A cautionary tale for T-Max owners

[Greyerbeard]

The service interval for the oil filter (on the Mk4, anyway) is 12k miles, with no time interval specified.
On mine, thats just about 3 1/4 years since the 600 mile service.
At the end of a 20-mile ride yesterday I noticed a trail of oil behind the bike after I parked, and a puddle of oil forming underneath it . With no oil left visible in the oil window...
Got the bike recovered home, and have discovered that the oil filter has corroded into pinholes - SO lucky that it must have happened not long before I got where I was going; and that I wasn't on a motorway with 100 miles to go!
Will be changing the filter every 6k miles in future...and whatever happened to oil pressure warning lights?

IMG-20180126-01854.jpg

[Ralph]

No oil warning light? that seems strange,
are you sure? it may have one but luckily the pressure did not drop
enough to turn it on before you noticed, they don't often come on
unless it drops below about 7psi.

[Snail]

oh sh*t! that was too close for comfort, lucky indeed best do the lottery this week?

snail

[SH125Paul]

Yamaha have for a while gone with oil level lights... My old '89 FZR 1000 Exup had oil level ratger than oil pressure... Same with the Xmax 250 and my XMax400...
Come to think of it so was tge Gilly runner... As it would flash a little with spiritex riding, corners and under (or just after) heavy braking...

Canister type rather than paper element...
Interesting read on the 7psi...
Will have to check my XMax400 service manual

[Ralph]

Interesting, my Yamaha MT-07 and Kawasaki W800 both have pressure sensors.

[MrGrumpy]

At the end of a 20-mile ride yesterday I noticed a trail of oil behind the bike after I parked, and a puddle of oil forming underneath it . With no oil left visible in the oil window...
Got the bike recovered home, and have discovered that the oil filter has corroded into pinholes - SO lucky that it must have happened not long before I got where I was going; and that I wasn't on a motorway with 100 miles to go!
Will be changing the filter every 6k miles in future...and whatever happened to oil pressure warning lights?

Yes.......this has happened to me TWICE before (on mk4 and mk3). I thought I was the only one, and must be because I ride more on rural roads where there is more dirt and gravel to corrode the filter. And its a bugger as the Tmax is semi dry sump design, so oil never leaks from the filter when you are parked up (you saw oil after you were parked up - this would be the leaking oil that escaped from the filter when you last ran the engine). Basically Yamaha make crap oil filters....aftermarket ones are better. I think Yam ones are usually safe for 9k miles, but I guess that for the sake of a few quid, you might as well replace them at 6k to be on the safe side.

The 'oil' light on Yamahas is purely an oil change warning (mileage based).

I could tell the first time it happened that something was odd as the engine sound changed - it became harsher. I'd no idea what had happened, except that I was sliding round on wet roads like I was on an ice-rink (yes, the oil drips on to the tyre) but I happened to be passing a workshop I knew and drew up there gushing oil everywhere. Oops.

Don't forget Mr Yamaha charges you a fortune for his special high quality parts that are far better than the other cheap rubbish parts you can buy at half the cost......

[Greyerbeard]

Just been studying the workshop manual and wiring diagram and I can't see any kind of oil pressure or level sensors on the engine anywhere - definitely a bit worrying!
I think the oil had been spraying out of one or more pinholes and collecting in the bodywork, hence the puddle when I stopped.
Will be coating the front of the filter with heavy grease, and keeping a close eye in future...

[Funkycowie]

I already changed mine every second service which meant it was changed once a year (after winter)

[Symcity]

General service items are available online at very low cost these days - why anyone would choose to leave an oil filter in place for such a long time is beyond me - then again Yamaha seem to endorse this process

[MrGrumpy]

I already changed mine every second service which meant it was changed once a year (after winter)

Yeah...who knows if its miles or time or a combination of both that governs how fast the filter rots??