Where did all my oil go!?

Originally Posted by instigator

Can you send them round my garage please, I have about 10L of used oil to get rid of and I don't want to take it to the dump.

I've said this before - used oil works a treat in your composter. Failing that sprinkle it liberally on your flower beds.

I had the same issue on my blown engine.....

Coming up to its 4k service again, it was a silly hot day + a play with another bike = clunky naughty engine....

It seems the SV looses oil over time to the fairys and when its coming up to 4k, it does need a top up.

I learn't the hard way. I now religously check my oil.

Cheers for the posts guys,

Probably no problem then, i'll mention it at the service anyway and definately check it more regularly.

Thanks again

Chris

btw: I was probably joking about sticking the oil in your composter. Just flush it down your loo.

btw: I was probably joking about sticking the oil in your composter. Just flush it down your loo.

I'll give that a try, usually i just save it up throughout the year and throw it all in the sea on my annual trip to the beach

"Used motor oil can be used to fertilise your lawn."

Originally Posted by Razor

"Used motor oil can be used to fertilise your lawn."

Now, that is a good movie.

On a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero...etc.

It sounds like a siily question and I'm not being condescending (too much of a newbie!!!!), but did you run the engine long enough to warm it up properly and the let it stand for a bit so that it could settle? From your description, it doesn't sound like you did- I had a similar worry on mine after my crash- there were no obvious signs of leakage though. When I checked it after a while, standing the bike upright, the oil appeared in the guage.

I guess the engine noise gives it away, but there would be other signs- leaking from the top would produce a burning smell as the oil touched the engine casing, or you'd see spillage under your bike when you started again? I guess if you've filled it again and had no problems, then you should be OK for now- but if you fill it to the max in the viewing glass with a cold engine, would the oil reservoir not be overfilled and over-pressurise during use? Could blow a seal (makes a change from clubbing them!).

Of course, anyone's permitted to debunk me completely. I haven't had a good debunking for aaages

Some designs of engine tend to burn oil when the are new and the piston rings are not yet bedded in. The Vauxhall 2.0 DTi was particularly bad. It could empty 5 litres in as little as 4000 miles. If you are lucky, this rate of oil consumption drops to nothing once the engine is run in. It has been well documented that if you are too gentle in running in your engine, the rings might not bed in properly and the ring grooves can get gummed up with oil sludge and carbon deposits. You then end up with permanent oil consumption and a slight loss of power due to loss of compression.

Tim.

It's worth also checking the crank case breathers (the two tubes that go from the crank case to the airbox) - they can weep oil over time (usually not huge amounts unless they come off), check the front sprocket nut (trust me if that comes undone all the oil escapes over the rear tyre), and check for any leaks round the starter motor and the valve covers, these are common places you might see leaks.

Cheers,

MT