Help with oil issue!

dpawl · Apr 23, 2004

I am pretty new to working on dirtbikes. I have a 1974 DT360A Enduro and I am having the cylinder bored, head polished and a new 3rd over set going in. BUT the crankcase sat outside w/o any cover all winter, so it got full of water, leaves, dirt, etc. Plus a bit of rust. I decided I would flush it out with some oil and do it a few times to clean it out. Poured the oil in and seemed to really mix well and remove everything. Then I pulled the plug - AGH! Two strokes don't have drain plugs for the crank! I am so used to my 4 stroke quad bathing in oil rather than just getting splashed and coated. This bike is over 300 pounds, and I would really not like to tip it over to get the oil out. Anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking pouring water in and siphoning off the oil from the top, then siphoning out the water. I believe the oil/dirt/crap mixture is too thick to siphon right out of the base. What do you guys reccommend? Thanks in advance.
Doug Pawl 1974 DT360A Enduro, mid restoration.

Ol'89r · Apr 24, 2004

dpawl said:
BUT the crankcase sat outside w/o any cover all winter, so it got full of water, leaves, dirt, etc. Plus a bit of rust.
I decided I would flush it out with some oil and do it a few times to clean it out.
What do you guys reccommend? .

Split the cases and do it right. There is a very good chance that you have dirt in your main bearing oilways and also in the big end bearing.

Just my $ .02

JasonWho · Apr 24, 2004

Was there a reason to leave it uncovered?

dpawl · Apr 25, 2004

I am not so sure I want to do that as I am not so sure I can get it all back together correctly. I don't know how many parts are inside that I may not be able to remember how to put it back right. I am signing up for some motorcycle repair courses, but those are going to take at least 9 months to complete. Do you think I would be able to handle splitting the cases myself? Would I ruin the gaskets that are there? I mean I pulled the cylinder apart myself, I pulled apart the cylinder on my moped myself... I have done my own oil changes on my quad and installed brakes myself on my quad and have a decent sense of what I am doing. Learn as I go kind of thing. Is there any way I could really screw up the case? My tranny is mint, 3k miles and ran beautiful... do I have to take the tranny apart to get the crank area opened and cleaned? I have a parts manual w/ diagrams I need to consult that as well. Thanks for the ongoing help guys, much appreciated.

"Was there a reason to leave it uncovered?" - Unexpected snow of 2 feet and complete memory loss of remembering I left it uncovered. Heh. Stupid me! Well, it's an ongoing learning experience anyways :)

JasonWho · Apr 25, 2004

Is the cylinder, piston and such back on right now, or is it still just the connecting rod sticking up out of the crankcase?

I have a few ideas on it. You could clean it the best you could and hope for the best.

You could remove what rust, leaves, etc. you can from the crankcase, then remove the engine from the frame. After the engine is out, you could use a lot of two stroke oil, or maybe kerosene, etc. to try to rinse the crankcase out as thoroughly as possible, then leave it upside down to drain for a while. A small amount of excess will cause it to be hard to crank for a few tries.

If you really want to do it right, then a thorough inspection of the crankshaft bearings is in order. This usually means splitting the cases. From your response, I suggest that you DO NOT attempt this yourself. Though it is not cheap, a professional shop sounds like the best bet for you as far as splitting the cases. There is a lot of difference between fooling with the top end (cylinder, head, piston and such) compared to fooling with the bottom end (transmission, splitting cases, etc.). I do a lot of work on my bike, but I know my limitations. Clint Eastwood - "A man's got to know his limitations." I know not to fool with the bottom end...or Dirty Harry.

darringer · Apr 25, 2004

I disagree with the above post. The lower end is not that difficult to work on. Since you have a manual for the bike, it is not that hard. Taking digital pictures of the different steps along the way is great for remembering how it goes together. Also, use plastic bags to separate the different sections ( clutch, transmission, crank assy) makes the going alot easier if the bike is to be apart for awhile. If a friend with some experience is available to assist it will be a great opportunity to learn. Take your time, keep the work area clean, and pay attention to the details. Go for it!

dpawl · Apr 25, 2004

Well. I thank you both for your really quick replies! It's not as bad as I made it sound. no real rough crap got in there. Mostly just minor rust and a little bit of water. I can freely spin the crank, and it is a little tough. I honestly respect you pushing me to do it, and I really want to, but I honestly just want the bike to run. I spent so long waiting to get parts to get this thing running. I don't want a set back of screwing something up to stop me. There is nothing big in the crank, mainly dust and it has all disolved into the oil I put in. I think I am going to do as jason suggested. Pull the motor, dump, rinse with oil, probably do that twice. Then again with kerosene, probably twice as well. With a few pushes of the crank inbetween to hopefully clean the bearings a bit. I can not risk a serious screwup of parts etc. I thank you, and respect your eagerness to get me to do it myself, and someday I will. But for now I just want to let it be. Bags and digital pics are very good suggestions, and I will do so when I do it. I will do it someday, I just want to ride! Thanks a lot guys! I just registered as a subscriber and I hope to see you guys around! I just uploaded some pics in my garage, check them out :). Thanks again.

JasonWho · Apr 26, 2004

Good luck on your repair. I am trying to figure out how to look at the garage pictures.

Thanks,
jasonwho

dpawl · Apr 26, 2004

JasonWho said:
Good luck on your repair. I am trying to figure out how to look at the garage pictures.

Thanks,
jasonwho

Easy, go to main page. Click GARAGE @ top, mine is the green yammy on the latest photos. :)

JasonWho · Apr 26, 2004

OK, I stumbled across it. Some parts look really wore out, but the paint on the gas tank looks real good.

I am sorry to hear of the top end troubles. It did indeed sound horrible.

I hope you and your buddy have fun with repairing and riding it.

dpawl · Apr 26, 2004

What parts look worn to you? Obviously the seat. LoL. The paint on the tank is really good. Has a few dents but I am not worried. The inside is pretty clean too. I figure a fuel filter will keep the gas clean from any rust that might be in there. I've heard so many stories of this bike, one guy called it the "Hell Bike" because it's such a beast. Another was from Australia where a guy kick started it, and instead of starting it kicked him back and put the kickstart right into his damn calf. Ouch. Gotta hurt. Thanks Jason!

JasonWho · Apr 26, 2004

Yeah, the seat mostly. :-) Besides the aillight and kickstarter rubber cover, it looks pretty good.

If you search on this website, you can find some info on how to help clean the inside of the gas tank. I would definitely get a filter.

dpawl · Apr 26, 2004

Yeah the taillight itself is still there and intact, but no lense. The kickstarted rubber is no big deal. I have seen info on how to clean a tank, but I forget where. It has a filter already, I suppose it might be good to slap a new one on when I fire it up. Thanks again.

JasonWho · Apr 27, 2004

You're welcome. Post your results after you try to clean out the crankcase. I am curious to see how it turns out.

Good luck,
jasonwho

dpawl · Apr 27, 2004

Will do, actually plan on working on it tomorrow. My bud and I are going to pop the case off and tip it. Hopefully :eek:

Help with oil issue!

Similar Topics

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency