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Lubrication issue or something similiar?

M

mchuey19629489

Member
Member
I own a 2004 C10 with 69,700. miles. No issues, wonderful bike in every respect for me anyway.
I noticed today that the OIL in the sight glass is not depleted while the bike is running. Meaning, the oil level appears full (4 quarts) while the bike is warmed up and running.
The oil pressure light has never come on other than for 1-2 seconds at the beginning of a cold start.
The bike runs very good, no engine noise with the exception of at start up for about 3 minutes, but has always been somewhat cold blooded in this way.
After that is is quiet, holds a idle all day long. I recently checked the carb sync and it was spot on.

I do not feel the full oil reservoir while running is correct and indicates a issue, any experience or advise?
I use bel-ray full synthetic and have since the 40,000. mile mark. The oil was changed maybe 1,200. miles ago.
The bike has never over heated, never. The water pump was changed at about 47,000. miles.

thank you,
Mark
 
Interesting; does the root cause fall into these categories?

Incorrect oil amount in the engine
Problem with oil transport within the engine
Problem with sight glass ability to "measure" oil amount
 
Mchuey. 4 quarts is way to much oil. 3 qts 6 oz is about rt for me or your bike also. I have a spoofax oil filter conversion kit on mine. But 4 quarts is way to much oil. My sight glass does the same thing and I do not have any problem at all with mine it is a 2000 model with 15 thousand on it. While running and looking at the sight glass you see no oil in the system or it is moving so fast it looks empty while looking at the sight glass. After the oil drains down for a couple hours it is a 16 of an inch below the top of the sight glass. I do not think you have a problem with the sight glass. But you could have a problem with 4 quarts of oil in your system. Drain out 26 oz so it will be just below the top of the sight glass.
 
Mchuey. You need to do the free power mod by Steve. You talk about the cold start in your bike. After I did this mod my bike starts instantly with no cold nature at all. Look it up on the COG site. Hotter spark, better starts, Great ground. You will be amazed how much better your bike starts & runs. Do it. One hr job at the most
 
Using the sight glass to measure the correct amount of oil in the crankcase is an art, not a science. If you do have 4 quarts in your crankcase then Dean is right - that's way too much - but I think you would have other issues going on as well. And as far as draining 26 ounces out, I would instead drain it all out and then put the appropriate amount back in (3 liters). Then you know you have the correct amount in there.

If you know you put 3 liters in at the last oil change, and your oil pressure light is not coming on, then I wouldn't pay any attention to the sight glass while the bike is running.
 
bpdutton said:
I would instead drain it all out and then put the appropriate amount back in (3 liters). Then you know you have the correct amount in there.
Click to expand...
2.7L if you don't replace the filter.

Many years ago I gave up on trying to rely on the sight glass. The level inexplicably varies greatly. It is an exercise in frustration.

BTW, I also recommend the free power mod. My C10 is still pretty cold natured but only after sitting a couple of weeks or more. Priming (30-45 seconds) , several minutes of idle at around 2000 rpm, and a couple of twists of the throttle is then required before she will accelerate without choking.
 
Instead of draining it's possible to go thru fill hole using small tubing and extract exact amount. Have used a pump with tube from a spray bottle....the plastic ones. Been there on overfills!
 
Last edited:
mchuey19629489 said:
I own a 2004 C10 with 69,700. miles. No issues, wonderful bike in every respect for me anyway.
I noticed today that the OIL in the sight glass is not depleted while the bike is running. Meaning, the oil level appears full (4 quarts) while the bike is warmed up and running.
The oil pressure light has never come on other than for 1-2 seconds at the beginning of a cold start.
The bike runs very good, no engine noise with the exception of at start up for about 3 minutes, but has always been somewhat cold blooded in this way.
After that is is quiet, holds a idle all day long. I recently checked the carb sync and it was spot on.

I do not feel the full oil reservoir while running is correct and indicates a issue, any experience or advise?
I use bel-ray full synthetic and have since the 40,000. mile mark. The oil was changed maybe 1,200. miles ago.
The bike has never over heated, never. The water pump was changed at about 47,000. miles.

thank you,
Mark
Click to expand...
May be a dumb question but we've seen it many times . Are you draining from both drain plugs when changing the oil ? After draining both plugs and filter change I put 3-1/3 quarts in to get it 3/4 up on the sight glass . If not draining both plugs 4 qts would put you way over , enough to do what your describing for sure .
 
Thank you all for the great responses and tips. A little history: I've owned this bike since 2004 and bought it new and take really good care of it. I have always filled the oil to 3/4 of the sight glass, close to the top mark but not quite. That actually comes out to be the recommended 3.7L. (Oil filter not being changed that is).
I was a Vintage days this past July and ran into a fellow COGster and we spent a good bit of time talking bikes. Of course the center stand and sight glass worked its way into the topics and he swore by 4 quarts. So I figured I would try it, not sure why, waste of oil now.
I've always drained both plugs too.
I completely drained the oil today and started over with exactly 3.7L, did not change the filter. No issues, perfect as it has been.
Anyway, thank you, Steve did a carb mod for me a few years back (overflow tubes and 1 minute jet), I'll check in with him, how is he doing BTW? I hope OK..
Thank you again,
Mark
 
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