Gertrude Gets Some Wierd S*** Going On

[GrandpaDenny]

Got some oil in the coolant bottle, a fairly significant layer it appears. Popping the radiator cap, not a sign of oil. No coolant in engine oil (changed it today). No loss of power, no overheating. WTF? Any ideas?

[Nails]

Whereas (uh-hum!):
1. Oil in radiator usually means a leaking head gasket.
2. Fluid gets into the overflow during times the engine is hot, from just under the rad cap.
3. Fluid gets back into the radiator when cold, off the bottom of the overflow reservoir.

So maybe there was a small leak, oil accumulated in the reservoir, and stayed there after cooling. This could've happened over however many times you rode since last checking the reservoir.

I'm downplaying not seeing oil under the rad cap -- did you dip some white absorbent thing into the rad fluid to look for oil? And just because you got oil in the rad fluid, it doesn't mean you also must have water in the oil, especially for a small leak. (But sometimes that cylinder's sparkplug can become discolored.)

I guess I'd order a spare head gasket and whatever else you'll need. And then wait until it finishes breaking.

(Please take notes 'cause I haven't gotten into replacing my cylinder head yet. )

[Conrad]

+1 on the head gasket :(
However, not real familiar with the particulars of this engine yet. Is it possible for oil to get in the coolant via the oil pump seal? Those are the only 2 places i can think of. A bummer either way.

[Conrad]

Or- is it possible the line for the overflow bottle got switched with the line for the airbox drain/catch tank?

Fingers crossed for the easy fix!

[Conrad]

Or- is it possible the line for the overflow bottle got switched with the line for the airbox drain/catch tank?

Fingers crossed for the easy fix!

[Conrad]

^^^^^oops^^^

[GrandpaDenny]

Or- is it possible the line for the overflow bottle got switched with the line for the airbox drain/catch tank?

Fingers crossed for the easy fix!

Not by me.

[GrandpaDenny]

1. Oil in radiator usually means a leaking head gasket.

Yeah, I know

I'm downplaying not seeing oil under the rad cap -- did you dip some white absorbent thing into the rad fluid to look for oil? And just because you got oil in the rad fluid, it doesn't mean you also must have water in the oil, especially for a small leak. (But sometimes that cylinder's sparkplug can become discolored.)

That's how I discovered the oil in the coolant - it's hard to see the coolant level in the overflow tank, so I made a dipstick out of a piece of scrap paper, and discovered the oil.

I guess I'd order a spare head gasket and whatever else you'll need. And then wait until it finishes breaking.

(Please take notes 'cause I haven't gotten into replacing my cylinder head yet. )

LOL I already have a pile of stuff I've bought "just in case", such as carb floats (instead of having A Certain Fairly Local Named Gene Kap rebuild my carbs, I got a set from Carl Leo - nothing personal Gene, I just know how busy you are. Ain't retirement fun?), carb rebuild kits (see that parenthetical insert from last sentence), and more that don't readily come to mind (it's 1:15 am I don't know why my cat won't let me sleep all night little furry &T^$ has to wake me up for a tummy rub. At least now she just gets in my face and meows rather than jumping on my jewels!).

Did I ever tell you that you scare me, Nails? I think because we both come from The Far Left (Field) We seem to be Somewhat Akin, my friend.

I had this truck, a 1985 Jeep J-10, that I would keep on driving with broken stuff - like with no rear driveshaft (broken yoke on rear axle), broken motor mounts (very common on six-cylinder Jeep trucks), deceased clutch ( at the same time as the broken driveshaft yoke) (drove her like that until the starter went); another incident with no rear driveshaft due to breaking the yoke on the transfer case coming up out of a canyon - then the transfer case chain broke on the way home. Replaced the transfer case yoke and u-joint on the side of the road after leaving the truck overnight (left her after my buddy's wife's truck overheated pulling my truck)(I love girls with trucks, and I loved that girl with a truck). The chain came out of the bottom of the transfer case a few months after that (no, I hadn't fixed it) in Florida, and I drove that truck around in two-wheel-drive with a gaping hole in the bottom of the transfer case for a little while. Like 100,000 miles. Sucked being Broke In Florida.

Anyway, Now Back To Our Program... I noticed the oil in the coolant not long after I'd replaced the clutch. I had also about that time given Gertrude her first of what used to be very rare, but now very common water baths around the corner from work. BTW Gene told me that oil in the coolant isn't uncommon, which kind of blew my mind. Guess whilst I've got everything off I'll check the plugs. They've been in there about 30k miles and could probably use a loosen-and-retighten and a look-see (they're Iridium).

Doggone cat (would we ever say catgone dog?) woke me up then disappeared. Sheesh.

Anyway again... I changed the oil yesterday, have the stuff to flush and change the coolant, and I have The New Carbs (thanks Carl Leo!). If it stops raining sometime this weekend I'll change the coolant and maybe start on the carbs and new lower air box.

[Nails]

We seem to be Somewhat Akin, my friend.

Now you're scaring the hell outta me.

I'll check the plugs. They've been in there about 30k miles and could probably use a loosen-and-retighten and a look-see

I remember thinking like that ... just before a squabble with a particular sparkplug. Started out friendly enough and gentle enough; but the plug was singularly spiteful over what a PO did to it's hole. I'll be replacing that cylinder head later this winter.

oil in the coolant isn't uncommon

Yeah, it might never get around to finishing getting broken. It's happened before.

[GrandpaDenny]

Now you're scaring the hell outta me.

Mwahahahahahahaha

oil in the coolant isn't uncommon

Yeah, it might never get around to finishing getting broken. It's happened before.
[/quote]

"One of these days I need to take a look at..."
1. Coolant pipe o-rings
2. Added-on brake light
3. Broken tap stuck in left side of rear sub-frame (luggage rack frame)
4. Highway pegs not in the ideal position
5. etc. etc. etc.

Like The Mamas And The Papas sang, "And the list goes on...".

[cushman eagle]

GrandpaDenny,is it possible that the contamination occured accidentally before you got the bike
I had a customer bring me an International tractor years ago that had a thin oil layer in the coolant in the top tank of the radiator,dipping q-tips in the radiator,I found the oil to be about 1/16 inch thick,and after running it about an hour,it did not change.
I called him up and he wanted more research,so I removed the oil cooler and pressurized it with160 psi air pressure overnight,and found nothing.
Then I pulled the head,found nothing, replaced the head gasket reassembled,plumbed water into the block drain and with the engine running ,I slowly fed water into the block drain with it spilling out of the radiator fill cap for a couple hours until I could see no sign of water.
He called some time later,and said there is still a very thin layer in the top tank.
I do not know if it is reasonable to get all oil out of every corner of a cooling system.
His tractor never did push coolant out of the radiator cap,but as far as I know,it is still running that way.

[GrandpaDenny]

GrandpaDenny,is it possible that the contamination occured accidentally before you got the bike

No, I have drained and replaced the coolant every year since I got the bike. We did have a problem with an employee at work pulling all kinds of passive-aggressive shenanigans; I wonder if he put some oil in my coolant tank. However, as we know, it's not a ten-second job for someone who doesn't know our bikes to get at the overflow tank, so that's probably not a reasonable accusation. The oil only appeared after I'd replaced the clutch, and after I'd given the engine a good cleaning. I do believe the most likely culprit is a leaking head gasket. As long as she continues to run well, I'm not going to mess with it. Having said that, I am planning to do my annual coolant change here shortly, hopefully this week, and will run some super flush through the system.