Author Topic: '78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?  (Read 705 times)

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Offline drumstyx

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'78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?
« on: March 02, 2017, 03:00:07 PM »
Just did the first oil change after the rebuild. About 15-20 minutes runtime, oil came out looking nice and clean, but it had to be done.

Anyway, as I was changing it, I first drained the tank, out of which I got roughly 1.5 litres, and then I drained the sump, which had 1-2 litres. These are estimates, so there could well be a good bit more that came from the tank, but I'm just wondering how much oil is normally sitting in the sump in this "dry" sump system.

Offline ekpent

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Re: '78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2017, 03:17:50 PM »
 All depends on how well the check valve is working that stops it from draining back down and how long the bike has set. If you really want to get all the old oil out tip the bike to both the far right and then far let and hold it for a short time and see how much more oil comes out the drain each time. Doing it just off a center stand leaves some hiding in hidden recesses.

Offline drumstyx

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Re: '78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2017, 03:39:58 PM »
Not too terribly worried about how much I'm getting out, as I'll be doing a few oil changes even within the first thousand km (Rotella is cheap).

This is a fresh rebuild, and everything in the oil pump seemed to be in serviceable condition. I replaced the o-rings and shaft seal and went on my way. That's why I'm wondering, how much should be in there from brand new? Obviously SOME sits in there, and if you let it sit even 5 or 10 minutes, most of the excess oil is draining into the sump, I'm just curious if some is draining from the tank.

Offline Desert-SOHC

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Re: '78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2017, 03:49:10 PM »
I just did an oil change last week on my K8 and I'd say there was 1.5-1.8 liters in the pan.
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Offline markreimer

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Re: '78 750K -- how much oil should be in the sump?
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2017, 03:55:31 PM »
Not too terribly worried about how much I'm getting out, as I'll be doing a few oil changes even within the first thousand km (Rotella is cheap).

This is a fresh rebuild, and everything in the oil pump seemed to be in serviceable condition. I replaced the o-rings and shaft seal and went on my way. That's why I'm wondering, how much should be in there from brand new? Obviously SOME sits in there, and if you let it sit even 5 or 10 minutes, most of the excess oil is draining into the sump, I'm just curious if some is draining from the tank.

You can also remove the filter housing and hit the starter (kill switch OFF) to turn the engine over a few times. I get a fair bit more oil belched out the front that way, which I guess would be from inside the oil pump and the oil passage ways.

When I change the oil, I usually have a bit more in the tank than the oil pan. Not a whole lot more but some.

Ditto on the check valve. On my last 750 engine I did my first oil change and the next time I came out to ride the tank was empty. It had all drained down. I rebuilt the pump with a new seal and now it stays put


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