Ok, I've torn down and rebuilt many motors, but I'm having trouble figuring out the trouble with my R1. I decided to post the symptoms before I tear it apart to see who guesses what is actually the problem (I'm stumped).
The bike is a rocket, goes like a son of a gun, but has the nagging problem of blowing white smoke OCCASIONALLY. Sometimes it's minor... light puffy clouds, but the last time it was on par with a mosquito killer. Going into the kink at Road A at 162 MPH, the oil light came on the dash... not the place you want a motor to blow up. I immediately got offline and off the gas and looked back to see a massive cloud of white smoke... obviously blown, right? Wrong... it runs just fine, no knocks or any other noises... and it still pulls HARD. I kept telling myself that it was something temporary, but it's cut short a lot of testing so I'm going to tear it down and get to it.
My thinking was a bad ring or possibly a valve guide, but that would smoke ALL the time. When I say intermittent, I mean under the same exact loads, RPM, everything... sometimes it does it, sometimes not.
Well, take your best shot, I'm curious to hear what others have to say. I'll post what it was (hopefully before Daytona ;)
Oooh, pick me!, pick me!
Is the R1 oil light level or pressure? Maybe oil splashing around under accel/deceleration, getting sucked up through crankcase vent? Any (excessive) oil in airbox?
If it is in fact _white_ smoke, that's coolant in the combustion chamber... Blown head gasket, cracked head etc. ...
The oil light is pressure, and there is some residue, although it's hard to tell if it's from oil or the mr-8.
I don't think it's coolant because of the shade of white, but that is a (unfortunate) possibility.
QuoteThe oil light is pressure, and there is some residue, although it's hard to tell if it's from oil or the mr-8.
I don't think it's coolant because of the shade of white, but that is a (unfortunate) possibility.
Actually the light is level
Well, There are only X ways that any matter can get into the exhaust pipe ( notice I did not say combustion chamber)
So you look at those areas: Down the intact track, around the sealing area of the head gasket, through Yamaha's version of the pair valve for pollution control.
If I were to make a rim shot here, With out knowing anything about your bike of course based soley on what you have described:
Something is generating too much crankcase pressure causing excess oil vapor to collect in the airbox. This can get sucked down the intake port as well as the hose that feeds the pair valve.
If this hypothesis is true, enough crankcase pressure could be generated to force the oil level sensor down and make contact triggering the oil pressure light. this would be prevelant at the higher speeds/ higher rpms you experienced.
What causes excess crankcase pressure? Usually poor ring seal. The incoming air would be forced past the rings on compression stroke.
Could be other things too.
Well, at least you have a hypothesis to work with.
Heck you might have something cracked for all I know. I would definelty look at what could put something that causes smoke down your tail pipe.
Hmmm, news to me on the light being level. MDR, I was thinking along the same lines... even though the airbox is sealed, it's getting in there somehow.
It makes sense now about the light because it was on way too long for the motor not to seize up... should have thought of that *DUH*
The motor comes out next week, hopefully it's a quick fix (fingers crossed)
light is PRESSURE. easy to tell with engine off but power on, light is on. because engine is not making any pressure. start engine after a quick second once pressure builds light goes off. Also engine has a sight glass for oil level.
Quotelight is PRESSURE. .
Page 5-63 of the Yamaha 2004 R1 Manual clearly shows it as a oil LEVEL Light, NOT a PRESSURE light...
QuoteActually the light is level
QuotePage 5-63 of the Yamaha 2004 R1 Manual clearly shows it as a oil LEVEL Light, NOT a PRESSURE light...
Good job. Expect no less.
Seems like the smoke is something else then.
Did anyone do a coolant pressure test or a leak down test or a compression test? That'd be simple to do.
Yamaha has long used oil level lights. The light comes on when you turn on the ignition so that you can check that the bulb is working. Once started the light then goes out.
Well, the verdict is in... too much crankcase pressure was correct *ding*, a misrouted vent hose was the culprit. This was the first bike that I've owned that was raced before I bought it and there were some mods that I didn't notice. There was a hose that was never meant to be cinched down that was, that cause the excess pressure and subsequent oil backup. I'm still not sure why it took so long every day to start smoking though... ???
How bright was the light??