Oil leak 1985 suzuki 250

[Mhatayas]

What should I do about this , bad oil leak where the filter cover bolts on . Can I use some gasket maker 

[Mech]

It's meant to have an O ring under there. It may be that the O ring has gone hard and possibly flattened. It's also possible that the cover has got distorted around where the nuts are as the cover has been drawn down onto the O ring. Take the cover off and rub it on a bit of wet and dry paper on a flat surface. Check if it's sanding on the three corners before anywhere else, and if is touching on the three corners then keep rubbing till the contact is all the way around. They use a new O ring.

[Mhatayas]

16 hours ago, Mech said:

It's meant to have an O ring under there. It may be that the O ring has gone hard and possibly flattened. It's also possible that the cover has got distorted around where the nuts are as the cover has been drawn down onto the O ring. Take the cover off and rub it on a bit of wet and dry paper on a flat surface. Check if it's sanding on the three corners before anywhere else, and if is touching on the three corners then keep rubbing till the contact is all the way around. They use a new O ring.

Thanks for the response , I ordered a new filter and it comes with the 2 o rings needed (one small in behind the filter one large in front ) , should be here by Wednesday, pretty excited 

 

do you have any clue on how much oil my bike should take ??

Edited February 9 by Mhatayas

[Mech]

No, because I'm not sure what model bike you have.

You could download a manual, which will be handy for you to have, or you could likely find out what oil it needs and how much from an oil company site.

[Mhatayas]

32 minutes ago, Mech said:

No, because I'm not sure what model bike you have.

You could download a manual, which will be handy for you to have, or you could likely find out what oil it needs and how much from an oil company site.

1985 Suzuki lt250ef, can’t find any manuals online , there is one for download on here , but I need to make 10 posts before I can download it 

[Gwbarm]

Most of the 250s held about 2.2 quarts, start with 2 quarts and check it with the dipstick, add slowly when it gets on the stick, it will fill up fast, dont overfill, you might also check for a crack like Mech said they do warp and if it warped and was torrqued down to close the gap the housing cover may have cracked, had this happen before.

[Mhatayas]

2 minutes ago, Gwbarm said:

Most of the 250s held about 2.2 quarts, start with 2 quarts and check it with the dipstick, add slowly when it gets on the stick, it will fill up fast, dont overfill, you might also check for a crack like Mech said they do warp and if it warped and was torrqued down to close the gap the housing cover may have cracked, had this happen before.

There is no dipstick it is just a screw on cap .. there is a sight glass and on the casing it says 1600ml , some sources say that isn’t enough oil which I don’t know who to believe . How far up is the oil supposed to go anyway ? To the top of the sight glass ? Beyond ? 

[Mech]

There are sometimes two lines going across the sight glass, one just above half way up and the other just below half way up. You're meant to put the oil in, run the bike for a couple of minutes, turn it off and wait for about a minute, and then check it's between the lines.

Edited February 10 by Mech

[Mhatayas]

2 minutes ago, Mech said:

There are sometimes two lines going across the sight glass, one just above half way up and the other just below half way up. You're meant to put the oil in, run the bike for a couple of minutes, turn it off and wait for about a minute, and then check it's between the lines.

Sweet thanks for the tip . I’ll know for sure now 

[Mech]

Keep posting and you can download the manual..

[Mhatayas]

@Mech , I got the leak taken care of , there was a lot of crud buildup on the casing , so I sanded it off with sandpaper , now I’m having another problem…. 
 

I added oil till it was between the 2 marks on the sight glass , but after a run it is completely black and can’t see the oil level at all. I really don’t wanna drain the oil out again . Think I can shove one of those pipe cleaners down and see if I can clear the glass a bit and determine oil level ? There’s no dipstick it’s just the sight glass . But a flexible pipe cleaner might be able to touch the inside of the glass .

[Mech]

The blackness will be the oil. The glass doesn't normally get so dirty you can't see in. If you could see into the glass before you added the oil and can't see into it now, it's oil you are looking at. Try jacking the bike up on that side and watch the glass. The oil will run to the other side of the bike and you should see the level drop.

[Gwbarm]

If the oil is still that black the inside of the engine is extremely dirty, i would run it a little and to try to get the new oil circulating and clean things up and then change it again.

[Mhatayas]

Ok so my oil filter came in and I changed the oil as well and turns out the o ring was kinda flattened and there was no o ring on the back just the casing . It’s working great now I sanded the gunk off the casing too .

 

I also changed the spark plug , bled the front brakes , tightened and lubed the chain . Attached the front rack , I want to do a bit more to the bike too . 
 

 

so when I got the bike , the guy told me to put my hand over the air box to choke the bike to get it to start , it works but the bike rolls over anywhere from 30 seconds to 5mins depending on temperature especially. It idles good once warmed up and running for a while 

 

any advice on what could be wrong here? I’d love to have it start easily or be able to cold start it with the pull cord . 

[Mech]

First thing would be to check the choke is working. You can do that by warming the engine then opening and closing the choke. It should go rich and smelly if the choke is richening the mixture. If not then check the plunger pulls out when you operate the lever. If the plunger is pulling up/out, but not working to richen the mixture, it's likely because the throttle isn't closed enough. The choke plunger opens a bypass of fuel and air around the butterfly. For the choke to operate and richen the mixture there needs to be enough vacuum to lift the fuel into that bypass which is high up on the carb. The throttle butterfly has to be closed off a lot so there's good vacuum through that bypass passage, so if the idle's not adjusted right and depending on the butterfly being opened to keep it idling, the choke won't work. The choke won't work either if you are giving it throttle while trying to cold start it. It's also possible that the choke is letting the air bypass the butterfly, but if the jet is blocked and not letting fuel into that air, it won't work.

You could try adjusting the idle speed and mixture and see if you don't perhaps end up with the butterfly being more closed than it is at the moment. Then check the chokes operation by warming the engine up and opening the choke and it should start to run rich.

If the choke isn't richening the mixture after the idle's been adjusted then it's probably time to take the carb off, strip it entirely to pieces, clean every part and put it back together again. The carbs are a bit hard to get out, and harder to get back in, but if you undo two bolts at the back of the air-box the box will drop down about an inch and move backwards about an inch and it's not so bad. The hardest part is getting the rubber tube (which has always gone hard) from the air-box to the carb back on the carb. I use a long pair of bent long-nosed pliers, closed up and used as a round sort of bent lever to get the tube back on. I get the carb on at the engine, then start it at the bottom of the air-box tube, then use the closed pliers to slip between the carb and tube and gently lever/coax the tube over the carb. Inspect the engine side rubber manifold for tears or splits while the carb's out and be gentle with it so as not to split it getting things back together.

[Mhatayas]

On 3/4/2024 at 10:54 PM, Mech said:

First thing would be to check the choke is working. You can do that by warming the engine then opening and closing the choke. It should go rich and smelly if the choke is richening the mixture. If not then check the plunger pulls out when you operate the lever. If the plunger is pulling up/out, but not working to richen the mixture, it's likely because the throttle isn't closed enough. The choke plunger opens a bypass of fuel and air around the butterfly. For the choke to operate and richen the mixture there needs to be enough vacuum to lift the fuel into that bypass which is high up on the carb. The throttle butterfly has to be closed off a lot so there's good vacuum through that bypass passage, so if the idle's not adjusted right and depending on the butterfly being opened to keep it idling, the choke won't work. The choke won't work either if you are giving it throttle while trying to cold start it. It's also possible that the choke is letting the air bypass the butterfly, but if the jet is blocked and not letting fuel into that air, it won't work.

You could try adjusting the idle speed and mixture and see if you don't perhaps end up with the butterfly being more closed than it is at the moment. Then check the chokes operation by warming the engine up and opening the choke and it should start to run rich.

If the choke isn't richening the mixture after the idle's been adjusted then it's probably time to take the carb off, strip it entirely to pieces, clean every part and put it back together again. The carbs are a bit hard to get out, and harder to get back in, but if you undo two bolts at the back of the air-box the box will drop down about an inch and move backwards about an inch and it's not so bad. The hardest part is getting the rubber tube (which has always gone hard) from the air-box to the carb back on the carb. I use a long pair of bent long-nosed pliers, closed up and used as a round sort of bent lever to get the tube back on. I get the carb on at the engine, then start it at the bottom of the air-box tube, then use the closed pliers to slip between the carb and tube and gently lever/coax the tube over the carb. Inspect the engine side rubber manifold for tears or splits while the carb's out and be gentle with it so as not to split it getting things back together.

Mech , figured out the problem . There was no cable attached to the choke . The plunger was stuck inside the carb, I had to pull it out with a pair of needle nosed pliers, once I did that I cleaned it , attached a cable from my parts bike and cleaned inside the carb a bit where it was . There was no lever on the cable either so I used the primer knob off my old snowmobile as one . Now it works perfect and no more waiting cranking over repeatadly lol 

[Mech]

Good one. Happy motoring.

[Gwbarm]

Those choke plungers are bad to get stuck in the bore, 

[Mech]

Yes they are..  Regular use, even if it's not needed, is the cure.

[Mhatayas]

4 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

Those choke plungers are bad to get stuck in the bore, 

Well on the parts quad the plunger was basically seized in there … I actually broke off the two lips holding the cable in off while trying to get it out with pliers . Luckily the other one wasn’t that bad 

Also , check out my new foot grips! Lol. Better than the bare metal , it’s the hand grips off my parts bike . Fits perfectly 

[Mech]

Those choke plungers are soft metal. I've got them loose before by using a screwdriver in the slot, but if you apply too much effort it spreads the plunger and doesn't help. You can either use long nosed pliers on the little raised bit while turning it with the driver, or find a bit of steel tube(old car aeriel) that will fit on that lip. Then you can apply a bit more force.

 

Nice job on the pegs..

[Gwbarm]

I have had good luck getting them out with carb cleaner, i use Berryman B12 chemtool, a little stronger than most carb cleaners, may have to let them set for a few hrs but generally they will come out without damage.

[Mech]

Oh ok. I usually use wd40 or crc penetrating oil but it doesn't seem to do much until I get them to move. I don't have many chemicals/products in my workshop. I'll bear that in mind..

[Mhatayas]

1 minute ago, Mech said:

Oh ok. I usually use wd40 or crc penetrating oil but it doesn't seem to do much until I get them to move. I don't have many chemicals/products in my workshop. I'll bear that in mind..

Now that both teeth are knocked off the plunger on the parts bike … it’s gonna be even harder to get out now . Might have to use some kind of extractor for it to work . 

[Mech]

Yeah well they are very soft metal.. Softer than mild steel. An easi-out would spread it easy so don't drill too big. Warming the aluminium would help. Aluminium expands at three times the rate of steel so the hole gets bigger and looser if you heat it.

[Mhatayas]

Well yesterday I was towing a couple loads of ashes from my burn barrel, and my rusty ol’ trailer support system gave out ! Not the 2 arms but the part that comes from under the quad that the ball attaches to. Thought I lost the trailer but it was that that was scraping on the pavement.LOL

welded a new peice on today that will be much stronger . Also fixed the backfiring issue by putting a new exhaust on from a can am 500. 
 

 

so another question… my battery should be at 14 or so volts while running right ? It doesn’t change its voltage when I start the bike , and after a week or two of starting the quad and sitting outside it dies and I must charge it up again . So either something isn’t hooked up correctly or somethings busted ?

[Mech]

Sounds like the charging isn't working. Check the fuses and the connection between the regulator and the battery, both power and earth connections, then the next check is that the stator is putting AC power out down at the engine, or even better, that the AC is getting to the regulator.

[Mhatayas]

Thanks Mech , I’ll have an update as soon as I get around to it . Thanks for all the help . The quad sounds a lot better now with the new exhaust . Original was toast and rusted through a lot , I even used some flat fibreglass stripping wound around the exhaust to get rid of the last couple holes . I mean a new one exhaust for this thing is hard to find and costs a lot . One on eBay that had a bit of rust was almost 500 dollars … 

 

Bombardier 400 exhaust system on it now . Sounds quieter and better now . Still seems to backfire a bit tho , might be some other issue . 
 

 

The quad has came a long way since I first got it , it certainly was in rough shape . Getting better as time progresses. I have about a dozen or more things I’ve done to it since I’ve got it . Love it to peices 

[Mech]

A little leak up at the head to exhaust pipe join, or anywhere in the first few inches of pipe, will make them backfire.

Tried these guys.. They have always been good exhausts at a fair price.

https://www.musketmufflers.com/

[Gwbarm]

Yeah these used exhausts on ebay arent worth what they are asking, they are used and at that age will probably burn out also, i wont pay more than 100 for a used exhaust system, you should be able to find something new to piece together a descent system. I like the older bikes too good luck!