ST1100 - She's Giving Up Smoking Like A Cigar But Now She's Hot!

Rubber gasket trapped in cylinder head / camshaft cover? Spewing oil out. Some has found its way to the rear right plug well, and when you took the plug out .....

That's the best I can guess at, and it really is clutching at straws. But stick a load of ideas like that in your head, puzzle over them and sleep on it. Your brain will sort out the real answer while you sleep. It will be an interesting dream.
 
+1 for @Skunkape.

Valve guides occurred to me, but neither guides or a piston ring will cause smoking immediately - it happens over time.
 
Not that I am any type of expert but Go buy a can of seafood and pour a half of can in the crank case. Also check your air filter housing and see how much oil has collected . After the seafood is in the crankcase get it up to running temp and let it run ofr a while or take it out for a ride. Seafoam will not hurt the motor. The label says that you can pour in the crank case.

You aren't losing coolant are you?
 
If the engine was not used for a long time the valve stem seals could have dried out and cracked. They can be changed without pulling the heads. A compressed air line is fitted into the spark plug hole and the valves are held in place by compressed air.
 
It could just be that the piston rings are stuck in the ring lands on one cylinder. I have had luck using Archoil 9100 in the engine oil at about 1.2 oz per qt or slightly higher on older engine that are carboned up inside or have stuck rings from sitting a long time. The Archoil is a boron additive in an ester base that is known to do a good job of cleaning up carbon and varnish in piston ring grooves without loosening up everything so fast that can clog up filters and oil passages. I've seen some real oil burners completely cured after running the Archoil. Also get some Redline SI-1 fuel system cleaner and add this to your fuel. It will also clean carbon and if you have a gummed up or hardened valve guide seal it can help condition it as well as de-carbon the top end completely. The Redline has PEA in it and also a top end lubricant that breaks down carbon. I think you might be surprised at how well these products can help an older engine.
 
Uncle Phil said:
Very little oil in the air filter (already checked that).
No coolant loss that I can see.
I've already tried 'Marvel Mystery Oil' and it did not help at all.
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I just did a little checking. You might've beat me to it. Our forum is a great place for help.

St1100 blowing white smoke | ST1100 Related

Hi, I recently bought a st1100 1998 with a 1990 engine. Yes it isnt great but it was cheap and I'm fixing it up. The bike runs and rides ok and has lots of power but has bad white smoke when it's cold and when it's hot first thought is the head gasket is blown. The coolant res tank doesnt seem...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
bdalameda said:
It could just be that the piston rings are stuck in the ring lands on one cylinder. I have had luck using Archoil 9100 in the engine oil at about 1.2 oz per qt or slightly higher on older engine that are carboned up inside or have stuck rings from sitting a long time. The Archoil is a boron additive in an ester base that is known to do a good job of cleaning up carbon and varnish in piston ring grooves without loosening up everything so fast that can clog up filters and oil passages. I've seen some real oil burners completely cured after running the Archoil. Also get some Redline SI-1 fuel system cleaner and add this to your fuel. It will also clean carbon and if you have a gummed up or hardened valve guide seal it can help condition it as well as de-carbon the top end completely. The Redline has PEA in it and also a top end lubricant that breaks down carbon. I think you might be surprised at how well these products can help an older engine.
Click to expand...
Like this ?

Amazon.com: Archoil AR9100 Oil Additive (16oz) for All Vehicles - Powerstroke Cold Starts, Eliminates Injector Problems : Automotive

and this?


The oil drain hole on the left side is definitely not stopped up - I ran it a little bit with the valve cover off just to see (nice oil bath I must say ;)).
Valves seem to be operated as they should from what I could tell.
Stuck rings would make the most sense because it sat for about 4 weeks while I was on my Alaska trip.
I'm having a hard time with my previous experience on ST1100s to think an engine has 'cratered' with 45,000 miles on it.
I'll also check the vent hoses and muffler 'angle' to see if anything comes up there.
 
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for giggles a stuck open pcv could cause that. See if it has a lot of crankcase vaccuum. take the oil cap off while running , it should come off and not get sucked on. Maybe a breather hose is pinched or colasped.
 
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