road trip 2004, new nickname for the gs = smokey

[Anonymous]

alright, so heres what happened. I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada and i decided to ride my gs 400 to a family reunion in southern Alberta (13 hour ride). So i set off LAST monday and i make it there ok, with a sore posterior and lots of pride . the week went well, then it was time to get home. we got about 4 or 5 hours out on our journey, and everything was going fine. THen i start losing power in 5th gear, then 4th, and i check my review mirror for cars behind me, and all i can see is BLUE SMOKE! Blue smoke had filled up the No. 3 Highway, treeline to treeline, ditch to ditch, 50 feet wide of blue smoke. SO i stopped and called my mechanic freind, and he tells me oil is getting into the carbs somehow. Sure enough, i take off the seat and BHAM! the air cleaner is saturated in oil, and the airbox has an inch of oil in it. I toss the aircleaner (like he told me to) and sop up the extra oil. It runs for about another 4 km (2.3 miles) and poof, blue smoke again. So we left the bike in Salmo, BC (700 kms from home) and i am going back to pick it up on wednesday.


I need help here guys, this bike is 1980 GS 400L, the odometer reads 24000 km, but it might be wrapped, what happend to my bike! did i blow a seal, or a gasket, why is there a plethera of oil in my airbox. Also, there is a tube coming from the centre of the bike and it would drip oil like no other, it wasnt the battery excess tube, it was a different one, coming from the airbox. All in all the bike died, had no power, so now im bikeless. I know this is a long thread but PLEASE, is my bike salvagable, or will it have to be put up for parts on ebay?

thanks guys,

[Mobetter]

Either a piston or ring(s).
I don't see how it could be anything else.
Pull both of your plugs, at least one of them
is going to be wet and black.
That's the cylinder you have a problem with.

Mo

[Anonymous]

I would have to agree, it sounds like a holed piston or failed ring, with my guess being the piston. The only other thing might be a blocked crankcase vent, but that seems like a lot of oil being pumped into the airbox for a vent problem. The hose dripping oil is your crankcase drain. Naturally it was dripping, since the box was full of oil. With that much oil in the box, I would check for damage to the crank and rod bearings when you get it home. There might not be much oil left in the engine after all of that...

Mark

[Detman101]

Jesus...catastrophic engine failure!!!

8O

God bless and keep you,
Dm of mD

[Anonymous]

thanks for the responses guys, is it worth doing it back up? should i just junk it? how much of a fix will it be, price wise 8O

[Mobetter]

Depends on if you can get parts on ebay or not.
If it were me, I would hold on to it and ask around if
a GS450 engine would fit in your frame.
I've seen good GS engines go for less than $100 on ebay.

It would cost you a few hundred to several hundred to rebuild
unless you can find parts and labor cheap.

Keep your eyes open for an engine or piston/ ring sets on ebay.

Peace
Mo

[Mobetter]

Here you go Dude!!!
Even with shipping it's going to be cheaper than a rebuild.

Ask the experts around here if it'll fit.

Peace
Mo

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2485425705&category=35595

[Mobetter]

It's Fate!!!
I checked on Mapquest and this guy is only a couple hours drive from you.

Buy it! Buy it ! Buy it!

The GS lives on!!!!!


Mo

[Anonymous]

WICKED GUYS!

you guys are the best, now the question is, does anyone know if this will fit a 400 L frame? ANYONE?

[SqDancerLynn1]

It should fit, you could probably fit a late GS500 motor without too much trouble if you wanted

[Don Lobacz]

I would investigate the motor's condition before going much further. Oil in the airbox is usually caused by too much oil or oil/gas in the crankcase. It can be caused by extensive blowby, but that would require some fused rings or holed piston or blown head gasket (in which case there would be very low compression). Bad oil rings would produce smoke but would not fill the airbox with oil. Drain the oil into a clean container, measure the quantity and check for any metal. If there is too much and no metal then refill the oil and check the compression. If it is good (110+ psi) then put in a new airfilter and plugs and see if it is better.

[Don Lobacz]

oops, forgot...

If it is gas getting into the oil then that problem has to be solved.

[focus frenzy]

you beat me to it Don,
Tanner, check the oil level on your bike, I suspect you will find it way over full.
if the fuel petcock stuck on and a carb float stuck open the crank case would be filled with gas.
the excess oil/gas mix would be worked up into a froth by the crank and the excess would be blown out the crank case vent into the air cleaner housing.