Hitchcocks Forum

Long post, details necessary. Sorry ; - )
My 2006 Electra X has just under 18,000 miles on it. It is shooting oil out of the crankcase breather. There is enough oil spat out to cover the rear wheel after a 5 mile ride at 50 mph and under.
Please note that the motorcycle performs as it always has – strongly and without notable exhaust emission.
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Long, long ago I modified the motorcycle and its stock systems as follows:
- Exhaust: Hitchcock’s Goldy-style muffler
- Carburetor: Amal MK-1
- Primary breather tube: simply ‘breathes’ over the drive chain
- Crankcase breather tube: simply ‘breathes’ over the drive chain
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I have followed all of the Google and Web forum advice that I could find and since November, 2017 I have performed the following checks without finding ANYTHING wrong or out of specification:
+ Verified that the primary breather tube is neither kinked nor blocked
+ Verified that the crankcase breather tube is neither kinked nor blocked
+ Verified that the oil level is correct. 1st by simply using the dipstick. Several weeks later I did a complete oil change (including oil filter). As I have each and every 3000 kms, for the routine maintenance, I used 1.75 quarts. I performed these procedures as I have each routine maintenance for the last 11 years and 17,000 miles.
+ I put in a new crankcase breather tube that goes straight up in the air for 1 foot (oil shoots out).
+ I checked the oil flow at/to the valve head via the banjo fittings (I loosened each of them one-at-a-time while the engine was running and oil came out)
+ Checked engine compression
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At this point the last possible cause that I could find via my friend Google was the piston rings (even though the engine compression was fine).
Well, a top-end rebuild sure wouldn't hurt sooooo…
I purchased the COMPLETE valve head assembly and the COMPLETE cylinder head assembly from Hitchcock’s and rebuilt the top-end.
With that top-end job complete Nothing has changed. It is shooting oil out of the crankcase breather. There is enough oil spitting out to cover the rear wheel after a 5 mile ride at 50 mph and under.
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Any ideas?
Anyone want to buy a 2006 Electra-X with a brand new top-end?

The breather stub in the top of the oil tank? It's just a hole in the top of the casting with a hose tail screwed into it. For oil to come out of that it must either be sitting at a high level in the oil tank or being blown/splashed up in there.



Given you've checked the resting oil level (overfilling would be the number 1 cause of oil coming out of the breather), could something dynamic be raising the oil level when the engine is running? Is the feed pump working effectively? Could the timing side be becoming pressurised (valve stem blowpast?)? I presume you've blanked off the return stub into the timing chest, maybe try leaving this open?. Maybe try running with the oil filler cap loose just to see what happens?



I presume the engine isn't smoking, especially at startup?

I can only think of piston ring blow-by.



The Electra-X oil-tank cap can't really be left loose, it has to be screwed down. You could fit our hosts' breather tower intended for the earlier classic Bullets with the bayonet filler cap, this would give you a couple of extra tank vents.



A.

Just a thought, are you sure it's coming from the breather? Do you have 00 grease or oil in the gearbox? If the gearbox main shaft oil seal goes then it blathers the gearbox sprocket and chain whilst riding, over oiling the chain and spraying the rear wheel.

Chris, this helps thanks. I put in a breather hose like the old thumpers. It’s routed straight up to the seat and all the way back to the back of the bike.
This helped a lot. Unfortunately, there’s still too much oil spraying my wheel, tire, folded center-stand, folded side stand and etc.
I believe the crankcase seal or the primary seal at the drive sprocket might have blown.
Will monitor for awhile. If it needs to be repaired at the bottom end it’ll probably go into a shop. I know my limits!

5 speed box on the Electra-X Chris, gear oil only. Matt has said that the oil is actually shooting out of the breather hose fitted onto the top of the gearbox.



Matt, there was an odd problem like this that came up with an Electra-X over here, it had the remains of a weird after-market breather system used by the UK importers. Can you confirm that all you have screwed into the top of the oil tank is THIS, nothing protruding into the tank?







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Adrian,
That’s it.

It is possible that you have a partially obstructed oil pick up point?


Check that the Sump drain plug (not the oil tank drain) and its washer are correctly seated?




Disassemble the return side of the oil pump, check for any signs of scoring on the cover and the gear seats...


Blow Down the oil line port that comes up from the sump; there may be a partial blockage there?

I bought my ElectraX new in 2006. At the time there were many reports of heavy oil loss from the breather and my bike suffered from this very badly. On several occasions almost all of the oil in the tank was blown out and inevitably, on the last occasion, the whole lot went, resulting in total engine failure. I have since completely rebuilt the engine. Whilst it was in bits I drilled out the original external crankcase breather, tapped it and fitted a pipe tail and blanked off the other holes. I got the hole between the oil tank and crankcase welded up to complete the job and the new breather system incorporates Hitchcock's "tower" modification to feed any excess oil back into the tank. The engine now incorporates a modified crank and other Hitchcock's parts and runs nicely. I've never had the oil breather problem again. I never discovered the cause of the problem but at the time my engine was standard and brand new. I think it was probably caused by pressurisation of the oil tank from the crankcase, which is now no longer an issue.

Post 2004 I believe all classic and Electra-X engines breathe out through the oil tank, with the occasional one such as Andy's venting excess oil from new.



Somebody did try enlarging the breather hole through the crankcase wall into the oil tank on a bike which had been OK and ended up with the same problem, which they had not previously suffered.



I agree with Andy's solution, my Electra-oid project also has the internal breather hole stopped-up, and a ¼" BSP union fitted into (almost) the classic breather location, plumbed into another of Mr H's breather tower filler neck extensions via a non-return valve. I'm keeping the original oil tank top vent, however.



Matt, assuming you have investigated Tim's point about scavenge-side blockage or oil pump damage (failing big ends make a mess of the scavenge side) and since your Electra-X never used to do this, is it possible that there has been some internal crankcase damage which has either enlarged the hole or made an extra one? Casting flaw giving way?



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