350x stator Wet or dry???

[loxboy1]

I have oil on the stator flywheel up to the plug. I removed the plugs to set to TDC to do the valves and when i removed the plug on the side of the case oil started pouring out. I already drained the crank case but the flywheel housing is holding oil. I thought it was a dry stator. Im getting conflicting info some say its dry others say its a wet stator. Looking at the manual and pics of the left case gasket the flywheel looks to be sealed off from the rest of the motor….

Im looking for a solid yes its wet or no its dry

[patriot1]

wet-100% sure

[loxboy1]

wet-100% sure

So that oil just stays in there forever? I drained the crank case but the oil in the stator stayed.

[Shep1970]

I'm gonna have to say its a dry stator, if there's oil in there its because this seal is leaking. (pic)

c'mon dirtcrasher where are ya your out there somewhere

shep

[ATC King]

Generally, if the oil remains, it's supposed to be dry. Same when there's a seal, it's typically dry. When wet, there are drains inside the housing, back to the crankcase, and it shouldn't reattain anything more than a small amount of residual oil.

Stators are wet because the oil is meant to cool them. Something like a generator/stator/alternator produces heat. It's typical for a small two cycle engine to use a dry stator, because that's much simpler considering the engine design, and they generally don't have a high electrical output. At times, with a wet stator, there will be a direct oil supply to the housing, to keep oil flowing instead of just splashing around and not removing heat. That's one thing to look for.


It's interesting there is so much confusion about it on a 350X. If it's dry but oil is getting in, the crank seal is bad or the crankcase vent is plugged up and building excess crankcase pressure, forcing oil through the weakest seal first. Also if dry and the vent on the stator housing is plugged up, the temperature cycling could cause spikes in negative and positive pressures, causing oil to leak past the crank seal.

There is a drain passage cast into the case and cover. It's on the lower stator cover bolt area, near the front. It looks like it's to atmosphere, which would mean the stator is supposed to be dry, and that's a tiny drain/vent for accumulated moisture to escape, and also prevent a pressure differential.

[KIM 501]

wet clutch, Dry stator

[patriot1]

Not the first time I was 100% wrong! lol

[ATC King]

I've rounded up some pictures and labeled them. Just looking at a parts fiche isn't always enough to illustrate the design of something.

I'll point out the one I labeled as a drain is only on the cover, not the case. Removing that bolt will drain the stator area, in case of something like water. Possibly oil, if it'll flow out, or, maybe with a little blowing into the vent at the top.

What I didn't find was a matching low area like that on the engine case, not on this one anyway, so that makes it a 'sealed' drain and not a vent. I did look at other case images online and thought I seen that trough area on one. Maybe it was damage, but it didn't look that way. So, I feel like that may still be a question between the two years. Maybe Honda decided to change the case in that area to allow a very small, constant open drain, instead risking water intrusion that just stayed until it evaporated. It's not like the recoil start engines have a sealed stator and they handle water intrusion fine, except for rusting. Those all have a small hole at the bottom, and that poorly sealing recoil handle.



What is shown is the stator area is sealed from the engine, and is dry. A seal on the crankshaft prevents engine oil from (normally) entering there, and everything else is sealed by a gasket. Only the vent at the top exposes the stator to outside atmosphere and should be routed high enough to prevent water ingress during normal riding.

My previous post should provide information on possible seal failure modes. Just because there's oil in the stator doesn't mean the crankshaft seal has outright failed, at least not entirely on it's own. Check the engine crankcase and stator vents for blockage.