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Oil in the Air Cleaner

4K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  T Gibbs 
#1 ·
Is it normal to have some oil in the air cleaner?
 
#3 ·
I had a little at some point and someone told me that a little is ok. Another person told me that if there is a lot, it means that the oil is overfilled. Looks like you have a lot more than you should.

I am no expert so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will comment.
 
#4 ·
We had three of these threads on the same day either last week or the week before. It's ok, folks are doing their spring, pre-ride maintenance. Move the crankcase vent hose from the air cleaner, buy radiator or other hose the same size, splice it to the crankcase hose, feed it up to the frame of the motorcycle, over the rear cylinder and let it hang in the open area behind where the CA models have a charcoal box. Put an end of line filter on it to keep bugs and dirt from finding it's way back up into the engine and forget about it. Don't forget to cap off the intake line.
 
#5 ·
Thanks.

Not just pre-ride maintenance, but bar swap/cable change at the same time. I've been waiting for my cables from Phat for over a month. Everything should be here today... at some point. I got a head start on some of the breakdown. Now I'm just waiting for that big brown truck.
 
#7 ·
I had tons of oil in the filter on my 1600 Classic. I learned to not fill the oil past the middle between the two lines on the sight glass. Before, I had tried the separate crankcase breather but believe me you will soon become tiresome of the constant crankcase fumes. People riding behind me could smell it. Since I've been more careful about overfilling I have not had a problem and either a very very miniscule amount in the air filter or none at all.
 
#9 ·
I have an 03 vulcan 800A, I know where the crankcase vent line plugs into the airbox, but for the life of me cannot find where the vent hose plugs into the crankcase. Where is the crankcase vent located (the nipple the vent hose plugs into on the crankcase)? I have ridden a few miles now with the vent hose not attached. I thought it was the very small hose that comes out of the case on the left side on the top of the case in between the cylinders. Thanks!
 
#10 ·
I have an 03 vulcan 800A, I know where the crankcase vent line plugs into the airbox, but for the life of me cannot find where the vent hose plugs into the crankcase. Where is the crankcase vent located (the nipple the vent hose plugs into on the crankcase)? I have ridden a few miles now with the vent hose not attached. I thought it was the very small hose that comes out of the case on the left side on the top of the case in between the cylinders. Thanks!
Hey flyguybill, the crankcase breather hose is on the inside side of the rear cylinder.
 
#12 ·
I've read a few threads about engine oil blow by into the air filter after doing a search for "air breather hose".
My 1995 VN800A had oil flowing, not just dripping, out the air filter.
The Clymer maintenance manual doesn't have a troubleshooting description for this problem. Though I hate doing it, I've made an assumption... due to lack of actual description in the Clymer manual, the assumption is the "Engine Breather Hose" is related to the "air suction valve".
Excessive oil level seems to be the popular cause.
I'll be draining the oil and refilling with new oil, re-verify oil level, then run the engine to see if this happens again.
The next question is "would a bad air suction valve be the actual culprit?"
What is odd is that before winter layup I didn't have this problem.
I"ll be back to add my result or failure...
 
#13 ·
I've read a few threads about engine oil blow by into the air filter after doing a search for "air breather hose".
My 1995 VN800A had oil flowing, not just dripping, out the air filter.
The Clymer maintenance manual doesn't have a troubleshooting description for this problem. Though I hate doing it, I've made an assumption... due to lack of actual description in the Clymer manual, the assumption is the "Engine Breather Hose" is related to the "air suction valve".
Excessive oil level seems to be the popular cause.
I'll be draining the oil and refilling with new oil, re-verify oil level, then run the engine to see if this happens again.
The next question is "would a bad air suction valve be the actual culprit?"
What is odd is that before winter layup I didn't have this problem.
I"ll be back to add my result or failure...
Too much oil in the engine is probably the culprit. I removed all of the EPA stuff and ran a hose from the air breather up, under the seat (over the rear cylinder) down the frame, zip tied to the end of it. I tried putting a filter on the end of it, but that just got dirty so fast and got tired of cleaning it from the oil blow-out. So I just stuck a tube adapter on the end of it to make the hole a little smaller. Oil still drips out, just a little though.
 
#14 ·
I had that happening on my '06 Vulcan 900 after I changed the oil. It stopped doing it after 2-3 days so I figured the oil level was down to where it should be. Now that the temps are in the 80s and 90s here, I am getting oil in my air cleaner box again. I wonder if that could be because the hotter temps are making the oil thinner so it gets pulled into the air filter easier. That's the only thing I can figure because I haven't changed the oil or even added any since I did my last oil change last fall (about 2000 miles ago).
 
#15 ·
Re: Oil in the Air Cleaner-meanstreak

Yeah, i've noticed some on the air-valve side of my meanstreak. Pools just enough to drip from the can and get on my rear exhaust. I'll clean it, and ride for about 300 miles before it's back. I do ride hard at times, but not constant. My oil level is the same as it always has been, and i've changed the k&n filter repeatedly. Someone also suggested I run the Kawi oil instead of the 20w50 that i usually do. I've always run the 20w50 down here in AZ so i don't see why i should stop. (23Kmiles)

If it's not harmful, then i won't worry too much. It's just another irritating feature to put up with. I'll just add it to the list along with the rattles and knocking that come with these bikes.:tongue:
 
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