***Solved*** ++Photo++ should my oil line look like this?

The original 2-stroke Genuine scooter and its 4-stroke manual and automatic offspring

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Neutronbomb
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***Solved*** ++Photo++ should my oil line look like this?

Post by Neutronbomb »

Bought a 2008 Stella with a sidecar.
When I bought it, the guy had it idling really super high. Put it on a trailer and brought it home, and it wouldn’t stay running. No big deal, rebuilt the carb, all new gaskets, cleaned the jets.. wouldn’t start. Shucks, now there’s no spark. Put in a new cdi, new coil, new spark plug cable, and disconnected the kill switch.
Took it out for a spin. Drives great, then suddenly it does some weird thing where when I give it throttle it bogs and won’t go over a few mph. I’m eeking it home at 2mph and after about 10 minutes, it remains full power. Everything is completely normal. I end up riding for a couple of more hours.

The next day we are out and about, and after about an hour of riding it does the weird bogging. So we start inching home at 2mph. Basically it only bogs once the rpms climb. For instance I can shift it to the next gear, drop the rpms and it will get some more speed. Anyway. This goes on for about 16 mins.. and then it starts riding normal again. Then about two minutes later it soft seizes.

So I bring it home and I pull the oil line (the kind you can’t see through) and it takes a few seconds before any oil drips out. And even then it’s a real slow drip. I lift the tank and it flows better with gravity. I end up ordering a new oil line, the clear kind. I also take the autolube up and put a new gasket in.

So I put the clear oil line on and I prime the line. I ride around for a bit and I notice there’s a new air bubble. I end up taking the throttle linkage off and manually pushing the autolube up while the bike is running. The bubble travels like it should.
So I come out this morning and start the scoot.. take the cowl off and look down and there’s about 5 inches of empty space in the hose.
I assumed the oil would stay primed in the system.

Should it be? Is it right for the oil to back down the line? There’s no way it’s getting any oil in the time it would take for it to move that far up the line, right?

Any answers or suggestions on what’s up with this?
Last edited by Neutronbomb on Wed Feb 05, 2020 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Neutronbomb
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Post by Neutronbomb »

Pic of oil line
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youkiddin
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Post by youkiddin »

you need to shorten the oil line so it's a straight shot to the carb. gravity is not your friend with a long line
Neutronbomb
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Post by Neutronbomb »

I shortened the line yesterday. Reprimed the pump. Went riding for about an hour. Everything went fine.
Woke up this morning and went out to the garage to check the line, and the oil has backed down to the lowest point in the line again. (Photo attached shows the oil line cut to shortest length possible, and my finger pointing to where the oil is sitting in the line.)

Is this a check valve issue?

I was under the impression that the oil would stay in the line up to the pump, like a finger being held over the end of a straw, not allowing it to fall back down the line.

Am I wrong in this thinking? Wouldn’t I burn up he engine running it for the amount of time it would take for the pump to pull the oil up through that line again?
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Mr.FixIt
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Post by Mr.FixIt »

Also make sure that the oil line is sealing well to the tubing coming out of the air box. The hose clamp on there is constricted well beyond the intended hose diameter, plus I have noticed that some of the aftermarket hoses are slightly too large inside diameter. To get mine to seal well, I put another type of hose clamp on there that allowed a more even pressure around the oil line.

There is a check valve inside the automatic oil mix pump, but I wouldn't mess with it unless other causes can be ruled out. I had problems with mine, but it was a 2009 with a known issue.
Eric
(aka Mr. Fix It)
Neutronbomb
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Post by Neutronbomb »

Mr.FixIt wrote:Also make sure that the oil line is sealing well to the tubing coming out of the air box. The hose clamp on there is constricted well beyond the intended hose diameter, plus I have noticed that some of the aftermarket hoses are slightly too large inside diameter. To get mine to seal well, I put another type of hose clamp on there that allowed a more even pressure around the oil line.

There is a check valve inside the automatic oil mix pump, but I wouldn't mess with it unless other causes can be ruled out. I had problems with mine, but it was a 2009 with a known issue.
The clamp is definitely way tight. I’ve been tightening it more and more over the last few days just to make sure that’s not where I’m getting air into the system. I do want to put a different kind of clamp if I can find one, but at this time I don’t feel that that’s what’s causing my problem.

Let’s say that I put a new tighter hose on and a better, more even fitting clamp, and the issue remains. Would you think the check valve could then be the problem?
Willie B
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Post by Willie B »

As stated earlier, it sounds as if you have a line that's too large in dimeter or not affixed securely either at the bottom of the oil tank or carb box. You might also check the union on the bottom of the oil tank to determine it's affixed securely. Are you seeing oil leaking in the clutch side floor board? Check out Johnk's thread and watch the video where Robot at Scooterwest is installing the fuel tank and priming the oil line. You might also check the oil pump itself as far as the fasteners that secure it to the airbox. Maybe it's venting there? You have something very obvious going on. Check everything in the system and you should find your issue. Good luck
Neutronbomb
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Post by Neutronbomb »

Hey guys. I discovered the source of my problem.
The inlet for the autolube was cracked. I discovered this when I was reattaching the metal pipe that screws in... when it crumbled as I was screwing it down.
Luckily I pulled the air box off my other stella that doesn’t get much use, and now it’s good to go.
I do need to find an airbox with autolube for the other stella now, though.
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Mr.FixIt
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Post by Mr.FixIt »

I was able to get one from SIP.
Eric
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