95 XP 720 engine case & bilge filling with oil

[bodine465]

My 95 XP has been parked in the garage all winter and went to fire it up to prep it for riding. First thing I noticed was that the bilge was filled with oil. Figured an oil line had cracked over the winter and put it on my list to fix. Topped off the oil tank and went to fire her up, but she cranked once and stopped. Battery was fully charged, so I figured the starter might be going and pulled the plugs to relieve compression to see if I could get it to crank. Hit the start button and two fountains of oil came shooting out of the plug holes, covering me and both machines. Nice!!! Seems she was hydrolocked on oil. Covered the holes with a rag and cranked till the cylinders seemed clear of oil, then stuck in the cleaned off plugs and cranked again. Hydrolocked again. Appears to be scavenging oil sitting in the case. Was finally able to clear the oil in the case enough to get it to fire (long process) and all seemed well. Go to start it next day, thinking it was a slow, winter long leak, but it had filled up again overnight.

Question is: where could the oil be coming from? Assuming it's leaking past the oil injection system, but where would be the most likely location? Is there a seal in the injection pump that stops oil from flowing when stopped or is it a seal inside the engine? And how would it fill the bilge as well?

Trying to get this fixed while working on a 96 GTX project, so any help would be appreciated.

 

[seadooya]

rv seals

Often, your able to, when this happens, clear it out, and your good to go, but in your case, the rv seals are leaking bad enough, that the only cure is to install new crank assy. Need to pull motor and split it, bud.

 

[bodine465]

I'm assuming you're talking about the $10 oil seal on the rotary valve shaft? Man, I was afraid that was it. Just about to assemble an 800 for a 96 GTX I picked up, so looks like the XP goes on the back burner.

Out of curiosity, where did the oil in the bilge come from?

 

[Dr Honda]

I'm assuming you're talking about the $10 oil seal on the rotary valve shaft? Man, I was afraid that was it. Just about to assemble an 800 for a 96 GTX I picked up, so looks like the XP goes on the back burner.

Out of curiosity, where did the oil in the bilge come from?

Seadooya is right, but personally, I would clear it out, and run it.

The oil in the bilge is probably from a bad grommet in the oil tank.

 

[bodine465]

Ya think clearing it out enough to fire up, then spending a couple hours on the lake might reseat the seal? Hate to "waste" a couple of hours on the water, but I'll take the hit if it fixes my machine.

 

[voodoo]

At that age any rubber part could fail and this is the hardest one to get to, those early xp are still popular here on Lake Erie, many riders say this was the best hull even if 85hp - I think too tipsy but the younger crowd rides to get wet, very wet.

 

[Dr Honda]

Ya think clearing it out enough to fire up, then spending a couple hours on the lake might reseat the seal? Hate to "waste" a couple of hours on the water, but I'll take the hit if it fixes my machine.

You don't need to go to that much trouble. Clear it out by cranking it with the plugs out. Then give it a shot of starter fluid, and fire it. Once it's running on it's own, the oil will purge in just a minute or so. Hook it to a hose, and don't use any more starter fluid than needed to get it to fire. It's a very dry fuel, and even though you have a bunch of oil in the engine... it's not good on the piston skirts.

 

[seadooya]

the amount of oil that re-filled the journal cavity over night, will be too much for the engine to overcome while riding. I can se, if he purged it out and it not have issues, allowing it to sit and the motor not fill up, but overnight and journal area full again? But itsworth a chance, just bring an extra set of plugs.

 

[bodine465]

That's pretty much the case. Was able to clear it out enough to fire it up and run for a few minutes on the hose, but not very long. Filled back up with oil overnight. Not sure how much, but enough to foul the plugs again. Didn't get much farther after that. (Too pissed off)

Guess it wouldn't hurt to put it on the water and run it a while to see if that helps. If not, is it possible to split the case and access the shaft & seal without pulling the head & jugs? Or should I just bite the bullet and rebuild the top end while the engine's out?

 

[Dr Honda]

Sorry... I missed that it was over night.

Yes... there is a big problem, and needs fixed. Normally, I see this problem when it's been sitting all winter, and it takes months for it to fill up like that.

 

[scorpio67]

'95 GTX shooting oil

Sorry... I missed that it was over night.

Yes... there is a big problem, and needs fixed. Normally, I see this problem when it's been sitting all winter, and it takes months for it to fill up like that.

Hi, i hope it is ok to jump on this old thread and ask a relative question. Just bought a double trailer from a guy and he gave me the '95 GTX that was sitting on it. Said it ran when he put it away last winter in a heated garage, but this spring when he tried to start it, it wouldn't and he had oil shooting out of the plug holes!! Could this be the case you spoke of that it slowly did this over the winter?? What should i do to check if that is actually what happened?? He said he was told by a mechanic that it was either the crank assy or could be a bad oil pump seal!! It was basically free so i just want to see if there is any hope for it!! Thanks!!

 

[brock1]

its probubly fine just crank it over for about 5 seconds at a time and get the oil out and it should be good to go and yes its most likely the rotary valve seals ...mine does it over winter also.....