ZZR-250 Oil Leak / Overheating HELP!!!!

[Ollie]

Did a ride with TY, Cath and Dave #3 when they told me my bike sounded a bit funny suspected oil in the water...
well i flushed the coolant system, new oil filter, oil and degressed the bottom, when i was attempting to take the cover off to clean the oil view window, i noticed that a "s" pipe(circled in picture) that ran from the very bottom of the airbox(i think) to the top of the gearbox/sump it was off and full of that white stuff that was in the oil window. i started it up and it sounds better, no leaks. i have'nt put the chemiweld in yet, thought i would just see how this went...


I could'nt get the cover off, its been gasket welded in place and i did'nt want to force it. ok, well i took it for a ride and it was great feel, sound everything.... for the first 1km. then the engine started to warm up, then get really hot. i stopped and oil was coming out of the bike like nothing else. after a hurried inspection i found the oil had come out of a small oil in the bottom right hand side of the airbox assembly, right behind the water reserve tank. There does not appear to be any oil in the water. But that hose that i said i reconnected went to the bottom of the air box. Is it normal for that oil in the airbox?...
Any ideas would be appreicated





the square is where the hole is and the circle is the hose that was off, but i just noticed it has a hose clamp in it in the picture which i did not have...

[I-K]

...i was attempting to take the cover off to clean the oil view window,

Do you mean the clutch cover? Did you try to take it off to clean the back of the oil sightglass? 'Cause, that's not really necessary...

Or have I got that wrong?

well i took it for a ride and it was great feel, sound everything.... for the first 1km. then the engine started to warm up, then get really hot.

OK. Stupid question time... did you refill the rad with the motor running, so the action of the coolant pump worked any air pockets out of the cooling system?

i stopped and oil was coming out of the bike like nothing else.

That needs to be quantified a bit more... was it dripping out, trickling out like, say, a shot of espresso from a coffee machine, or fully pouring out?

Did you let it all drain out? If so, how much would you say there would've been, all up? 20mL? 30? More than that?

after a hurried inspection i found the oil had come out of a small oil in the bottom right hand side of the airbox assembly, right behind the water reserve tank.

OK, that's normal, insofar as all airboxes have a little drainhole in the bottom.

There does not appear to be any oil in the water. But that hose that i said i reconnected went to the bottom of the air box. Is it normal for that oil in the airbox?...

Well, a teensy, tiny little bit, yes. That hose running from the top of the gearbox casing into the bottom of the airbox is the main crankcase breather. The air blowing out of it will have a small amount of oil droplets it suspension by virtue of it coming from the crankcase, which has oil flying and sloshing all over it

This is way an air filter service is usually accompanied by wiping the inside of the airbox with a rag to get rid of excess oil residue.

A steady drip or stream of oil from airbox drainhole, though, isn't normal, at any time, especially within the first km of setting out.

It could just mean you've overfilled the engine with oil (any chance of that? how much oil did you actually put in), or it could mean your piston rings are gone and there's so much blowby of the hot gas from the cylinders that it's blasting much, much more suspended oil out of the breather and into the airbox.

Motor make any funny noises? If so, how do they cary with rpm?
Does it feel like it's lost power? If so, where in the rev range?

[Ollie]

Do you mean the clutch cover? Did you try to take it off to clean the back of the oil sightglass? 'Cause, that's not really necessary...

yes, but i did'nt even come close to coming off

OK. Stupid question time... did you refill the rad with the motor running, so the action of the coolant pump worked any air pockets out of the cooling system?

No i did it motor off, as per the manual, then rechecked it. i only added water(not coolent) as per the chem-i-weld instruction, but i did not add it, beacause it needed the system to be hot. it would'nt overheat until i took it for a ride

That needs to be quantified a bit more... was it dripping out, trickling out like, say, a shot of espresso from a coffee machine, or fully pouring out?

Pouring out as fast is it could come out the hole

Did you let it all drain out? If so, how much would you say there would've been, all up? 20mL? 30? More than that?

at least 1L that i measured by the time i got an oil pan under it

OK, that's normal, insofar as all airboxes have a little drainhole in the bottom.

(any chance of that? how much oil did you actually put in)

Measured exactly 1.9L (new filter)

Motor make any funny noises? If so, how do they cary with rpm?

Always has. usally low rpm but carries across rev range

Does it feel like it's lost power? If so, where in the rev range?

No, but that first Km it ran with more power then b4, across the range.

Thanks I-K

[I-K]

Do you mean the clutch cover? Did you try to take it off to clean the back of the oil sightglass?

yes, but i did'nt even come close to coming off

There was a message in that...

OK. Stupid question time... did you refill the rad with the motor running...

No i did it motor off, as per the manual, then rechecked it.

Hrmmmm... rechecked it when? After you took it around the block and let it cool back down?

If the bike's cooled off now, crack the rad cap and see if it needs a top-up.

If the rad's full, though, I'm afraid it's quite likely very bad news.

Did you let it all drain out? If so, how much would you say there would've been, all up? 20mL? 30? More than that?

at least 1L that i measured by the time i got an oil pan under it

Pluck! Over *half* the total oil capacity of the engine pumped out of the breather inside of a couple of minutes?

Motor make any funny noises? If so, how do they cary with rpm?

Always has. usally low rpm but carries across rev range

Hrm, ok. Funny noises are usually bad.

Does it feel like it's lost power?

No, but that first Km it ran with more power then b4, across the range.

That'll be because of the lower drag of the dresh oil on the components compared to the sludge you drained out of it...

OK, serving suggestion time...

1. Check the coolant level in the rad. Top up if necessary. If the rad's brim-full, feel free to panic.
2. Top up oil.
3. Detach crankcase breather hose, replace with a longer hose, long enough to reach that oil pan you used to such good effect before.
4. Start bike, and leave running. See if it starts pumping oil out the breather again, and how fast. See if the temp stabilises or if it overheats again.
5. After it's cooled, check coolant level again, see if you've lost some.
6. Pull sparkplugs, check them. Test compression, etc.

This one's not likely to be solved over the internet. You need onsite help.

[Ollie]

Water levels fine.... i think i'm in trouble $$$$$

i will have to get another hose and check...
thanks I-K

[I-K]

Water levels fine.... i think i'm in trouble $$$$$

Settle, sista... even if the motor's a paperweight, it's only a ZZ-R250. Motors for those aren't exactly super-expensive.

[Ollie]

Thanks I-K