Oil/Gas mixture,. I think this is bad

[i2bu]

I went to start my bike after about a week of it sitting, It started the first time and ran for about 15 - 20 seconds then died. When I tried to restart it it just cranked and cranked. I finally open the throttle all the way thinking it was flooded. It still cranked and cranked and finally started, shortly after that it died again and there was, what I thought was gas leaking from the drain hose coming out of the air filter. I got it started again and fluid came leaking out over the top of the motor (possibly coming out of the air filter area) and out of the same drain hose. I drained my oil thinking I had to much in and it drained about 6 quarts of oil and gas. The air filter compartment had some of the same fluid mixture in it. My questions are: :D
What happened? (Did the bike just get flooded and gas overflowed from the top of the carbs into the airfilter compartment and then leaked into the crankcase?)
Is it hard to fix?
Can it be fixed by the T4T ride on sunday?
Is my brand new oil and filter ruined?
Is my air filter ruined? (it has some fluid on it towards the bottom)
And I think that is all, I will post further if I think of something else.
Thanks

[Pete 954]

Have you changed your oil recently? Maybe you put too much oil in if you just changed it. It isn't likely that the carbs stuck open and drained gas up through the air cleaner and into a crank vent hose to the tune of 3 excess quarts of fluid in your crankcase. No, you may not reuse the oil and filter. Yes, you can clean the air cleaner and reuse it. Good luck!

[rjharris]

Not a top notch mechanic, but did a float stick and flood the carbs, cylinders and then the crank case as well. Change oil, filter and then see if it does it again. Tap on the float bowl/bowls a bit to see if you might jar a stuck float loose. Also pray to the motorcycle gods that it is nothing bad. That always helps me. If by some miracle that works then never shut it off again. Just joking but get some good carb cleaner in the tank and run it a lot to see if it will clean itself out. Other wise with a 92 you might have to yank the carb/carbs and clean everything. Good luck.

[Pete 954]

It's possible that a float stuck, but usually when that happens, gas will leak out of the carb overflow tube and leak out onto the ground.

[i2bu]

I did just change the oil, but the bike calls for 2.7 quarters and I put like 2.5 to 2.7 in(I only bought 3 quarts and did not put all of that in), just enough to get to the top of the window. I thought maybe I put to much in and it was pumping up into the air filter so when I started to drain a little, it drained, and drained, and drained, and drained, and drained, finaly i just pulled the plug and it almost filled up a 7 quart drain tub. There is a small hole in the bottom of the air filter housing that the fluid was leaking out of. I do sometimes have a sticking float but it usually runs out around the carbs onto the motor, and sometimes over the top of the motor like it did when it was runing, Hmm :hmm, Is it possible for the float to allow that much gas in that it actually flows up into the air filter housing? If it can it could leak back down the crank case vent hose, right? The fuel usually leaks outside though, this time it apparently leaked inside. Ok now it is stupid question time, I bought synthetic 10w40 motorcycle oil for it, what happens if I use synthetic 10w40 car motor oil in it? :) Cause I dont want to blow another 30 bucks to ruin expensive oil again.

[DrHengle]

You need to keep trouble shooting You cant fix it if you dont know what/where the problem is. There are a # of possibilities. pinpoint the problem. take off the top of the airbox and and look while your trying to start it, if its pouring fuel, youll be able to see it, at least then youll have a place to start. Kinda sounds like you need some carb work anyway.
If you want to use the cheap oil to test with thats fine, but dont run the car oil once you get it lined out, it will break down. fix it and have the good stuff ready when you get it fixed.
D

[Pete 954]

Sounds like you need to pull them carbs and clean them real good. Check that the float height is correct and make sure the carb overflow and tube isn't plugged up. Have you ever removed your petcock and cleaned it real good? If you did, did you remember to use a new gasket? Does your petcock have a "prime" setting on it? If it does, then don't leave the petcock on "prime". If your tank isn't leaking, then the float is not stopping the flow of gas into the carbs. So, either they're gummed up and not able to float, or they're not closing the float needle enough to cut off the gas flow. Unless the float has a hole in it, then you just need to clean it up, including the float needle, take it out and clean it . Clean the needle seat too. Let's review: Clean ........

[Pete 954]

Also, Doc is right, car oil is supposed to be bad for your clutch plates. Good luck and keep us informed on how your doin.

[i2bu]

Ok thanks guys, I was trying to hold off till after winter to get the carbs off and clean them, but I guess that idea is out the window. :D Thanks for your help

Ray it looks like we are going to have to break them down after all :D

[rjharris]

If the floats are just sticking, you might be able to tap on them and get them to unstick and then it might run a bit for you. That way you could at least tell if that was the problem. Go to WalMart and get some Shell Rotella T 15W - 40 and put in it. That won't hurt the clutch and it is cheap enough that if you need to do 2-3 oil changes you can. After you get it fixed, run a few miles and then change oil a couple of times with the cheap stuff real quickly before you go back to the expensive stuff. With a 92 bike you might be wise to not run synthetic oil. You probably have some very small old flaws or age related problems with the gaskets and the more slippery oil will probably cause your bike to leak oil somewhat. If you can turn the fuel off, turn it off for awhile and see what happens.

Energy conserving oil, which is almost all 10W-30 oils have the possibilities of making your clutch slip so stay away from them. The Shell Rotella oil I mentioned is marketed to the Diesel groups because you can buy it in large quantities but I have ran it in two bikes now with no problems. Just have to change oil more often.

[R1ray]

Carbs. Definitely......Car oil wont hurt your bike unless you run the energy conserving car oil. It will make your clutches slip. Mobil 1 is the only oil I would recommend . No need to run that 10 dollar oil unless you are racing or you have a Bombardier.:p

[i2bu]

Well I put everything back together and it fired up on the first try with no problems. I have not cleaned anything yet though. I will let it sit for a couple days and pull the air box back apart and then start it and see what happens. :smokn

[rjharris]

What did you take apart and then put back together, just the air box etc. If you got fortunate enough to have things working right I would definately put some type of carb cleaner in the tank. Maybe even a bit stronger than recomended, and then run your bike enough to make sure you get the solution into the carbs before you let it sit very long at all. And then try to start it and run it at least 15-20 minutes every day. Glad you got it up and running but if there is varnish build up in the carbs and it is still there it will take very little to mess it up again and letting the bike sit for a few days might start it all over. I think if you recall, that all of this started when you let it sit for a week without starting it. Carbs are vented and as the fuel evaporates it leaves a film behind. Good luck however and keep updating.
Rick

[i2bu]

All I really took apart was the air box and took the gas tank off to let everything dry out, drained the oil and that kind of thing. I don't expect it to be a long term fix but I was hoping it would at least get me through the weekend so I can make the toys for tots ride. After that I will do it right ;) Just trying to limp it through for now.

[JOSH]

Originally posted by Pete 954
Sounds like you need to pull them carbs and clean them real good. Check that the float height is correct and make sure the carb overflow and tube isn't plugged up. Have you ever removed your petcock and cleaned it real good? If you did, did you remember to use a new gasket? Does your petcock have a "prime" setting on it? If it does, then don't leave the petcock on "prime". If your tank isn't leaking, then the float is not stopping the flow of gas into the carbs. So, either they're gummed up and not able to float, or they're not closing the float needle enough to cut off the gas flow. Unless the float has a hole in it, then you just need to clean it up, including the float needle, take it out and clean it . Clean the needle seat too. Let's review: Clean ........
Ok, so my bike did the same **** thing. My oil is like water and smells like crap. I dont know much about bikes so I might go the other route. About how much money does it cost do get all this work done by a pro?