Oil looks thin, almost watery ?

[the_fist]

Unfortunately, my bike has been made a low priority with the whole impending Colorado move (Denver - 1/14/05 !!). Accordingly, I have not been able to ride it as much as I'd like... that said....

I was lettin' the ol' girl warm up and even after 2 weeks of idle sitting, she started right up ... she idled fine but when I went to give a little throttle, she died after hearing a rather high-pitched (and quite scary) halting sound. Its sort of hard to describe but it happened the every time I let her idle and then gave throttle -- not wanting to mess anything up, I discontinued my engine-warming session and decided to check the oil --

The oil level was a little high and it seemed to look a little thin, almost diluted. I took another reading, just to make sure, but the oil still didnt look quite right -- It's only been about 150 miles since my last oil change.

I know for damn sure that I need to do a valve adjustment but is this thin oil any sort of tell-tale sign of deeper damage ?

Thanks.

BTW--anyone in Denver want to help me do a valve adjustment ?

[10guy]

You may want to drain the oil and let it sit in a clear container for a day or two to see if it seperates. That way you'd know for sure if there is water in it. Does it smell any different???

[Erik Marquez]

water in oil will not make it look watery ?

Water in the oil will make it look foamy, grayish,, and grow algae if ya leave it long enough ?

Fuel in the oil will thin it down though.. Drain the oil.. change the filter,, your talking 2 qt's a $6 filter. Cheap protective measure at twice the cost.

[cardiffdrz]

water in oil will not make it look watery ?

Water in the oil will make it look foamy, grayish,, and grow algae if ya leave it long enough ?

Fuel in the oil will thin it down though.. Drain the oil.. change the filter,, your talking 2 qt's a $6 filter. Cheap protective measure at twice the cost.

Why would he have fuel in the oil tho Bronco? if he just changes the oil won't he just end up with fuel in the next lot of oil he puts in and be back to where he started ?

[Erik Marquez]

Why would he have fuel in the oil tho Bronco? if he just changes the oil won't he just end up with fuel in the next lot of oil he puts in and be back to where he started ?

why? fuel left on or faulty petcock, flooding carb, cylinder and allowing fuel in oil. is a possibility.

And I never meant to imply changing the oil was a solution to the cause,, just something that should be done regardless ..due to it not "looking" right

?

[digitaldan]

I once had a VFR400 which one morning just would not start, I checked the oil and noticed it was way full. It turned out the carb/s float was faulty and was letting fuel run into the cylinder to such an extent that the motor was so flooded it could not turn over ! This bike also had a vacuum operated petcock yet it still flooded the bike. This can be extremely dangerous to the motor so if I where you I'd check to see if the carb is not letting fuel through when the bike is parked. Basicly what Bronco said.

[sno]

Yup check your carb and petcock to make sure both shut off the flow!

(Any position on the petcock but prime should not flow gas)

(and with the carb out of the bike hook it to the fuel line (on prime) and let er sit level for a few minutes and see if ya get leakage)

Does your oil smell gassy???

[the_fist]

I drained the oil -- it does smell a little gasy...

I have the 2001 E Model, so I dont have a vacuum operated petcock, but I do suspect the carb's float is to blame --

As I dont have the immediate time to work on it and Im trailering the beast to Denver is less than two weeks, I've drained the oil, drained/removed the tank...I dont plan on riding the beast until I've the got the situation under control -- any further preventative measures recommended ?

Thanks.

[Wayward Son]

did you leave the gas on while it sat?

[10guy]

I think I might remove the spark plug and squirt a bit of oil in the cylider and then move the engine by hand to recoat the walls.

[the_fist]

did you leave the gas on while it sat?

Yes...but I did so about 3 weeks ago... I left the petcock on for quite awhile (about 2 weeks at least) and then took it on a 200 mile ride -- after having left the petcock for so long, the bike was difficult to start. I ended up running down a hill and popping it into 2nd gear to get it finally started...

The 200 mile ride was fine, although I did hear a number of gunshot-like backfires throughout the day...the kind that are so loud they startle you...

And then, following the ride, I let the bike sit (with the petcock off) for another two weeks. I then let her run for a minute and thats when the events described in my first post ocurred.