Beautiful and frightening fluids

[wolfman]

Changed all the fluids (oil,coolant, rear end) in anticipation of her long winter sleep.  The coolant came out in pristine condition, I was almost tempted to reuse it, it looked that good..keep in mind I have had the bike since 95' and never changed it.

Rear end fluid (gear oil) also looked like it was fresh from the bottle, but the drain plug magnet was covered in fine "hair"

Engine oil was BLACK. More frightening was what I discovered in the filter cover and drian pan after the oil was poured out into my recycle jug.  In the fliter housing were fine aluminum particles.  (The filter itself was VERY clean and particale free) In the drain pan were VERY fine brass/copper colored sediment and some more very fine aluminum residue. (not a huge amount, maybe a 1/4 of a thimble full) I have seen similiar oil residue in an engine oil change within 400 miles of a rebuild...the bike has just shy of 7k miles on it now, and was run this summer for the first time in nearly 3 years...

Just wondering what you guts think...Should I worry?  (Bike runs/sounds FINE with no appreciable oil consumption or strange engine noises.  There was also no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant.  (I will add that the oil that was drained out was changed in after I accidentally filled up the crankcase with gasoline when I misassembled the fuel petcock..the contaminated oil was drained and replaced with 20w-50 Castrol motorcycle oil...which is what I drained this time after about 500 miles of riding)

[Rick G]

I wouldn't worry , since the bike sat so lomg there will be some fine particles that have settled. By the way don't use  standard , ethelene glycol anti freeze, use  thetype intended for aluminum engines . Plain old green  anti freeze , has a lot of salisilates in it and will cause premature wear of the machinical seal in the water pump. ( Ok, you spell it , I'm just gessing)

[Rick G]

Ok, so maybe its silicates,  (sand)

[RussD]

I just put water in mine recently, like it said in the Haynes manual.......was that a no-no? I figured they suggested that 'cause we didn't really need antifreeze since they're not being ridden in the winter?

[kiawrench]

hey russ,,, best get on down to local motorcycle shop, buy coolant designed for a motorcycle, mix as directed, get the plain water out of the engine,, that way you still have an engine to ride with next season,,, the guys at haynes either dont ride , or dont live in an area where water freezes.
    

[Rick G]

Straight water , you have to be kidding , for one thing its way too corrosive and of course it Freezes!!!! do this reapir tomorrow!!!!

[RussD]

I was just following directions Rick   :P

Dumb question......So how do I get the water drained?  ::)

[wolfman]

Not to be startin' nuttin, but I used my Haynes manual for this change too ?"Add a 50/50 mix of Ethylene Glycol type coolant and water to the radiator until full" "Reinstall the breather bolt, and radiator cap"  "Start and run the engine for a few minutes"  "Do not allow it to reach normal operating temperature"...etc.

[RussD]

Maybe I'm lookin' in a different place in the book than you Wolfie. Chapter 1, page 24, #5.......All it says is to use "soft water" if the coolant is at or below the low mark on the resevoir, so that's what the dingbat did (me being the dingbat of course!!)  ::)

[Lucky]

If you only added a little water to the resevoir bottle to top it up, then you have nothing to worry about. ?just use the proper coolant next time. ?that small amount shouldn't make much differance.

since you don't know how to drain the cooling system, I'm sure your not running an engine full of plain water...

[wolfman]

Maybe I'm lookin' in a different place in the book than you Wolfie. Chapter 1, page 24, #5.......All it says is to use "soft water" if the coolant is at or below the low mark on the resevoir, so that's what the dingbat did (me being the dingbat of course!!) ?::)

Chapter 1 is "Route checks" skip ahead to the "Maintenance" section for the "how to" drain/change the coolant. ?As Lucky said, if all you did was top of the resevoir with some water, you are fine.

Oh, and I used Prestone "silicate/phosphate free" ?ethylene glycol based coolant mixed about 60/40. (It gets COLD up in Maine!)

[Dave T.]

I assume you drained your oil right after a ride when it was hot? This would mix up the particles a bit more. Maybe if the oil was cold and all the metals sank to the oil drain plug.

I gotta try to find some silicate free anti freeze. Why would you put silica sand in coolant? I thought the Ethelyene Glycol would be enough. Oh, and make sure when you add "water" it's distilled, free of metals like calcium, magnesium and even sodium (soft water).

Is winter over yet? I wanna go ridin...

[RussD]

Oh, and I used Prestone "silicate/phosphate free" ?ethylene glycol based coolant mixed about 60/40.

Say that 10 times fast & drunk!!  :P

Hey Wolfie.......Just checked my book, and Chapter 1 is "Tune Up & Routine Maintenance". Thought maybe mine was laid out different than yours, since I just got it a couple of months ago, but I just checked the copyright, 1991, so I doubt that's it. Oh well, just glad I only put about 2 cups in (had to use my wifes measuring cup, 'cause none of my funnels were clean  ;))!!

[Silver_Bullet]

Where on earth does it NOT freeze?  Even here in beautiful south Louisiana, the Jan/Feb temps can get in the teens!  I took the advise of many here and used the new sillicate free antifreeze (I aint sure how it's spelled either!).  And who's askin if winter is over yet?  It aint even started here, today's temp in the high 70's, and will be up to 85 by mid week!  And I still haven't the time to fix my bike and ride it!  What greater injustice is there!

Mark

[Lucky]

Someone here, a long time ago, suggested swapping the oil & rear end drain bolts, as the rear end drain bolt is magnetized.  I did this, & later found a "so junk I couldn't tell what it was" Yamaha in the bone yard (the only one i've ever seen around here) and swiped the r.e. drain bolt from it.  now both of mine catch any iron particals