A good warm-up - reduce blow-by oil (oil in the airbox)?

[groundeffect]

Hi there guys.

Just a quick question:

Will warming up the Spyder to at least two bars (maybe three) reduce the amount of air in the airbox, from a stock airbox Spyder configuration (ie: no catch can or filter or other modifications used)?

I also warm-up to just one bar before I ride, every time, but I'm still getting oil in the airbox.

Just curious, thanks!!

 

[SpyderGirl]

I believe some others have used a sponge-like material stuffed inside the crankcase breather tube between the crankcase and the airbox which reduced or eliminated the oil blow-by. It can be cleaned or replaced at interval oil changes and is relatively easy to do I'd imagine.

I have nothing in mine currently, but oil blow-by has never really concerned me, it's so minimal. I tried the catch can but that blew up in my face (and all over the motor and sensors on the Spyder). Ask me about this one if you're curious what happened. :yikes:

 

[boborgera]

Hi there guys.

Just a quick question:

Will warming up the Spyder to at least two bars (maybe three) reduce the amount of air in the airbox, from a stock airbox Spyder configuration (ie: no catch can or filter or other modifications used)?

I also warm-up to just one bar before I ride, every time, but I'm still getting oil in the airbox.

Just curious, thanks!!

p/s It only blows by when engine is hot and medium to high RPM's

You can go two ways to stop the oil in the air box.
Catch can or sponge in the tube.
I fixed my problem with the sponge, 15/20 minute job, no Rube Goldberg
plumbing involved.

 

[groundeffect]

I believe some others have used a sponge-like material stuffed inside the crankcase breather tube between the crankcase and the airbox which reduced or eliminated the oil blow-by. It can be cleaned or replaced at interval oil changes and is relatively easy to do I'd imagine.

I have nothing in mine currently, but oil blow-by has never really concerned me, it's so minimal. I tried the catch can but that blew up in my face (and all over the motor and sensors on the Spyder). Ask me about this one if you're curious what happened. :yikes:

Thanks for the note.
I've researched a few options on the forum for possible solutions and found a few, including the catch-can and the filter material in the hose.

I've thought about it before, and but have not yet pulled the trigger on a mod to keep the airbox free of oil.

From what I can gather, blow-by oil in the airbox is common on some machines, (spyders and non-spyders, ie: two wheel motorcycles, etc... in some cases).

I do not really mind cleaning out the airbox once in a while, as it does give me an excuse to get under the panels and check a few other things while I'm at it. However, a simple fix, it seems, like the filter material in the hose, seems like a great way to do, cheap, effective and doesn't alter much or anything on the machine, so it's pretty close stock and I like that.

Spydergirl - I hope you didn't get full of oil when it blew-up - hmm... explain please or dare I ask!?!


cheers!

 

[Some Guy]

no Rube Goldberg plumbing involved.

Not me...you need to be a plumber to figure mine out!!! :roflblack:

I ran a hose to the catch can and mounted the can to the oil cooler support bracket so I can get to it easily by removing the one panel. The output hose goes back to the air box so it's still EPA legal.

No more oil in the airbox.

 

[groundeffect]

You can go two ways to stop the oil in the air box.
Catch can or sponge in the tube.
I fixed my problem with the sponge, 15/20 minute job, no Rube Goldberg
plumbing involved.

Yeah, the sponge in the tube, I think that will be the way I may go, however, I'll give it another 1000km first (just cleaned the airbox last night) and see how it goes. Then I will likely track down some of that sponge material and give that a try.

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate your time.
Cheers.

 

[boborgera]

Not me...you need to be a plumber to figure mine out!!! :roflblack:

I ran a hose to the catch can and mounted the can to the oil cooler support bracket so I can get to it easily by removing the one panel. The output hose goes back to the air box so it's still EPA legal.

No more oil in the airbox.

:firstplace:
I never though of that, I learn something new every day.
THANKS:bowdown:

 

[SpyderGirl]

Spydergirl - I hope you didn't get full of oil when it blew-up - hmm... explain please or dare I ask!?!

Filter material in the tube is your best bet. When I get around to it, I'll probably do this to mine... for now the oil blow-by doesn't bother me.

As for my story.... well before leaving on our cross-country trip I installed Lamont's catch-can design on my Spyder. It seemed to be okay most of the trip, however as we started back from east TN and headed into Arkansas I noticed that the instrument cluster was resetting itself over and over while cruising down the freeway (you know, what it does when you first stick in the key and turn on the ignition).

I was freaking out, I didn't know what it was and it didn't seem to get any better. Since it was so humid out (and now I remember why I moved from the mid-west) and we had ridden through some rain, I just assumed that the water was the culprit (even though rain had never caused issues before) -- I never assumed that the catch canister was the problem.

When we stopped in Little Rock for the night I frantically called up my dealer back in CA and asked the tech if he had ever heard of anything and he was as confused as me. The next morning I called up the nearest dealer which was at the Arkansas / Oklahoma border, however their BUDS software wasn't working.... GREAT!

It wasn't until we got to New Mexico (ridiculous it took me this long to find the problem) that I noticed oil on the outside of the Spyder panel near the vent on the left side... then it hit me... there was oil spraying on the sensors. So in the blazing hot sun in the middle of nowhere New Mexico I took the panel off and found oil had sprayed everywhere!!

I removed the catch can, wiped around the sensors the best I could, re-attached the hose to the airbox and the problem never came back. I never did figure how how the catch can failed. It took me over an hour with a bottle of Simple Green, a hose, and a toothbrush to clean the motor and get the oil off of wires and sensors.

What a mess (and an adventure)!!

 

[groundeffect]

Spydergirl, yes quite the adventure indeed! All good memories now I would guess, since you figured it out and the mess is all cleaned up! .


I do indeed, hope and think the sponge method works for us in the future.

Thanks for the story!
Cheers.

 

[SpyderGirl]

Spydergirl, yes quite the adventure indeed! All good memories now I would guess, since you figured it out and the mess is all cleaned up! .


I do indeed, hope and think the sponge method works for us in the future.

Thanks for the story!
Cheers.

I am happy that besides having to remove the rear fender, this was the worst thing that happend to us on our 6200 mile adventure... and we got home safe with many pictures and memories.

The sponge/filter does seem to be the best option.

 

[Firefly]

p/s It only blows by when engine is hot and medium to high RPM's

You can go two ways to stop the oil in the air box.
Catch can or sponge in the tube.
I fixed my problem with the sponge, 15/20 minute job, no Rube Goldberg
plumbing involved.

Or you can remove the airbox and go with the Evoluzione Race intake or Kewlmetal intake system.......

As long as you don't mind NOISE!

 

[groundeffect]

Or you can remove the airbox and go with the Evoluzione Race intake or Kewlmetal intake system.......

As long as you don't mind NOISE!

Thank you for your reply. That was the third of three options I read about, this being the (to me) more complex of the three. Since I would like to stay as close to stock as possible, the sponge in the tube idea still seems to be a good option.

thanks.

 

[Roadkill]

... That was the third of three options I read about, this being the (to me) more complex of the three. Since I would like to stay as close to stock as possible, the sponge in the tube idea still seems to be a good option.

+Stock is still an option, too, right? It's perhaps the least complex (sorta) of all... RK

 

[SpyderWolf]

The K&N Filter that I am running, and I would assume the Green Filter and Evoluzione are the same, doesn't mind the oil at all. It is already an oiled filter, so the blow by is not going to plug it up like it will the stock paper filter. It also fits in the air box so no need for modifying anything there, only you will know the stock filter is not in there. You will still need to clean it out every once in a while though.

Best of luck with whatever approach you take Dean.

 

[boborgera]

The K&N Filter that I am running, and I would assume the Green Filter and Evoluzione are the same, doesn't mind the oil at all. It is already an oiled filter, so the blow by is not going to plug it up like it will the stock paper filter. It also fits in the air box so no need for modifying anything there, only you will know the stock filter is not in there. You will still need to clean it out every once in a while though.

Best of luck with whatever approach you take Dean.

At least on mine the blow by was under the filter, the stock filter was and is bone dry, The oil would drip out bottom right side of the air box. It cant go thru the filter.

 

[SpyderWolf]

At least on mine the blow by was under the filter, the stock filter was and is bone dry, The oil would drip out bottom right side of the air box. It cant go thru the filter.

That would have been nice if it had happened for our Spyders as well. Both mine and my wife's air filters were oil soaked at least 1/4 of the way back from the front of the Spyder. I am most likely going to go back to the stock filter on hers, as she does not want a Juice Box or anything like that, and then try the sponge deal as well.

 

[Some Guy]

My stock filter was pretty dry, but the oil leaked out of the airbox and the right side of my Spyder was always getting oil covered...which, of course, got really dirty.

The catch can stopped all that. :thumbup:

(I have the Green filter now, but not for that reason)

 

[Firefly]

Thank you for your reply. That was the third of three options I read about, this being the (to me) more complex of the three. Since I would like to stay as close to stock as possible, the sponge in the tube idea still seems to be a good option.

thanks.

Both the Kewlmetal and Evoluzione intake units are well made and work well.... but they really do add a LOT of noise--- hence why I had to build my own airbox and cold-air intakes to reduce the noise while still allowing better airflow.

While I think the sponge might be a good temporary fix.... the ideal solution would be a good catch-can system.

Aerocharger will have one that works with their Turbo kit... and might sell it as a separate kit.... that would be the way I would lean if they sell it separately for a decent price...:thumbup:

 

[Recluze]

I tried the catch can thing and believe that it may be responsible for ALL of my gaskets giving out. I think there was something wrong with the bowl that I had. It leaked oil pretty badly and seemed to have a lot of back pressure on it when I blew through it. After having the bike in the shop five months to stop all of the oil leaks that it probably created I took it off.

I suggest that you leave it alone and just run your oil level lower which will stop most of it. I bought a 20 dollar oil pan and put it under the bike and that is how it is going to stay.

 

[SpyderWolf]

I bought a 20 dollar oil pan and put it under the bike and that is how it is going to stay.

Mine hasn't been anywhere near that bad yet, key word being yet. The worst I have seen so far is a little bit of oil on the matte black section underneath the radiator cover. This has cleaned off easily so far. My wife's Spyder does it more, as her oil level is almost to the full mark while mine is at the halfway point.