so i've bought my son a honda 400 so i'm talking to the dealer one guy shop, so he has a lot of experience on the ds, has gave me a lot of good tips. well after buying the honda we start talking about the tm45, and then the subject of the crank case vent line and oil dripping out comes up. so he tells me there is a vent on the oil tank and if ( more like when it plugs) it will cause the crank case vent to bleed off more oil. well i haven't taken the front off of my ds yet to check this out, but thought i would share this info, weather it works or not i'm not sure but some people seem to have a real problem with this subject. well maybe this can help a few.

 

only time i had trouble with my crankcase vent was when it plugged up in the cold and actually blew it off the motor, now i route it back to the top of the chain roller so if any oil drips out it will lube the chain. if that makes me a recycling tree hugger so be it[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

also all you have to do is pull off the gas tank and this will expose the top of the valve cover, the vent hose to the oil tank is right there and easy to check.

 

feffroe, are you say that you ran a hose from the crank case vent to the top of the valve cover, what did you do with the vent that came from the oil tank

 

no,no, i ran the crank case vent line up and around,down the frame to the top of the sproket area. the hose on the valve cover to the oil tank i left alone.

 

crankcase vents blead positive pressure in the crankcase - the vent on the DS motor happens to be located close to an oil source so its easy for the outgoing emissions to pick up some oil on its way, perhaps it should've been located a little higher. some bikes have an oil collector to deal with oil in the emissions - look closer at the 400ex and I think you'll see it, seems like they have one if memory serves. oil can run back into the crankcase from a properly positioned collector, and the emissions can be directed into the intake to be burned.

whatever you do with your vent tube - make sure it passes a location higher than the motor on its way to where it ends to keep water out of the motor in shallow creek crossings.

I have a Uni crankcase breather filter on mine under the tank cover above the carb, and I keep a piece of shop rag around it with a rubber band that I change every ride. that's all the oil I lose - just a little that dampens the cloth.

 

I have done like Jeffroe except I have a PCV Check valve in the line and don't have it routed to the chain (just below the frame.)

I'll have to check those lines Sandman. . . I am due to change the oil this weekend so, maybe a good time to check all the lines on the quad.

 

well i still haven't gotten around to checking mine out but the reason i brought it up was i meet a guy at the dunes and he said his was a stage 2 1/2 well dale worked on it because it was puking oil out the vent, turned out it was a pluged vent on the oil tank. i personnlly don't lose much oil on my ds's but i have never rode in the dirt much. thought the guys losing oil there might find this of interest, but then again it might be a one machine problem. i do like the self oiling chain though maybe i'll try and plug that other vent[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

LOL![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]