Oil loss after rebuild???

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Ecarta
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Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

Ok after the rebuild my 2004 KDX200 runs like a champ, quick, responsive it's great!
But one problem. I'm losing oil, about 2 ounces per ride. Enough where it goes from top to bottom of sight glass after 1 ride. How can it be worse after a rebuild?? I have no visible leaks, no puddles, no oil spray anywhere. The oil looks creamy black after 1 ride.

The main reason I did the rebuild was I wanted to change the crank seals/bearings and water pump seal. What are the chances they are bad already? Installed wrong?

Can anything else cause this? Plus my oil turns black very quickly. And yes it does seem to smoke more than it should. Im running 32 to 1 Maxima semi synthetic 2 stroke oil and Valvoline 10W40 Full Synthetic transmission oil....Please Help!!
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Slick_Nick
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Slick_Nick »

Was it doing this before? How badly was the crank grooved around where the seals sit? If it was really worn, new seals won't be able to seal up. The easiest way to figure it out is to do a leakdown test.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Slick_Nick »

How's your coolant?
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Ecarta
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

Slick_Nick wrote: 08:06 am Apr 26 2022 Was it doing this before? How badly was the crank grooved around where the seals sit? If it was really worn, new seals won't be able to seal up. The easiest way to figure it out is to do a leakdown test.
I do admit it always did smoke a bit, But im thinking that was more of a water pump seal leak. My transmission oil hardly if ever went down before.
I did not notice any groves on crankshaft seems like above average condition to me!
Last edited by Ecarta on 01:44 pm Apr 26 2022, edited 1 time in total.
Ecarta
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

Slick_Nick wrote: 08:08 am Apr 26 2022 How's your coolant?
So far coolant is holding true, no appearance of leaks, overflow bottle is the same
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by pumpguy »

I wonder if you're building up pressure in the transmission due to heat build up and a clogged vent line? If the vent line isn't open to atmosphere, the pressure build up will force oil out through the path of least resistance.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

pumpguy wrote: 02:59 pm Apr 26 2022 I wonder if you're building up pressure in the transmission due to heat build up and a clogged vent line? If the vent line isn't open to atmosphere, the pressure build up will force oil out through the path of least resistance.
What vent line are you speaking of? That hose that goes from behind kickstarter to the airbox?
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by pumpguy »

Yeah, I think thats the gearbox vent hose.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by KDXGarage »

How quickly after riding are you checking the oil?

Is the bike horizontal?

How much oil are you putting in there?
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

Oil was checked about an hour after a modest ride..

Yes bike was horizontal. I put 750ccs in but only 650 came out.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by Ecarta »

pumpguy wrote: 11:26 am Apr 27 2022 Yeah, I think thats the gearbox vent hose.
The airbox is completely clean that breather hose did not spew anything.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by doakley »

Not sure I would be concerned over a loss of 100cc of trans oil upon draining. A fair amount is held up in the clutch and clings to gears, dead spots in the cases, etc. FWIW and slightly off topic, I generally overfill mine anyway, helps it run just a tad cooler.
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by SS109 »

doakley wrote: 08:49 am Apr 28 2022 Not sure I would be concerned over a loss of 100cc of trans oil upon draining. A fair amount is held up in the clutch and clings to gears, dead spots in the cases, etc. FWIW and slightly off topic, I generally overfill mine anyway, helps it run just a tad cooler.
Completely agree and I also overfill with one full quart (946cc).
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Re: Oil loss after rebuild???

Post by bufftester »

Yeah, I always run a full quart as well, mostly because I hated ending up with 6 or 7 nearly empty bottles of oil sitting around lol
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