White Smoke

[mitchconley]

just started my EX for the first time in a few weeks yesterday. it was smoking so i killed it and checked the oil which ended up being bone dry. didnt find any leaks. it does not have a big bore kit in it and im talking to my friend who works on engines like this for a living and he says it blown. i really dont want to beleive that. can somebody give me another opinion?

[jdog75]

its not fully blown but the same just started happening to me and i tore it down and my cylinder was like a mirror and slighly ovalish and there was fuel and oil getting by the rings.

[fishnfergie]

Ill tell you its not going to blowing up but then Id also be lying to you.

No matter what white smoke means some kind of mechanical work has to be done, whether it is the valve seals, rings, bad jug, ect, ect. is hard to tell over cyberspace.

[steve181]

Sorry i had to laugh @ the first 2 comments

White smoke= water, which is probably caused by it sitting

but some new gas/oil in it

[fishnfergie]

Yeah just re-read it, White smoke is water but I don't think he is describing the smoke color right, He had no oil in it which means he is burning it or leaking it somewhere. And if you don't realize that there is no oil in it until it starts smoking you have probably messed something up.

Its also hard to have that much water to burn in an air cooled engine....


Edit: what does the smoke smell like?

[mitchconley]

idk i killed it right after i saw it

[fishnfergie]

I take it it was smoking out of the exhaust pipe? How much smoke did you see before you shut it down? Enough to fill a garage or just some wispy smoke.

Fill it up with oil and crank it back up and take note of the exact color of the smoke (oil is a blueish smoke). Listen for any unusual noises. And smell the smoke to see if it smells like burnt oil.

[slightlybent47]

I agree at this point you need to change the oil and put new gas in it and try it again. Chances are it had some oil build up on the piston from sitting and was burning it off. Could have been the old gas that was sitting in the carb and it started to gum up. Let it run a few minuets and see if it clears up. Check the air filter and see if it has to much oil on it or it may be dirty.

[speedfreek]

Fill it back up with oil and ride it like like you stole it! Oh yea, and keep a check on that oil level!!

[mitchconley]

i think im going to bring it to the dealer. this is why.

during the summer i fried my clutch and i brought it to the dealer to have them rebuild it because i didnt know what i was doing and i wanted it done right. so they put it back together good but the oil for the engine and clutch is in the same area so they had to drain all the oil and whatnot when they redid it BUT during my next ride my oil drain plug vibrated its way out. all my oil pissed its way out onto the trail and i was stranded with no tow rope or anything. we were only about a mile away so i tried riding it back and prayed to god i didnt cause any internal damage. it was running for about 5 mins. If the damage from that situation is what caused this now then it is the dealers fault and they really should fix this.

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by mitchconley
i think im going to bring it to the dealer. this is why.

during the summer i fried my clutch and i brought it to the dealer to have them rebuild it because i didnt know what i was doing and i wanted it done right. so they put it back together good but the oil for the engine and clutch is in the same area so they had to drain all the oil and whatnot when they redid it BUT during my next ride my oil drain plug vibrated its way out. all my oil pissed its way out onto the trail and i was stranded with no tow rope or anything. we were only about a mile away so i tried riding it back and prayed to god i didnt cause any internal damage. it was running for about 5 mins. If the damage from that situation is what caused this now then it is the dealers fault and they really should fix this.

if thats the case and the dealer or someone reads that you rode it back KNOWING that the oil wasnt in it then they are not responsible. I ALWAYS check my stuff when it comes back from any shop or a stealership

[mitchconley]

i have never had any problems with cars or wheelers before but now i think i will. i might have to bend the story a little bit. like maybe i rode it back and i went to check the oil cause i knew they worked on it only to find the plug missing lol

[mineralgrey01gt]

lol good idea

[mitchconley]

damn i just bought this in the spring. i really dont want to have to dump alot of money into this.

if it turns out that there is internal damge then i pray that it can be fixed with a big bore kit and i didnt damage anything else. i have kinda always wanted a 426 kit haha

[mcgrath]

You have got to be kidding me. If you new it was out of oil and rode it at all it is entirely your fault. The dealer is going to tell you, you are nuts. Which is true. Yes you most certainly did do damage and yes it is your fault. I guess its time to learn a little about motors and fix it yourself. It may be bad... or maybe not. But if the dealer does it, its definately gonna be expensive. Never never run a motor dry. Oh well, live and learn. If its not knocking you could probably get away with rings and hone job. But Id check everything down to the crack bearings. Because if something lets go on you its gonna get real expensive real fast.

[mitchconley]

ya i kno. i knew what i was doing and i was not happy with it. it was me. and a 80cc dirtbike. that cant tow me back and there was no way we were pushing it through some of the places. to continue the story i actually had somebody bringing me a box of misc drain plugs from a garage and oil but i was then informed cops were headed down there and lets just say i dont have a clean record when it comes to riding

sometimes you just gotta live and learn i guess

[steve181]

The way the top of the 400ex oil tank is made there is no way for the oil to " come out "

the only way i can see oil coming out is if u flipped it completely

[fishnfergie]

Or if the drain plug fell out like he said...

[steve181]

Originally posted by fishnfergie
Or if the drain plug fell out like he said...

ah, read it wrong

[slightlybent47]

I hate to admit it but I did something similar to that. I had my motor built and was breaking it in at the track and after about an hour of ridding I went back to the trailer to change the oil. Well someone had asked me for some help while I was changing the oil and I forgot to tighten the plug in the case. Now while I was changing the oil they watered the track and there was a few water puddles on the track. Well if I get my feet get wet then they will get slippery and so I didn’t pay much attention to the fact that my foot was slipping on me. After about 4 laps on a track that is 1.1 miles long I got some arm pump and stopped on the side of the track to rest a bit. While sitting there I looked down at my foot and to my horror it was covered with oil. I jumped off and looked and the plug was gone and oil was still running out. Now my foot had been slipping the whole time so it must have came out right away. I think the only thing that saved me was I had an over sized oil tank put on when I had the motor rebuilt. Well I still am ridding it on the same build and it still runs great and that was last year.

I know the dealer is a rip and they make good money but it was your fault and they should not have to pay for it. Just one of those I’m a dumb *** moments, we’ve all been there.

[dripinc09]

Originally posted by mitchconley
i think im going to bring it to the dealer. this is why.

during the summer i fried my clutch and i brought it to the dealer to have them rebuild it because i didnt know what i was doing and i wanted it done right. so they put it back together good but the oil for the engine and clutch is in the same area so they had to drain all the oil and whatnot when they redid it BUT during my next ride my oil drain plug vibrated its way out. all my oil pissed its way out onto the trail and i was stranded with no tow rope or anything. we were only about a mile away so i tried riding it back and prayed to god i didnt cause any internal damage. it was running for about 5 mins. If the damage from that situation is what caused this now then it is the dealers fault and they really should fix this.

HaHa, Dealer and done right in the same sentence...

:devil:

[mitchconley]

lol i didnt admit this story to everybody at first because this is one of those stories that you try not to share with everybody but i had to reveal the source of the problem lol. right here is one lesson learned the hardway i guess

[jasonanderson1]

ok its probably you cylinder, because i once rebuilt an older 400 for a friend, and he didnt not tell me it was bored out or no it was bored out, wen i put a stock size pisotn in it is smoked like crazy more then a 2 stroke, enough to fill a house. When i oopen it up everything was by passing the piston and burning to smoke. Your cylinder my be beat or near tehn end of its day or your ring or psiton or maybe enoguh all 3 your going ot ahve to see with your own judgement and theh advie from everyone on hear. but id check your top end.

[mitchconley]

good news. just got some oil and filled the tank. let it idle for about 10-15 mins and it stopped smoking. check the oil level and it seems fine. im just gunna keep my eye on it. but that makes me happy :D

[slightlybent47]

Great looks like you might have gotten lucky. I’ll bet you don’t do that again!!!!

[mitchconley]

oh you bet. thats once lesson i only need to learn once

[badboystrue]

White smoke means oil in the cylinder.The rings are done.The bottom ring contol,s how much oil is allowed into the cylinder.I would say its time four a top end.If there was no oil in it.There wasnt oil in it on your last ride.Check your oil every ride.