Bad rings

[wi_400EX_2001]

I have a 2001 400EX that seems to go through alot of oil. Ihave to add a half quart of oil or so every month or two. My cousin has a 400 with pretty much the same mods that i have and he hasn't done anything with his oil for proly a year. Does this mean i have a bad oil ring on my piston?

[exrider008]

Originally posted by wi_400EX_2001
I have a 2001 400EX that seems to go through alot of oil. Ihave to add a half quart of oil or so every month or two. My cousin has a 400 with pretty much the same mods that i have and he hasn't done anything with his oil for proly a year. Does this mean i have a bad oil ring on my piston?

yes it could mean that ur rings r worn but it could also mean that ur vavle seals r bad. i would bring it to the dealer and have them do a leak test.

[underpowered]

wel a couple thigns sound off in that. your cousin has not done anything to his oil in a year? has he changed it? you should change your oil every 20-30 hours depending on how hard you ride. i change mine about every 15-20, or it equals out to about once a month or every two months.

how ofter do you change your oil? does your quad smoke any? how often do you ride it? need more info before i can say what is going on.

[wi_400EX_2001]

we usually do alot of riding but i haven't changed it since proly march but i've proly added 2 qts since then. No i doesn't smoke and it isn't leaking oil anywhere.

[underpowered]

well i would suggest changing it first off. if you do alot of riding and have not changed it since march, you are probably way overdue and the oil is simply breaking down.

to tell if the rings are worn, a compression test will tell you alot, or even just looking at your spark plug will give you some insight as to what is going on.

[DieselBoy]

a common cause of oil burning is not only the piston rings, but scores in the bore (lack of lubrication / debris.) This is the case more often than people think.

that is, ofcourse, if it's consuming oil and being burned in the combustion chamber. if there is NO SMOKE, you must be leaking oil

[underpowered]

Originally posted by DieselBoy
a common cause of oil burning is not only the piston rings, but scores in the bore (lack of lubrication / debris.) This is the case more often than people think.

that is, ofcourse, if it's consuming oil and being burned in the combustion chamber. if there is NO SMOKE, you must be leaking oil

well scores int eh bore are usally caused by lack of lubrication, which in turn will destroy your rings and piston.

and he may be burning oil, but at a slow enough rate it is undetected. actually ALL engines burn some oil, it is something that cannot be helped but it is usually in small quanities that go un-noticed between oil changes. i am not sure about quads, but GM says taht up to 1/2 quart of oil consumed in a V-6 in 1000 miles is normal