Oil level dropping really fast/2004 ZX6R

Z

Zangief

Well-known member
Hello,
While changing the oil on my 2004 zx6r I reefed the bolt too tight and cracked the oil pan. After a couple weeks of waiting I finally got the new oil pan in, and to my dismay I figured out in order to take off the oil pan I needed to take off the exhaust and to take off the exhaust I needed to take off the radiator. Anyways, after doing all of that and installing the new oil pan it was finally ready to start.
I put the key in today and hit the starter and smoke started coming out of the front end and the oil light came on.
I checked the oil level and the little indicator on the bottom and the level of oil was dropping from full (3.6 litres of oil) to just above empty.
Any idea what is going on? There are no leaks beneath the bike, the drain bolt is secure, no leaks from the new pan.
 
The smoke is probably just oil burning off the engine/exhaust. If the oil light is on, you have a problem. Shut it off, wait 5 minutes, check the oil level. Did you put 3.6L in? If it's good and the oil light was on anyway, you may have a clogged oil pump pickup from debris etc or you may have damaged something when installing the oil pan. You can PM JohnnyP636..he knows those engines well and can tell you if you've damaged an external oil line.
 
I started it again and really heavy white smoke is coming out of the front end and the exhaust as well. I double checked the exhaust pipes and they are all secure, but what it looks like to me is that there is no oil, even though I just filled it up with a brand new 3.6 litres.
 
Zangief said:
I started it again and really heavy white smoke is coming out of the front end and the exhaust as well. I double checked the exhaust pipes and they are all secure, but what it looks like to me is that there is no oil, even though I just filled it up with a brand new 3.6 litres.
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Is there any oil spots under your bike?
Is that 3.6 litres of oil called for from an oil change? As you may need to add more as you took the oil pan off and maybe emptied more then a normal oil change would.
 
jeffjones said:
Is there any oil spots under your bike?
Is that 3.6 litres of oil called for from an oil change? As you may need to add more as you took the oil pan off and maybe emptied more then a normal oil change would.
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Yeah, where's the oil going? The smoke could just be fluid on the headers burning off..no biggie. Is the oil light still on? If you damaged the oil cooler you might be having leakage..but you'd see something on the ground. Double check your oil level.
 
Thats the thing, I have no idea where the oil is going, its not on the floor, no leaks, and I'm slightly afraid to add more oil cause I've already added the required amount and its showing almost empty.

I guess the next question would be: Do you put in MORE oil after the removal of the oil pan? and if so, how much more?
 
Zangief said:
Thats the thing, I have no idea where the oil is going, its not on the floor, no leaks, and I'm slightly afraid to add more oil cause I've already added the required amount and its showing almost empty.

I guess the next question would be: Do you put in MORE oil after the removal of the oil pan? and if so, how much more?
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You cant hurt it... level the bike add oil untill you see oil in the window.....you can always drain too much oil.......
 
Zangief said:
Thats the thing, I have no idea where the oil is going, its not on the floor, no leaks, and I'm slightly afraid to add more oil cause I've already added the required amount and its showing almost empty.

I guess the next question would be: Do you put in MORE oil after the removal of the oil pan? and if so, how much more?
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its not Rocket science...check under your seat lol....
 
Zangief said:
Thats the thing, I have no idea where the oil is going, its not on the floor, no leaks, and I'm slightly afraid to add more oil cause I've already added the required amount and its showing almost empty.

I guess the next question would be: Do you put in MORE oil after the removal of the oil pan? and if so, how much more?
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Just add more until it is full, You going to damage alot more by by running not enough oil then having it at full.
I almost guarentee it is just low because when you changed the oil pan that emptied more oil and you haven't added enough to refill it.
 
jeffjones said:
Just add more until it is full, You going to damage alot more by by running not enough oil then having it at full.
I almost guarentee it is just low because when you changed the oil pan that emptied more oil and you haven't added enough to refill it.
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Probably. It's hard to tell what numbers to use from the manual..they're not always right. The sight window is. So add until you get it into the window properly. Just make sure the oil light isn't on. The smoke is just a sideshow..don't let it intimidate you..there might be a small coolant leak and it's burning off the header..but I don't think it's oil-related.
 
Ok new developments. When I turn the bike on the oil level drops, then about two minutes later the exhaust and the front end start smoking, there is also a ticking sound in the engine. When I turn the bike off the oil level returns to where it was.
 
Zangief said:
Ok new developments. When I turn the bike on the oil level drops, then about two minutes later the exhaust and the front end start smoking, there is also a ticking sound in the engine. When I turn the bike off the oil level returns to where it was.
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the oil level is normal...think like a bike when it runs you wont see the oil level in the window...the noise is not normal unless you ran it to low of oil...you could have a lazy pump now... what did the oil look like when your drained it? any metal in the oil ??
 
I believe its normal for the oil in the window to disappear when the engine is running because the oil is circulating. As for the smoke and the ticking, I'm stumped.
 
Zangief said:
Ok new developments. When I turn the bike on the oil level drops, then about two minutes later the exhaust and the front end start smoking, there is also a ticking sound in the engine. When I turn the bike off the oil level returns to where it was.
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Your concern is the oil level while the bike is running?!?
 
For the smoke coming from exhaust. When you reinstalled the exhaust headers did you remember to verify if the gasket was secured in place properly?
 
My concern is the smoke, and the ticking. The oil constantly switching levels is abnormal as I've never seen this before, at least not this much. I understand that the level changes when the bike runs as the oil filter needs to be filled and the oil circulates, but it went from being completely full (the upper part of the max fill line) to almost completely empty.
 
Yes, I double checked all connections and looked at it when the bike was running, the smoke seems to be coming from below the exhaust, its not loose nuts and everything is in place.
 
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