first of all, let me say i'm an idiot, have little to no mechanical experience or abilities aside from changing my own oil/filters/brakes/etc on my car...i've always been able to do that effectively and competently, but it seems i've messed up my scooter somehow when i changed the oil for the first time (it was at 16k, changed at 17k)

i've posted in the scooter thread about how the speed/mpg has decreased since i changed the oil and how it now has a rougher idle (i attribute that to the pinhole in the exhaust, though)...i have checked my oil levels frequently, and they're always fine...today, though, i noticed a drip or two, and i looked under the scoot and sure enough, there's oil all over the place (though none that i can see around the drain or screen plugs, which, with the dipstick, is all that i removed when i changed the oil)...here are pictures (the first two are the drain and screen plugs, respectively...the rest are where the oil is leaking from - the last is the kickstand/bar that props up the rear wheel when in park):















FWIW, the oil on the dipstick is its usual amber color...the crap that's on the ground looks more like dirty oil...could it be that i just overfilled it? i don't see how i did, but it's entirely possible

gah, what did my dumb ass do?

9/23/2008 6:28:24 PM

first thing i'd do is clean it off so you can tell where the oil is coming from

9/23/2008 6:33:32 PM

good point...i'll go do that now, while it's still light out

9/23/2008 6:34:24 PM

there are quite a few bearings in that motor. some could be worn and leading to leaks.

what color is your gear oil right now?

there are also tons of bearings in the tranny and stuff.

take some pics from a little further out.

spray it with some brakleen or something.. get it all cleaned up. and keep an eye on it from time to time.

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 6:38 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2008 6:37:38 PM

I've got the factory Honda service manual for the Metropolitan if you want to borrow it for a short term. I need it back to fix mine whenever I get around to it though.

9/23/2008 6:38:06 PM

is this a honda scoot? i remember you sayings its japanese..

ive got a baja (chinese) manual.

9/23/2008 6:41:00 PM

paging tripleD4u

9/23/2008 6:43:36 PM

okay, here are some more pics...i'll pick up something to clean it off better tonight:

Quote :

"what color is your gear oil right now?[/user] you mean the oil that i changed, right? or is this different from engine oil? if we're talking about the engine oil, it's amber-ish...not black or gritty...i know, this is sad [quote]I've got the factory Honda service manual for the Metropolitan if you want to borrow it for a short term. I need it back to fix mine whenever I get around to it though."

i might take you up on that...i'm hoping this is something minor and stupid that i did, and that it won't take a lot of work/parts/etc, but i know absolutely jack (always nice to learn, though)

Quote :

"is this a honda scoot? i remember you sayings its japanese.."

yepper...2003 honda metropolitan (not the met II)

is it going to damage it further if i ride it? i mean, there's enough oil in there

thanks for all the help and suggestions, i appreciate it

9/23/2008 7:04:58 PM

try tightening the oil filter a bit more after you clean everything up

9/23/2008 7:05:16 PM

if you got the tools, take that black plastic cover off and clean around there.

def. get the manual for it so you know what you're taking off and what you dont need to.

if you get some brakleen, or some carb cleaner.. or something that shoots out at a high psi, you can clean a lot of that crap off, specially in places you cant reach.

BTW, the gear oil is another oil you gotta change. its for the transmission. if you havnt changed it in 17,000 miles.. then i dont know what to say.

i guess you can say its a honda get that honda manual and find out where the bolts are

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 7:13 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2008 7:12:14 PM

in a couple of those pics there is a green tinge to the gunk. How is your coolant level? The area where the stuff is built up is directly under the radiator area. You might have a coolant leak. Coolant reservoir is under the seat in the battery compartment.

The oily stuff could be the nasty by product of poor combustion if your scooter isn't running right. There is a slobber tube that is supposed to catch all that, but it might be leaking or have come loose. The tube is a clear plastic tube with a black cap in the end of it clipped near the center of the rear wheel on the kick starter side (I think). Pull the cap out and see if it is full, then follow it up to see if it is connected or damaged.

But the first step is to clean it really well so you can see what you are looking at.

9/23/2008 7:25:30 PM

Quote :

"if you get some brakleen, or some carb cleaner.. or something that shoots out at a high psi, you can clean a lot of that crap off, specially in places you cant reach."

i picked up advance's brand of brakleen today...when i get home i'll do it

now, i know it'll strip the paint/finish if it comes into contact with it...aside from that, can i spray it on pretty much any of it? on plastic covers, too? up into that grate-looking thing (yes, i should probably know what that is, but i don't)?

Quote :

"BTW, the gear oil is another oil you gotta change. its for the transmission. if you havnt changed it in 17,000 miles.. then i dont know what to say."

i, personally, have never changed it, but the guy who owned it before me did, i'm sure...he was pretty meticulous about keeping everything in running order...i'm pretty sure, though, that the owner's manual doesn't actually say anything about gear oil because it's part of the dealer-recommended tune-up...i think

Quote :

"in a couple of those pics there is a green tinge to the gunk. How is your coolant level? The area where the stuff is built up is directly under the radiator area. You might have a coolant leak."

coolant is just under the high hash mark, and well above the low hash mark...i assume it's okay (though assuming can get me into trouble, i know)...i'll check the manual to see if i'm supposed to have it topped off, but i don't think i am

[quote]The oily stuff could be the nasty by product of poor combustion if your scooter isn't running right. There is a slobber tube that is supposed to catch all that, but it might be leaking or have come loose. The tube is a clear plastic tube with a black cap in the end of it clipped near the center of the rear wheel on the kick starter side (I think). Pull the cap out and see if it is full, then follow it up to see if it is connected or damaged./quote]

i'll check when i get home this afternoon

after riding it this morning, i see oil all along that grate-looking thing, and specifically dripping off the shiny bolt below (the second pic shows the drip)

9/24/2008 4:02:55 PM

yeah behind that grate is the magneto/stator if im not mistaking.

i would look for a small crack in the casing anywhere. your oil tank is behind all that stuff.

9/24/2008 6:59:20 PM

okay...so i put the front up on the curb and the put the kickstand up on a phonebook, so it was a good 5-6 inches off the ground

sprayed the entire can of brake cleaner on there (that stuff is amazing, btw)...it sure looks much cleaner down there, that's for sure

i wiped off what little residual oil/grime was there, turn it on, and let it run for 5 minutes or so (occasionally giving it gas)...i noticed some white smoke (not a lot, but noticeable if you're looking for it) coming from a different part of the engine, but it went away after a minute or two of running

i have yet to see any more oil dripping...i think i'm going to scoot to dinner, give it a good 20-25 minutes of run time and see if anything shows up after it's been stressed a bit

9/26/2008 7:20:17 PM

alright, so i rode it ~2 miles and then when i got back (dark, of course), i checked under there with a flashlight and sure enough, there's oil (where before i left, it was dry and clean)

i DID take pics, but they're not the best...i'll take some tomorrow morning, too

BUT, what i noticed is that there is oil INSIDE that grating, and it's coming through those holes and dripping from the shiny bolt that i called attention to above...so it appears to be coming from in there somewhere, somehow

9/26/2008 8:52:14 PM

yeah. behind the grate is your colling fan, flywheel, coil, magneto.

from the looks of the baja owners manual, its just cast behind there. maybe there is some sort of seal that is leaking. get that honda manual and look through there. see if there is any sort of bearing/seal/ring that has gone bad

9/27/2008 12:58:30 AM

get ready to pay$$$$$$$

9/27/2008 1:01:05 PM

okay, after some further research, it seems that simply overfilling the oil COULD cause this

so went out and got some seafoam (recommendations from various other forums), ran ~0.75oz. through the oil for 5 minutes, let it cool, and then drained it all...added a VERY carefully measured bit of oil, and closed it back up...checked all my plugs (drain, screen, dipstick) to make sure they're tight, and let it run for another 5 minutes...checked the dipstick and the oil level falls almost directly between the high and low hash marks (where before, it was right at the high hash mark, though not over)

Quote :

"The oily stuff could be the nasty by product of poor combustion if your scooter isn't running right. There is a slobber tube that is supposed to catch all that, but it might be leaking or have come loose. The tube is a clear plastic tube with a black cap in the end of it clipped near the center of the rear wheel on the kick starter side (I think). Pull the cap out and see if it is full, then follow it up to see if it is connected or damaged."

the tube was empty...i popped the cap to drain it and there was nothing in there...it looked like it was properly attached and i couldn't find any cracks or leaks

hopefully, this whole thing was caused by me being a complete dumbass and overfilling it by 0.1qt or something...i'll happily admit ignorance and stupidity if this fixes it...i suppose that if this is the case, i may have ruptured a seal somewhere because the oil pressure was too high, in which case i might need to get that fixed...but we'll see

thanks for all the help thus far...i appreciate it

9/28/2008 11:42:23 AM

if it was spitting out oil b/c you overfilled it, then i doubt anything is messed up.

was it leaking out when you took turns?

9/28/2008 2:20:02 PM

well, i just got back from a short 10 mile trip...i had wiped everything down beforehand

after i got to where i was going 5 miles in, i saw no oil or anything

when i got back, after the total of 10 miles, there was a LITTLE of oil hanging out on the shiny bolt

considering that after 2 miles the other day it was leaking just as bad, i ASSUME i've fixed at least some of the problem, if not the entire thing...i'm HOPING that the little bit of oil that's there was leftover from some place where i didn't catch it, so it's not actually still leaking

it seems like i may have gained back 1mph, which is encouraging...top speed before all this was ~38, during was 34, and i hit 35 on my way back, so here's hoping

gah, i hope it's something as simple as me overfilling by ~0.05-0.1qt

9/28/2008 6:46:21 PM

well, damnation...still leaking and seems to be as bad as before, all of a sudden

called scooterz, and they won't work on any model of scooter they don't sell...anyone want to take a look at this? i offer monies and beer of your choice (i can bring it to you, as long as you aren't too far, since i'll be riding it)

[Edited on October 3, 2008 at 10:59 AM. Reason : nuts, wrong thread...whatever]

10/3/2008 10:59:11 AM