Are you paying a mechanic to do the simple task of changing the oil and filter on your XT600? Are you damaging your engine by delaying an oil change? Full oil and filter change at home; Yamaha XT600e; with simple tools
Greetings! Any idea how's it possible to have 2,8 litres of oil in the machine and still get no reading on your dipstick (talking about my personal experience with my xt600e)?
Hi Ektor. Yes, and it’s the reason I strongly dislike this particular oil setup. The bike is dry sump so the oil is stored in the frame and not in the bottom of the engine. But the only thing keeping it in the oil tank and not in the engine is the check valve. If that starts to leak then your oil drains down into the sump. If it leaks then it’s impossible to properly check the level. Ok on a change because you can measure it, but after that it is a lottery. I suggest filling with the correct amount of oil and immediately testing with a long dipstick. Then check again after a short while. If no oil or the level drops you probably need to change the check valve. Skäl. David
Good luck. Because the check valves do leak, even on newer bikes, the owners manuals always tell you to check the level after the engine has been running - at which point the oil will have pumped up into the tank.
+Piotr G Thanks and you are welcome. I've just ordered new piston seals for the front brakes as I'm not happy that the pistons are moving as freely as they should. Video on that shortly - I'm never getting to the fork springs at this rate!
A good reliable workhorse you have there i was looking at it thinking i wouldnt mind a similar trial/adventure type bike then i realised i have a dl 650 it must be dementia or lack of sleep! .still enjoying all your videos thanks for sharing ..take care buddy .
Cheers and much appreciated. I'm realising that I could do with something a bit smaller. As it is it's a bit too similar to the other bikes. I either need to sell it or chop it.
+Mirius of course you have the Hd and Damage also ..about a year ago i got rid of all my bikes Triumph 1200 street fighter ..Klr 600...and 1200 bandit..and got one that seems to do everything well ,and comfy but i do miss the mods/tinkering...just keep it running in standard form..
+springy 2112 I can sympathise with that. I have too many vehicles so each has to earn its place. At the moment the XT doesn't so I'm thinking it needs to go. A 250/400 trail bike would fit the bill though....
Thanks for the video. I have put over three litres in mine and its still not showing on the dipstick. Bike is level and not leakng...should I just keep filling it?
I recently got a 1991 XT600, this video was super helpful, I am suprised how much oil it took, did 2.8L, nothing on the dipstick when warm, put about 3.5L in to go 3/4 on the stick, figured I would leave it there dont want to tempt fate, tested the fuel pump, got a trickle so all good there. Thanks again.
Glad you got there in the end. It can be difficult to get it right at first. If you put too much in then you may find that the valve has failed so the oil doesn't stay in the tank and just dumps into the sump.
@@MotoMirius I just checked the level again with the bike being cold for a couple of hours, its sitting the same, does this mean the valve is good or bad, if bad, is it a nightmare to rectify? Cheers.
thanks for this I will change my own oil, also good to see that your xt makes that awful noise with the starter just like mine, I thought this was natural noise cos it's bullet proof. A1 video
As far as I’m aware the TT has a very similar if not identical engine. Most of the differences are cosmetic and suspension related. You should be able to use the principles here for this exercise. Skäl. David
Thanks for the video. Wish I'd seennit before I tried the oil change on mine. I'm restoring one of these and run into a bit of a problem with the oil tank drain bolt. The head sheared of when I replaced it. I was pretty surprised as I was well inside the torque rating. Should I drill the stub out and helicoil it or try a screw extractor? Any suggestions would be welcome. I've spent £££ on the bloody thing and was so close to getting it finished...
Ouch! The joy of working on older bikes. If you still have a stub then especially assuming you've been soaking it in with a release agent then I'd try heat first and try to get a grip on the stub. Heat is always my first solution. Sounds like you'll need to run a tap down the threads when you've got it out just in case that was the problem.
Thanks for the video. I have put ovrr three lutres in mine and its still not showing on dipstick. Bike is level and not leaking. Has pressure. Should I juat keep filling it?
Ben Sutton hi Ben. The issue with the type of dry sump used with this bike as opposed to say that used on Harley’s is that it relies on a valve to keep the oil in the tank. If this valve isn’t working properly then when you add oil it drains out of the tank and down into the engine. If you add more oil than the bike is supposed to hold then this will cause issues when the oil pump pressurises the system as the excess oil has to go somewhere and can cause damage. If necessary drain and refill with the correct amount of oil and you should be fine. But if this case you’ll need to get the valve fixed. However. I find getting the right oil level on these can be a bit hit and miss to get the hang of so first I’d recommend just redoing it and measure the amount of oil added. Running the engine pumps oil up into the tank so make sure you did these bit right. Good luck. 👍
Mirius's Shed thank you got it down to 2.8 litres now and the dipstick is reading half way.. Seems like it's all working. Will be more careful next time. Thanks again
Hi Ben. Difficult to diagnose remotely. Worthwhile making sure there isn’t too much slack in the cable so you do disengage the clutch fully. But if it’s set up correctly and you still have an issue it’s more likely to be a gearbox issue. The bikes are getting older now and first gets more wear than the other gears. Yamaha’s do have stiff gearbox changes and first is dependent on getting the clutch adjustment right. Been a while since I had mine so I’m not being very helpful. Skäl. David
Tighten not slacken. As the plates wear the cable gets slacker. When you pull the clutch lever in, it doesn’t fully disengage the clutch so the gearbox is still under power. This makes it harder to change gear. Good luck!
I found that you can get 2.8l in the frame in one hit then the frame part is full to the brim, after that take plug cap off and turn engine over that will let pump take it down to bottom sump. 2.8l isent enough for this bike, ive had a 03 xt for a few years now, and i always found that 3.8l was nearer the mark, would you always wonder why people sell you an oil/filter kit and you get 4l of oil with them ! kinda wiered if the bike took 2.8l isent it, if not sure gradually add oil after checks like in above vid, i had a dr350se before the xt,same idea but the top tank has more capacity than oil amount specified, in otherwords you bunged the right amount in and away you went, historically the xt had a problem with 5th gear, it was sorted on bikes after the early 90's and the owner will see a large pipe going from the top of the motor down infront of the carbs and into the gearbox, that is to directly feed 5th gear with oil, they also upgraded the steel on the 5th cog as the early ones disintigrated in time, so its easy to think that 2.8l might be the original spec for early xt's, and possibly explain why more than 2.8l is required on later ones and yamaha missed changing the spec in the manuals, its just a guess but makes a little sense of it all.
Yes, I hear what you are saying John, and these issues are why I dislike dry sump engines where the oil is stored in the frame. Yamaha are perfectly well aware that the check valves leak - as are Suzuki etc, which is why they specify the oil check procedure that they do. You don't have these discussions with wet sump bikes or even with Harleys etc with a separate oil tank. That said you can overfill my wet sump KTM if you check the level with the engine cold. The engine of course will always contain oil, but the sump isn't supposed to store oil at all, but it will hold that extra one litre. I don't buy that Yamaha forgot to update the manuals - too much product liability, though I can buy Clymer et al getting it wrong, I think it's just an issue of having an older bike where the pump isn't getting the oil back up properly and/ or the check valve is allowing oil to drain. But at the end of the day, if you get the right reading following the correct process then in my experience it's all good to go - I've not yet had an issue with having too much oil in a dry sump bike, and I'd rather that than having too little. Skäl David
When at the end game and that last oil check, (just did an oil change today and 3.7 to 3.8l is what it ended up with) start it up run for 20 or even 30 secs or so then stop it, go for a smoke which takes 4 or 5 minutes, came back and dipped it and its bang on upper mark, this one has one of those temp meter dipsticks, thats how i got it anyway. spark plug is an arse aswell, 10 out of 10 to yamaha for theft prevention on that one and big fat 0 for ease on access for maintenance.
When reading about toil change on theses it says clean oil strainer. Do they mean that thing on the side of the eninge(other side of oil filter) and clean in what way?
As I noted in the video the oil strainer is at the top of the oil line where it comes out of the bottom of the oil tank - in front of the engine. Mine was seized solid. There is another strainer in the sump but that means taking the engine side casing off.
+Mirius Thanks! I. ll try to change the oil maybe that will make it leak less......I. m new with bikes I Don't know very much things about them.....I own a 94 xt 600
Changing oil won't make it leak less but unless you know it was changed recently then changing it will protect your engine. Clean the engine and gearbox and then you will be able to see where it leaks from. Then you can fix it.
It's an Arrow can, a popular make in the off road segment - not sure if they still make them www.arrow.it/en/assembled/513/Yamaha-XT-600-E-1995-2001. It's not loud with the baffle in but loud enough that you can no longer sneak up on pedestrians
Hi Larry. I don't have any particular brand loyalty. At the moment I'm mainly using Rock oil because the price is reasonable and they seem to have a good reputation.
Hello Iam from Iraq and I buy yamaha xt 600e and I dont know how many litters of oil can I put in the bike and how viscosity of oil put in?I dont understand from this video because my Inglish language not good I wish you answer me please.
You should check for a manual for your year of bike to check the following . XT600e 2.7l without filter. 2.8l with filter. 3.3l for dry engine. Check recommended oils for your country because they change by temperature. If temperature drops below 0C you need 10w/40 if it goes above 45C you need 20w/50. Between that it might be 10W, 15W or 20W 40. Skäl. David
If you have it then I'm not aware of any reason you can't use it. Your engine doesn't need fully synthetic oil like some modern engines do. It might benefit from its use or it might just cost you a little bit more.
I don't recall if it was a K&N or a HiFlo filter as I use both. I don't have the spec. If I'm ordering then I use Wemoto in the UK and choose my bike from this list www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/ Oil filters are listed under filter section.
Fantastic. That is really well done. Oil changes on dry sump bikes can be tricky and you should congratulate yourself on making the transition from watching to doing. Thumbs up!
That one is tricky to answer as I don't have the bike anymore, however, yes there is a breather pipe just behind the filler which drops down to the engine, I assume the crankcase. I can't tell you where it ends up but you should be able to find a similar fitting - maybe just behind the cylinders. It might even still have the pipe attached and the top is floating around under the tank. Have a look at this parts fiche. www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xt600e-1990-3tb1-europe-203tb-300e1_model37889/partslist/0018.html#results
I think 🤔 in going to join you 😜 in have a nice hot cup spaw of tea ☕ and then get going in change my oil fillter on my ''89'' xt 600 i stole my bike it looks almost show room has the gold wheels has 3,200 milea original runs like a brand new bike real its just breaking in still lol 🤣 But i better get back mate to my cup of tea
