burning lots of oil

[jak1389]

i just bought an 02 400ex that was barley ridden any i have just started to notice how much oil i have been putting it in lately.what could be causing this and how can i fix the problem? thanks

[ls1400ex]

same problem here, my oil cooler is soaked and noticed it is cracked

[jak1389]

well its not that im leaking its jsut after every time after a long ride i check it and its very low or doesnt register

[ls1400ex]

not good. does it burn oil when running? check for it burning out of the exhaust

[jak1389]

well when im warming it up i can smell it but when ive been out ridin itd oesnt really smoke only when i first start it up but i thibk its bc its really cold hear and w/ the hot exhaust... .well u no

[jiggaman2401]

Stupid question but easily mistaken.. Do you warm the engine up before you check the oil?

[400exredrider]

replace your rings

[Gillbilly]

What type of oil are you using?I noticed a big dif. when I switched to higher quality oil from cheap s!!t especially on long runs.

[Quad Dude]

mine only smoked when i started it up and went away when i was riding but you could still smell it turn out to be valve seals.

[jak1389]

yes i warm up my engine for like 10 min before i check it. im using 10w-40 full synthetic oil. would the seals or rings go bad that fast. like i said its relativley new.

[walt miller]

I am rebuilding a 400 right now it did the same thing. what i found out was the oil filter was put in wrong and on oil ever passed through it at all. now the cylinder wall are all scored the cam is burned black and the valve stem seals where bad. i got the wheeler used and it was just serviced by a honda dealer. rode it checked the oil added some. the next time same thing. the next time after that it did not show on the dip stick. figured it out, it was foaming the oil. with the oil filter in wrong the motor had 2 quarts too much oil in it. but the damage was all ready done!!!

[Fast350ex]

So your saying that the oil filter was in wrong and this caused the dip stick to have no reading????

If so, this is the problem with mine. When I check my oil, it is either to full and foamy; or there is no reading at all.

It also leaks oil from right under the the exhaust flanges, is this the valve seals??

[walt miller]

sound like it doing the same thing, but oil leaking from under the exhaust flange would be a blown head gasket. this still could be the same thing because the oil does not get to the top of the motor and the heat could blow it.