OIL PRESSURE / TEMPERATURE

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:03 pm

Um...., Pardon me - I'm new here, but has there been a problem with stock CBX's suffering from oil temperature related failures? I've always thought that because I'm north of the 49th parallel and in relatively cool conditions, I wouldn't have to worry about 2 & 5 getting too hot.

Should I be looking into 10 or 13 row coolers???

Regards,
Brian

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:55 am

Brian, could you explain the oil "temperature" related failures ?
What oil are you using ?
Have you checked ( measured) the oil pressure ?

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:16 am

Brian G wrote:Um...., Pardon me - I'm new here, but has there been a problem with stock CBX's suffering from oil temperature related failures? I've always thought that because I'm north of the 49th parallel and in relatively cool conditions, I wouldn't have to worry about 2 & 5 getting too hot.

Should I be looking into 10 or 13 row coolers???

Regards,
Brian

Good questions. An oil temperature gauge is a nice additional gadget. Is it necessary on the CBX??? Maybe in SoCal with ambient temperatures of over 80F on more than 300 days of the year...People have done tons of things to "improve" the temperature characteristics of CBXes from large oil sumps to expensive oil coolers. Did anybody have a problem with temperature on a stock CBX before? I doubt it. But I have also installed a CB1100R oil cooler (13 row) on my 79 CBX. Reason: I don't know, really. Probably because I had the cooler.

Don #6141 · Post by **Don #6141** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 10:44 am

Well, in cooler climates 80K or more is frequently done on a stock CBX engine with no problems at all. If an engine down here where I live on the Gulf Coast needed a rebuild at only 50K, nobody would think if it as having been a 'failure' . . . . but then it only lasted half as long as it might have. Hot oil (above about 285) just doesn't work as well as cooler oil does and it would sure be nice to know when you're approaching the 'danger zone'

The '79 got a 3 row cooler and then in '80 they upgraded that to 5 rows . . . . and then in '83 the 1100F got an even larger one - That tells me that Honda was learning more and more about oil temperature as they went along and maybe, just maybe the early bikes are 'borderline' at best - It will be nice to see, so it's more than just a 'gadget' . . . . at least in my book

This is my first summer here with my new Katrina bike and I've already overheated it twice. Once while riding through heavily populated residential areas where I never got above 25 MPH for about half an hour and then a month or so later in heavy city traffic, despite the fact that I was shutting it off and restarting when we weren't moving at all. Mine feels like you need to switch to reserve (and I did) when it gets too warm . . . . but then once you get it moving again for a couple of minutes it runs just fine again and you realize that you were no where near running out of gas. Luckily in both instances I was able to make a turn and drive away at higher speeds

I'm sure an extra quart of oil would help, as would a bigger oil cooler. I'll bet at any given time, a quart and a half or two of the 5 quarts are up on top of the cylinder head just cooking away - Cool oil probably has nearly as much to do with cooling the head as moving air does . . . . more when the bike isn't moving or is moving slowly

I want an oil temp gauge too and once all the logistics are worked out, I intend to replace my voltmeter with one as well. Watching the temps when the engine begins to overheat will tell me lots about the necessity of a bigger oil cooler . . . . and watching them after the larger cooler is installed will tell a lot about how much improvement the larger cooler made. I know I'll get lots more use out of it that I do with the voltmeter . . . . monitoring the health of the charging system can be easily done in other ways

If I lived in Canada and only saw 90+ temps once or twice per year, I'd probably just forget about it all and go riding on another day, but down here if you don't ride on the 90 degree days . . . . . well, there went half your summer

Don

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:40 pm

A friend of mine is heavily into early Goldwings and he is currently restoring a 1978 GL1000. They have a small instrument pod on the fake tank. This may be an idea if one could find a nice pod to fit atop a CBX tank.
I have these instruments from another application, btw, and they would all fit the Voltmeter hole. I think it is a standard 52mm instrument. The function of the Voltmeter could be delegated to another design instruments. Like a small digital strip-type multi-function instrument.

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:17 am

Good day all -

alimey4u2 wrote:

Brian, could you explain the oil "temperature" related failures ?
What oil are you using ?
Have you checked ( measured) the oil pressure ?

I guess I was thinking primarily of viscosity breakdown with consequent loss of the dynamic film for the bearings. At the temperatures being discussed here (300+ degrees? Yikes!

If the oil temp on the old marine diesels on which I occasionally work reaches 150F it's cause for alarm!) you must be getting close to the limit for mineral oil - which was all they had in '79. Especially if you consider that the temperature of the oil actually in contact with the surfaces to be cooled could be much higher.

I'm using a full synthetic 5w-50 in both my BSA triple and the CBX and haven't checked the oil pressure - but the light goes out immediately after starting and doesn't flicker even when hot. I didn't think I had a problem, but ignorance is not necessarily bliss....

Thanks,
Brian

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:22 am

Brian G wrote: I'm using a full synthetic 5w-50 in both my BSA triple and the CBX and haven't checked the oil pressure - but the light goes out immediately after starting and doesn't flicker even when hot. I didn't think I had a problem, but ignorance is not necessarily bliss....

Thanks,
Brian

Excellent....

Unless you do long term stop/go riding in traffic I really wouldn't worry. I thrashed my CBX in very hot weather & stripped it to find NO perceived or measurable wear....
If you do fit a larger cooler & ride in colder weather, I would also install a thermostatic device to obtain rapid warm up....

EMS · Post by **EMS** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:42 am

Another concern with too large of an oil cooler is the operating temperature being too low. You should reach at least 212F in the sump/oil tank in order to evaporate any moisture in the oil.

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:24 pm

EMS wrote:Another concern with too large of an oil cooler is the operating temperature being too low. You should reach at least 212F in the sump/oil tank in order to evaporate any moisture in the oil.

bdento59 · Post by **bdento59** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:35 pm

... the light goes out immediately after starting and doesn't flicker even when hot. I didn't think I had a problem, but ignorance is not necessarily bliss....Thanks,Brian

Brian,

Just an FYI, the OEM oil pressure switch is designed to turn off the light at 2.8 PSI, so short of catastrophic oil pump failure, it doesn't really tell you much. In this regard, it truly lives up to it's "idiot light" moniker.

bdento59 · Post by **bdento59** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:24 pm

cbxtacy wrote:Email me with a pic of the plug you desire and I'll mail it to you. That way your bike isn't down if you crack the plug. That's for anyone.

E-mail sent, thanks.

bdento59 · Post by **bdento59** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:07 pm

cbxtacy wrote:If you need a plug, I have 4 spare engines... Email me with a pic of the plug you desire and I'll mail it to you. That way your bike isn't down if you crack the plug. That's for anyone.

George, can I take you up on that offer of a sealing plug? As you know, they are NLA from Honda. I sent you an e-mail with my address but haven't heard back from you. TIA

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:16 pm

bdento59 wrote:George, can I take you up on that offer of a sealing plug? As you know, they are NLA from Honda. I sent you an e-mail with my address but haven't heard back from you. TIA

He's most likely on the road or holiday Bill, he will pop in soon....

cbxtacy · Post by **cbxtacy** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:04 pm

I got the email and thought I emailed you back but I didn't, just checked. I'll have one out by this next weekend and in the mail. Anyone else want one? I got's tons (4 engines worth) of them.

bdento59 · Post by **bdento59** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:15 am

cbxtacy wrote: I'll have one out by this next weekend and in the mail.

Thanks George, I really appreciate it.