Where did my oil go?

[trip]

I recently went through a situation with my 2005 Nomad. I sought help and found that the problem was......well, me. I decided to explain this so that if anyone else goes through this, they can look it up in the archives.

Over the past few months, I had noticed form time to time that I was loosing oil. At least I thought I was. I would fill the crankcase with oil to the desired level and check it later after a trip or something and find it low again.

I just got back from a 1500 mile trip and checked my oil and found it low again. So, I checked with Blowndodge and asked what he thought.

We went through the usual checks.....spark plugs for oil residue.....tailpipe for oil residue......both were clean as a whistle. No oil under the bike in the morning....no oil blowing anywhere. So where the hell was the oil going?

Then BD asked me when I was checking my oil...was it after I started the engine and it was hot, or did I let it cool and drain all night before checking. After thinking about it, I pretty well checked it at all times.....warm, hot and cold. Which turned out to be the problem. I wasn't checking my oil level by a stable standard.

The way BD explained it to me, it sometimes takes all night for oil to drain from the heads into the pan of a twin engine. And the pan doesn't hold much oil anyway. So, if you check the oil level when it's hot, you might get a different reading than if you let it cool...sometimes a 50% change in reading!

So, after letting my Nomad cool and drain all night, I checked it the next morning...the level is OK. As long as I check my oil level in the mornings, when the oil is all drained and cool, all should be OK.

Trip

[vulcanero03]

Trip , i went through the same thing, however,. i must add: make absolutely sure that the bike is level, as with the oil taking a while to drain, just as much, if the bike is not perfectly level, the slightest tilt back/forward will show a dramatic difference in oil level by the sight glass, it will fool you to believe that the level is off, i assume that it is for the very same reason you and BD explained, there is so little oil in the crankcase, that a slight tilt gives you a false reading.

Vulcanero.

[VulcanE]

I always check my oil before the first start-up in the mornings. I was reading MOM, and it says to check it after waiting 5 minutes after shutdown. and like Vulcanero03 said, the slightest bit off level will change the level in the sight glass by a lot.

How much oil were you adding.It seems like eventually you would have overfilled the crankcase.

[rksaw]

You mean Trip is human like the rest of us?!? LOL.

[trip]

Yep....human, rksaw...LOL. Last time I checked I didn't have green blood.

Meanstreak.....actually, when I think about it, here's how it went. I would change my oil and filter, put too little in the crankcase to begin with. Then, over time, I would fill it a little, check it and it would show low, fill it a little, check it, it would show low, fill it a little.....etc. Then change the oil and filter again and start the process over.

I talked to BD about overfilling.....he said that it was OK to fill it to the top of the glass. He's been doing it for years. Since the oil pan holds so little oil (maybe a quart), it would be hard to overfill and do any damage. He suggests filling the crankcase with oil up to almost the top of the glass when changing oil and filter.

The morale to the story is, (and you guys already know this).....the sight glass is very sensitive when displayng the oil level. The level can change by as much as 50% from hot to cold.

I was always under the impression you could check your oil level on a Nomad 5-10 minutes after shutdown. Not so........

[fish]

Mine was just the opposite, I changed the oil a couple weeks ago and the site glass was full. Here I was parking it on the wheel chock once in a while so the front of the bike was higher the the back :-[

[blowndodge]

I thought Trip was maybe taking a few "hits" of oil and thats where it went!

[mcdaddy]

Trip, I made this doodad to hold my bike level for checking oil or whatever. Easier than pulling out the lift.

Slide it under the bike from the right side to where that black slot sits just behind the kickstand. Level up the bike and slide the short side (that black slot) under the kickstand. I routed the black slot a little so that it always aligns to the same spot.

The frame on the right side rests on top of the high side .. holding the bike level.

[Idaho]

I always check my oil at the beginning of the day before I fire it up. Also make sure that it is sitting in the same orientation on the garage floor which has a very slight slope.

[trip]

Nice jig McDaddy. I have something simular, but mine is in two pieces.

[dogdoc]

I thought this is all basic 101 from auto mechanics, check your "earl" cold? :-)

[blowndodge]

It is doc but unless your a fellow "gearhead" like you and some of us here, this stuff is not always known. Trip thought he might have a serious problem.

[dogdoc]

No problem,

[trip]

Not all of us are top notch, beanie propellor, gear heads like you Doc.