2002 VFR800 white smoke, fuel in oil and no coolant loss.

[cuongphubui]

Hi guys -- I'm rookie, but I'm having a pretty significant issue with the VFR, and need to reach out to see if anyone has had similar issues and what suggestions are out there for trouble shooting / solving this problem.

Here's the run down:

1. Bought 02 VFR month ago with 17 k Miles,  previous's wife  owner said it wasn't run about 2 year. Brought it home, when I open oil fill cap, fuel came out a lot from that. I changed oil and filter, new battery installed then it start after few press. After couple minutes to warm up, white smoke coming out from a lot exhaust. I noticed that she was running a little weird -- no low end power.  Other than that, everything seemed fairly normal.

2. Today, went out to go for a ride, started her up, and it ran fine. The bike idled up, rode around my subdivision and  the smoke start came out again. However, on revving the engine in neutral, a lot white smoke was still produced.

3. Proceeded on my ride around 2 miles and noticed the low end getting progressively weaker, to the point where I had to rev significantly to start from a dead stop. Lots of smoke being produced. Rough feeling throughout the RPM range. Rode home.

4. Changed fuel regulator pressure, drained old gas off, new gas in. Took all 4 fuel injectors out for clean, it flowed and worked good. Started and motor ran good, again, lots of white-ish smoke after few minutes warm-up. Changed oil and still smell fuel in oil (not a lot but feel oil thiner). No coolant lost at all.

So, any suggestions? My thoughts are that it could be some bad gas, but more likely a bad spark plug or something having to do with the fuel injection system. I plan do to the following:

 

Any other suggestions if these things don't happen to rectify the problem? Any help would be appreciated!!

Thanks,

Phil

[SportTouringCZ]

Hi there,

I am no expert but if you have fuel in oil it may not be electrical/ bad gas. I can give you a few suggestions (I am no mechanic, just my 2 cents):

1) How about piston rings not sealing properly? Maybe you are burning oil mixed with fuel. (the smoke would be white with blue-ish tint) A compression test should do the trick and tell you if your bike is healthy.

2) Worst case option would be cracked engine block. That could lead to burning coolant and all sorts of problems.

- Did the bike warm up enough to let the coolant flow to the radiators?

 

[cuongphubui]

Thanks for advice d

1. Don't know about the ring but I'll do compressor test asap.

2. The longer bike warm up the more white smoke come out. Coolant never lost a drop!

[SportTouringCZ]

Well as I said, I am no mechanic or expert.

Maybe wait some time for others to confirm my theory 😊
I don't want to waste money on compression test just because I had the idea and it suits the "symptoms"

Good luck!

[Rush2112]

Fuel in the oil and smoke = bad injector, bad plug or coil.  Pull the plugs and look for a wet, dark plug... this doesn’t cost anything.  Don’t run the engine anymore until you diagnose.  You are likely dumping fuel into a cylinder and not burning it.  This will wash the oil off the cylinder wall and rapidly cause wear on that cylinder wall.  Don’t ride the bike until you diagnose and fix.

 

did the oil level rise with the fuel dilution or was it just a fuel odor in the oil?

[Cogswell]

It might be helpful for you to be a bit more specific about how you cleaned the injectors . . . " Took all 4 fuel injectors out for clean, it flowed and worked good."   If you're getting fuel in the oil, it's not that the injectors don't flow - it's that one or more won't shut off completely.  If by cleaning you removed them and sent them to a professional cleaning service then those issues would have been addressed.   If not, that would be a good next step.  If you do have an injector not shutting off, the excess unburned fuel can find its way in to the cat, igniting there with the very high temps inside.  Eventually the substrate in the cat can melt, plugging it.   That can be an expensive and / or difficult fix. 

 

Generally white smoke is related to coolant entering the combustion process.  If you get the injectors sorted (not a bad maintenance practice in any event) and still have this issue, it could be that you didn't operate it long enough for a measurable amount of coolant to be lost.  A common cause can be overheating leading to a blown head gasket.  Also, any engine operating when it's just started and particularly if it's cool outside will emit water vapor which appears white - harmless to the engine - that's totally normal.  It should though disappear once the engine is warm. 

 

Blue smoke usually comes from oil entering the cylinder and results from wear.  Black smoke is usually an overly rich mixture, and can result from (among other things)  a clogged air filter or the aforementioned injector not completely shutting off. 

[Rush2112]

PS: when you had the injectors cleaned did they check for duty cycling? 

 

Cogswell nailed it... just because the injectors flow doesn’t mean they are working as designed.  You could have a stuck injector that is flowing 100% of the time flooding a cylinder... or you haven’t consumed enough coolant to make a blown head gasket obvious.

[manoil]

I would put some injector cleaner in with the fresh fuel and run it, do this a few more times over next few weeks,

if the bottom end power issue does not improve I would do a compression test next?

[Rush2112]

9 hours ago, manoil said:

I would put some injector cleaner in with the fresh fuel and run it, do this a few more times over next few weeks,

if the bottom end power issue does not improve I would do a compression test next?

 

Don’t run your engine until you diagnose the problem... pull the plugs and check.  It’s simple and free. If you run your engine and you have a stuck injector the raw gas is dissolving the oil off the cylinder wall with every revolution and the rings will score the MMC liner. It will become a self fulfilling prophecy because if you keep it up you will have compression issues. Dont risk making an existing problem worse.

[cuongphubui]

Thanks all you, guys

I found out 2 fuel injectors stuck on open that make a lot of white smoke and fuel in oil. Time for new injectors. 

[Cogswell]

If I may submit - you might want to send them out to someplace like RC Engineering for a professional cleaning.  Injectors can fail but are pretty reliable - they may just be gummed up and not closing properly.  It costs $25 ea to have them bench cleaned and flow balanced - you could have all 4 done for the cost of a single new injector.   It's a bit of a gamble - but I think a good bet that they can be cleaned and returned to service. 

[cuongphubui]

4 new injectors on the way.

Thanks anyway.