's not all gummed up with sludge. There are several bolts on the bottom to yank it. Here's a link to an ebay listing which shows what it will look like. Maybe yank it off and brake clean spray up there to clean gunk out? OIL PAN & FILTER SCREEN 1979 YAMAHA XS400 79 XS 400 | eBay

Oh and I misread your original comment about the bottom drain bolt. You could try carefully poking a small flat blade screwdriver into the hole to see if it's clogged. I would think it should drain just fine from that drain bolt, especially if it's leaned over on its side stand.

 

[birdbrain]

Thank you for the reply! - I pulled off the bottom cover plate and thankfully oil poured out and doesn't seem to be gummed up with sludge or foam. Tomorrow I will take a deeper look/. I spent the day cleaning out the bs34 carbs with compressed air and carb-cleaner, swapped out the oil filter. If there is not any gunked up oil, I will put it all back together, fill it up with required amount of fresh oil and see if I can get this 400 to run without the choke on. (which was my initial concern).
Thanks again

 

[tstidham]

Thank you for the reply! - I pulled off the bottom cover plate and thankfully oil poured out and doesn't seem to be gummed up with sludge or foam. Tomorrow I will take a deeper look/. I spent the day cleaning out the bs34 carbs with compressed air and carb-cleaner, swapped out the oil filter. If there is not any gunked up oil, I will put it all back together, fill it up with required amount of fresh oil and see if I can get this 400 to run without the choke on. (which was my initial concern).
Thanks again

Only running off choke is usually a sign the pilot jets (idle circuit) and passageways are clogged up. I had mine apart three times until I took a single strand of multi-strand copper wire and used it as a ream to clean out the jets and passageways. My pilot jet especially had some caked in debris. Just spraying it showed cleaning fluid shoot through, so you think it's clear, but when I ran the wire through, I was able to push out some crud. So really clean those jets well and remove the idle jet screws and make sure the passages under it are all clean as well. Good luck!

 

[birdbrain]

Only running off choke is usually a sign the pilot jets (idle circuit) and passageways are clogged up. I had mine apart three times until I took a single strand of multi-strand copper wire and used it as a ream to clean out the jets and passageways. My pilot jet especially had some caked in debris. Just spraying it showed cleaning fluid shoot through, so you think it's clear, but when I ran the wire through, I was able to push out some crud. So really clean those jets well and remove the idle jet screws and make sure the passages under it are all clean as well. Good luck!

Yeah! It's my second time doing the carbs. The jets look good I can see light now - and I will use your tip with copper wire to get those passage ways cleaned. Appreciate the insight.

I did find one thing that was kind of concerning when looking at the frame - I noticed a little dent in front of the engine and behind the front forks. I've read insurance would consider this a total. I really like this XS but don't want to be unsafe - and at the same time don't want to stop working on this bike if its good to ride. I've attached a couple photos.

 

[birdbrain]

Okay - check this out. I pulled the bottom plate cover and drained the oil and when I went through the oil there was a chunk of metal the size of a cigarette butt. Naturally I was really concerned.

It appears to be aluminum and this is where it gets strange, when I got under the bike and shined a light into the exposed case, it looks like the piece came out of the body of the casing. It looks like the previous owner cut these holes at the base. I can see scratches from the process and the holes are uneven and are not machined smoothly. I think the piece must have fallen in and was just floating around down there. The engine doesn't leak or make any bad noises.

My questions are are these holes features that come with the XS 400 model? Or did someone do this to enhance oil distribution?
When looking at the pic you can see the edges of the holes are not smooth nor are the holes even. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[tstidham]

I wouldn't be concerned with that dent. It's not so deep that the tube is kinked. I'd certainly run it.
As for the chunk of aluminum, weird! Certainly looks hacksawed. Is it glued to the plate and have a magnet in it by chance? If it is magnetic, maybe the PO just had it on hand and put it there to catch any metal filings or something.
As for the file marks around the relief holes, probably factory. I'm sure when the block is cast, those are cleared by hand of any flashing.