fully explain oil reed valve??

[blacknblue#2]

Can someone fully explain the oil reed valve? I know ive heard many guys say that it seperates the tranny from the motor but that cant be right.....its a one way valve meaning if that was the case one or the other will get contaminated.....Now ive done a little research and found that it regulates the amount of oil that is held in the crank journal during operation..this makes alot more sense but my question is, How does it regulate the amount of oil? Is it opened by weight of oil in the crank journal or is it somehow opened by a vacuum. One of the reasons im wondering is because im curious if maybe this aint part of hondas lower rod bearing failure problem...obviously if the reed valves job is to regulate the amount of oil in the crank journal, if the reed goes bad and lets oil pass through freely and easily than that means oil is not staying in the crank sump as long as it should correct?? Just starting discussion and trying to get a good explination of this reed valves operation..

[310ESR]

The oil reed acts just like an intake reed on a 2 cycle. As the piston makes its down stroke crankcase pressure opens the valve forcing oil out of the engine crank area in to a reservior. The oil is picked up in the reservior and sent to the filter then back throu the end of the crank to the main bearings and the bottom piston oiler. If you have to much oil in the crank area the crankshaft will actually foam the oil up so you don't want a lot of oil in that area. I hope that helps.

[blacknblue#2]

thanks for the explination...I actually got bored today and pulled the side cover off my CRF today to test the reed valve operation. I drained all the oil out that would drain through the drain plug. I cleaned the end of the crank up real well and I got down and blew low pressure through it. I heard the reed valve open and a few more ounces of oil come rushing out. Just neat to see it work in slow motion. But still feel like this could be a weak point. All reed valves fail after so many cycles meaning that the crank sump wouldn't hold enough oil long enough right?

[310ESR]

Well because the oil pump pickup tube is the lowest thing in the cavity it would still pump. But the oil would be full of air from the crankshaft area having to much oil and the crank creating a whipping effect.