How to decrease my oil consumotion?

[Morley]

Hi everyone,

I have a 97 sx700, and she likes to foul plugs every few rides or so.
I know that the sled is running a little on the rich side, because my plugs are always covered in oil. So I want to decrease the ammount of oil it's getting
from the pump. Can I simply tighten or loosen the oil
cable going to the carbs?
If so, then is it loosen or tighten? and how many turns would be safe?

I should also mention that my sled has 15,000kms on it
Engine has never been opened, I fog it every year, clean carbs
every year. I never had the stator replaced, or reeds?
Could this be my problem?

Thanks in advance,

Morley

 

[Turk]

Lengthen the gap to lean out the mixture. I ran my piped 700,s quite a bit leaner but used a good quality synthetic oil.

 

[S.X.]

There are 2 cables running from the throttle oviously one of them is the throttle but the other is the oil pump adjust cable that runs down to the pump on the backside of the motor below the carbs.

Someware mid stream on the cable near the airbox you will see the adjustment section covered in a rubber sleeve, pull/roll the rubber back to expose the adjuster.

From there you pull on the upper cable up and away from the motor, you will see that it will separate approx 1/2 inch, that gap is your measurement for the pump adjustment.

The wider the gap the leaner or less oil you will use. Please refur to your manual for the min/max distance as I don't recall what you sled should be but set the actual exposed cable gap length from the shoulder of base cable to the edge of the barrel adjuster to the max gap listed in your manual.

I know some guys have gone safely leaner than that but at least you will have peace of mind that you are still within Yamaha's tolerance.

Please do not hesitate to ask any further questions, I will check tonight for your spec and post it tomorrow.

Thanks - Mike

 

[Morley]

Lengthen the gap to lean out the mixture. I ran my piped 700,s quite a bit leaner but used a good quality synthetic oil.

I have always used Klotz synthetic since that sled was new.
So it really likes this oil now..
So lengthening the gap will make it leaner? For some reason, I thought it would have been the opposite?

 

[Morley]

There are 2 cables running from the throttle oviously one of them is the throttle but the other is the oil pump adjust cable that runs down to the pump on the backside of the motor below the carbs.

Someware mid stream on the cable near the airbox you will see the adjustment section covered in a rubber sleeve, pull/roll the rubber back to expose the adjuster.

From there you pull on the upper cable up and away from the motor, you will see that it will separate approx 1/2 inch, that gap is your measurement for the pump adjustment.

The wider the gap the leaner or less oil you will use. Please refur to your manual for the min/max distance as I don't recall what you sled should be but set the actual exposed cable gap length from the shoulder of base cable to the edge of the barrel adjuster to the max gap listed in your manual.

I know some guys have gone safely leaner than that but at least you will have peace of mind that you are still within Yamaha's tolerance.

Please do not hesitate to ask any further questions, I will check tonight for your spec and post it tomorrow.

Thanks - Mike

Wow thanks Mike. I'll check it out tonight when I get home.
I know about the sleeve you are refering to. Just not sure on how to adjust it?
I'll take a look tonight and see how it works.. But at least I know now that
this is where I am supposed to adjust it.
Those specs would be great as I do not have an owners manual :0(

Morley

 

[SRX7]

If I'm not mistaken 23mm was a good setting but check with the others on here first.Hey If you have that many KM's leave it alone.LOL

 

[Ding]

Make sure the cable guard is bottomed fully into the adjustment socket.

Many times the cable guard fitting does not get put back into the socket correctly at the adjustment point which in effect causes a shorter gap. This of course pumps way more oil than it should, as it makes the pump think that the thottle is always open. This can easily happen by something as simple as removing the airbox, or cleaning the engine area.

 

[Morley]

Thanks Ding, I checked and the cable was seated properly.

Here is a picture of how much gap I have on it now.

I measure with a measuring tape and its at 5mm from the bottom to the nut

See for yourself.

 

[maxdlx]

you need to pull it apart and measure the cable not the threads left. Maxdlx

 

[S.X.]

Wow thanks Mike. I'll check it out tonight when I get home.
I know about the sleeve you are refering to. Just not sure on how to adjust it?
I'll take a look tonight and see how it works.. But at least I know now that
this is where I am supposed to adjust it.
Those specs would be great as I do not have an owners manual :0(

Morley

The spec is 22mm +/- 1mm. Set the exposed cable gap to 23mm and you should see a difference in oil consumption.

Take a look in the TY Yamaha specs page there is a link to Yamaha manuals in there and it explains the adjustment procedure with pics!

Here is the link if you can read it!

http://www.zenitram-inc.com/Manuals/MM700Oil2.jpg

 

[Morley]

The spec is 22mm +/- 1mm. Set the exposed cable gap to 23mm and you should see a difference in oil consumption.

Take a look in the TY Yamaha specs page there is a link to Yamaha manuals in there and it explains the adjustment procedure with pics!

Here is the link if you can read it!

http://www.zenitram-inc.com/Manuals/MM700Oil2.jpg

You guy's ROCK!!
Thanks alot, It was at 33mm, so I now set it to 26mm
I wont be able to tell if this worked until the snow gets here.
But thanks!!

On a side note, I posted the same question, (more or less) on RSS newsgroup
and some people are telling me that my sled is running rich.

And to check my setting on my pilot air screws which might be resulting in a very rich idle.
I have no idea how to check this.
I can take my carbs off no problem, and clean them but adjusting them? I don't know anything about this.

 

[SRX7]

I would still go to 23 mm.

 

[S.X.]

You guy's ROCK!!
Thanks alot, It was at 33mm, so I now set it to 26mm
I wont be able to tell if this worked until the snow gets here.
But thanks!!

On a side note, I posted the same question, (more or less) on RSS newsgroup
and some people are telling me that my sled is running rich.

And to check my setting on my pilot air screws which might be resulting in a very rich idle.
I have no idea how to check this.
I can take my carbs off no problem, and clean them but adjusting them? I don't know anything about this.

Morley,

I think there are factors at work here, if your cable free play was truely set at 33 it would be running oil lean! Please verify!

Concerning the fuel screw (pilot screw), once the carbs are off flip them over and directly in front of the float bowl you will see the top of a slotted screw recessed into the carb body, that is the fuel screw which directly controls the mixture at idle and just off idle. The spec should be 1.5 turns out from a lightly seated position. (tighten the screw clockwise until it LIGHTLY seats, then back off the screw counting the rotation to 1.5 turns) On a side note if it is truely running rich at idle you may try it at 1.375 turns as tightening the screw is lean vs. loosening is rich.

Ensure all three carbs are set the same.

I hope this makes sence.

 

[Yammerhead]

Hi everyone,

I have a 97 sx700, and she likes to foul plugs every few rides or so.
I know that the sled is running a little on the rich side, because my plugs are always covered in oil. So I want to decrease the ammount of oil it's getting
from the pump. Can I simply tighten or loosen the oil
cable going to the carbs?
If so, then is it loosen or tighten? and how many turns would be safe?

I should also mention that my sled has 15,000kms on it
Engine has never been opened, I fog it every year, clean carbs
every year. I never had the stator replaced, or reeds?
Could this be my problem?

Thanks in advance,

Morley

I have the same sled and will foul plugs from time to time depending on what temperature we ride in. I f I were you I would ride it and monitor the volume of oil to fuel you are using. If it is way rich, 20 to 1 or something, adjust the cable a bit to lean it out and then check the consumption again. Play with it until you get the ratio you want. (40 to 1 is where I usually try to be) Hate to see you make a big adjustment and then have something seize due to not enough oil.

As far as the fouled plugs go, it could be a couple of things. It dependes on what type of riding you are doing when the plugs foul. If it is when the sled is sitting around at idle or just above, then it could be the fuel screws, but the sled would likely be a dog off the line and bog, etc. If it is fouling when riding in the mid throttle range, then you should look at dropping your needles. Careful with this, as the advice around here says to only drop them half a notch (not very much) If you are fouling out after being on the lake at full throttle on the lake, then your mains could be too big. I run 142.5 across
all three cylinders and haven't had any trouble running in temps below -30 deg C. We likely run at similar elevations, so that jetting should work OK for you too.

I'm still playing with mine to get it dialed in better. I have a bit of a bog off the line and it likes to foul plugs on warm, snowy days. I haven't adjusted the needles yet because I am chicken. I burn't down my exciter playing with needles, so I like to be conservative side now. The fuel screws are a pain to play with because you can't adjust them on the sled unless you have remote fuel screw adjusters. Still thinking about a tempaflow for it possibly.


Hope this helps you out a bit.

Jason

 

[Morley]

Morley,

I think there are factors at work here, if your cable free play was truely set at 33 it would be running oil lean! Please verify!

Concerning the fuel screw (pilot screw), once the carbs are off flip them over and directly in front of the float bowl you will see the top of a slotted screw recessed into the carb body, that is the fuel screw which directly controls the mixture at idle and just off idle. The spec should be 1.5 turns out from a lightly seated position. (tighten the screw clockwise until it LIGHTLY seats, then back off the screw counting the rotation to 1.5 turns) On a side note if it is truely running rich at idle you may try it at 1.375 turns as tightening the screw is lean vs. loosening is rich.

Ensure all three carbs are set the same.

I hope this makes sence.

S.X

I will re-measure my oil pump setting tonight. When you refer to the free play
in the cable, this is when I pull on the cable to engage the oil pump to it's max, correct?
That is how I measured my gap.

I slid the cable out from the retainer and pulled on it until the pump was
fully engaged to the max and then measured the gap.
It was at 33mm, and now I set it to 26mm. This is how I interpreted the
directions? Did I do something wrong?

 

[S.X.]

S.X

I will re-measure my oil pump setting tonight. When you refer to the free play
in the cable, this is when I pull on the cable to engage the oil pump to it's max, correct?
That is how I measured my gap.

I slid the cable out from the retainer and pulled on it until the pump was
fully engaged to the max and then measured the gap.
It was at 33mm, and now I set it to 26mm. This is how I interpreted the
directions? Did I do something wrong?

That sounds correct, simply pull the upper portion of the cable up and measure the exposed visable cable gap. At 33 or even 26 it is still on the lean side so I really don't think that is your problem. "Ding" had a very good point make sure on reassembly that the cable housing is fully seated, someone could have unknowingly pulled on the cable and not realized it hung up.

Keep digging

 

[Morley]

Morley,

I think there are factors at work here, if your cable free play was truely set at 33 it would be running oil lean! Please verify!

Concerning the fuel screw (pilot screw), once the carbs are off flip them over and directly in front of the float bowl you will see the top of a slotted screw recessed into the carb body, that is the fuel screw which directly controls the mixture at idle and just off idle. The spec should be 1.5 turns out from a lightly seated position. (tighten the screw clockwise until it LIGHTLY seats, then back off the screw counting the rotation to 1.5 turns) On a side note if it is truely running rich at idle you may try it at 1.375 turns as tightening the screw is lean vs. loosening is rich.

Ensure all three carbs are set the same.

I hope this makes sence.

S.X.
I see what your saying about the oil pump adjustment now.
The way I had it, it should have been running on the lean side.
So that is probably not what my problem was.

I took my carbs off tonight and not exactly sure what screw your talking about.
I took a couple of pics, hopefully you can tell me what screw I need
to adjust as you mentioned above?

Sorry for all the questions, it's difficult troubleshooting these kind of problems.

 

[S.X.]

S.X.
I see what your saying about the oil pump adjustment now.
The way I had it, it should have been running on the lean side.
So that is probably not what my problem was.

I took my carbs off tonight and not exactly sure what screw your talking about.
I took a couple of pics, hopefully you can tell me what screw I need
to adjust as you mentioned above?

Sorry for all the questions, it's difficult troubleshooting these kind of problems.

In the top pic right above your thumb and between the 2 "gold" rail mount screws is the fuel screw, you can only see the slotted head of it! Altrhough the piture actually makes that look solid!!??? This is a 700 SX tripple right??

 

[Morley]

In the top pic right above your thumb and between the 2 "gold" rail mount screws is the fuel screw, you can only see the slotted head of it! Altrhough the piture actually makes that look solid!!??? This is a 700 SX tripple right??

Yes this is a 97 sx700 tripple.
Probably just the light from the flash made a weird reflection in that spot.
I'll make my adjustments tonight as per your instructions.
Thanks!

 

[jvizzacc]

I would recommend removing the air screws and cleaning them out. Also at this time you can check for wear or bending. Be very careful here. On my 700 one of the air screws simply would not turn. It is now frozen in place ... meaning ... when you go to back out the air screw, make damn sure that your screwdriver is the right size and is perpendicular with the screw. The screw is soft, and if your air screw is in tight as mine was, you'll only get one chance. Have the carbs on a bench where you can put some downward pressure on them, get a good, solid grip on the screwdriver, and gently start to turn them. Hopefully you won't have the same problem I had. My one carb is now fubar. I never got to clean it and I don't know where it is set.

Good luck.