Oil change ?

Was reading the service manual today does anyone do this when they change their oil? From page 3-12
1
a. Slightly loosen the engine check bolt.
b. Start the engine and keep it idling until engine oil starts to seep from the oil check bolt. If no engine oil comes out after one minute, turn the engine off so that it will not seize.
c. Check the engine oil passages, the oil filter cartridge and the oil pump for damage or leakage. Refer to “OIL PUMP AND BALANC- ER GEAR” on page 5-45.
d. Start the engine after solving the problem (s) and check the engine oil pressure again.
e. Tighten the oil check bolt to specification.

NOT ME Berwyn

That has been in practically every Owner's Manual for practically every Yamaha Thumper (4-stroke, single-cylinder) dirt bike and dual-purpose bike since the 1976 TT500C and XT500C.

I believe it to be a way of checking that the oil pump is still working or that you didn't somehow put the oil filter in backwards and restrict oil flow as a result (I once bought a bike cheap that was wrecked by doing this).

I've done it once, back in 1984 with my 1982 XT200J.

I have not done a first oil change yet as a used wr bike buyer... but if there is air stuck in the oil supply tube i suppose it would be a lower  pressure reading to the oil pressure sensor instead of a hydraulic pressure. To make a long story short... have a mechanical unit i service at work that measures oil pressure.. if there is even foam in the oil pressure line it will send the PLC into alarm for low oil pressure..which means purging the oil line identical to the yamaha spec..So i guess if there was air left in the wr250 oil pressure sensor tube your oil pressure light would come on sooner with any pressure drop....

There's a few threads around this forum regarding this topic.

Short and sweet answer is this:  F that nonsense.

motokid wrote:

There's a few threads around this forum regarding this topic.

Short and sweet answer is this:  F that nonsense.

Yup...

I also read that in the manual, looked my bike, said F-it, got on and went for a ride instead.

I use the oil gallery bolt all the time on my WRF and did the same on my R2. What better way to know oil is getting to the top than actually seeing it.

Loosen bolt. Turn bike on. Wait a few seconds. See oil ooze out. Tighten bolt. Wipe clean. 30 seconds.

It's less important on the R as there is a normal oil view window. The F is hard to tell so I use the gallery bolt.

gatorfan wrote:

What better way to know oil is getting to the top than actually seeing it.

What exactly would stop or prevent oil from "getting to the top"?

Having bought and owned multiple motorcycles and cars since 1985-ish I've never had any engine with such a bolt besides my X.

Why wouldn't my FZR400 or R1 have had that bolt? Why wouldn't my Honda Interceptor have had it?
Why doesn't my Honda Civic or my wife's CR-V have such a bolt? My old Chevy's and Ford's did have them. Jeep? Nope. My lawn mower and snow blower don't have one either.

Is this something brought over from dirt bikes? Do most motocross bikes have such a check-bolt?

I could see using that feature after an engine or top-end rebuild to make sure I didn't FUBAR something along the way, but for standard oil changes I just can't see the need.


I admit again - I'm a 99% asphalt rider, so maybe it's a dirt bike thing.

motokid wrote:

... so maybe it's a dirt bike thing.  

You may be right Moto. My TW200, WRR and WRF all had them. My Versys does not.

I agree .. most engines this is not even a option unless you plug a gauge into a oil gallery somewhere..

But

There is the rider doing a first oil change "thinking" that he had the bases covered only to find out that the oil filter was not the right one or in backwards etc .
I was hunting around for a bike that momma could drive last fall.. something that needed rebuilt ... emailed about a cheap honda crf 230.Found out the rider did something wrong at an oil change /filter time and did major motor bearing damage because the oil was not leaving travelling through from the filter area properly. If he followed the manual {if he even had one} and it said to check oil flow from a pipe.. this would not have happened.

Most folks on here are capable of major engine surgery.. but some are newbies...

rarepartbuilder wrote:

I agree .. most engines this is not even a option unless you plug a gauge into a oil gallery somewhere..

But

There is the rider doing a first oil change "thinking" that he had the bases covered only to find out that the oil filter was not the right one or in backwards etc .
I was hunting around for a bike that momma could drive last fall.. something that needed rebuilt ... emailed about a cheap honda crf 230.Found out the rider did something wrong at an oil change /filter time and did major motor bearing damage because the oil was not leaving travelling through from the filter area properly. If he followed the  manual {if he even had one} and it said to check oil flow from a pipe.. this would not have happened.

Most folks on here are capable of major engine surgery.. but some are newbies...

I'm of the opinion that if you screw up your engine doing a routine oil change, you should not be riding a motorcycle.
I'd actually prefer they just use public transportation to get around.

yeah.. im pretty sure buddy on the honda was hiking the trails as his reward for the screw up .Maybe thats just one method of natural motorbike rider selection.. just have them work on their own bike...

Since it seems to be generally accepted that most engine wear occurs upon start up, wouldn't it make better sense to start the bike up and then loosen the bolt after the engine has had 5 seconds to circulate?

I am positive this bolt is just here so we know when its time to replace the oil filter, think about it when the oil physically can no longer be pumped through the clogged filter media you know when its due for a filter change

Not sure if I would use that for a gauge of when to change the filter. Filters are cheap so oil and filter every time for me. Just never ran into that before with pulling the line off to make sure the oil was getting to the head every time you change the oil.

That oil bleed bolt is directly above the auto cam chain tensioner, which is actuated by oil pressure (there's a hole in it for an oil inlet. Perhaps the two are related?

Yamaha have a bleedbolt on the oilfiltercover on many older dualsports, like xt600 and xt350.

I think old habits die hard for Mr. Yamaha.

Its just cheap insurance and a good idea anytime you tear down the engine or repair your case with globs of sillycone

Is there no low oil pressure light on this bike?

Nowp...

Jens Eskildsen wrote:

Nowp...

So then this little procedure is required to ensure oil is a flowing

Leo167 wrote:

So then this little procedure is required to ensure oil is a flowing

Required? Absolutely NOT.

I have not used that procedure yet.

Ok.. so the census is.... don't bother
sorry I'm asking all this... first 4 stroke ever owned with no oil light,, as I depended on the oil light of my street bikes to give me the thumbs up that oil is pumping away and under pressure

It's for extra safety to ensure oil is pumping. I had a CBR F3, that was crashed by the new owner, it was showing no oil pressure. Everything checked out so I cracked the bolt on the oil cooler and oil squirted out and oil light went out. Never had that happen before or since to any vehicle, but the plug is there for a reason.