checked my oil today and with 650 mls on my new SG i noticed the oil was foamy when the bike was up to temp. 230 on temp gauge.the level was about a 1/4 qt low. i had road the bike to warm it up then let it set for about 4-5 minutes to sttle to get my oil level reading.any idea why the oil would be foamy ?
Bubbly is normal. Your oil is returned to the tank and gets pretty aerated. The oil retuirn line is at the top of the tank.
The oil supply line is off the bottom of the tank, so by the time top oil reaches the bottom, the bubbles are gone, or remain on top and are harmless. It's normal.
A tanish, milky "foam" is water mixed with oil.....common with cold weather riding, especially with a bike taken from a heated garage into cold temps. It will disappear after the engine is warmed and the moisture in the oil is "cooked" out and disepates via the head vents.
how do i get water out of oil . i have changed the oil and let drain for days, put oil in again, and still have white foam, have done this 3 times. is it going to wreck moter if a run the bike ?
how do i get water out of oil . i have changed the oil and let drain for days, put oil in again, and still have white foam, have done this 3 times. is it going to wreck moter if a run the bike
try bringing bike up to temp by riding an hour or so. drop the oil & filter. flush oil bag with kerosene. drain & refill with quality oil & new filter:2cents
Sorry to revive an old thread but this is the only one I found that I think might be the issue I'm having. Trying to use the search function instead of asking the same thing over, too.
I have the head vents draining into a hose out the bottom. After a really hard ride, I get the white foamy oil too. This happened over the the summer and now that it's cooler, seems to be getting worse. If the problem I have is the same, does the water ever completely go away? I've ran it for 2-3 hours at 70-80 (3k rpm) and still get the foam drips. I even replaced the cam gear with an S&S reed hoping to stop it.
The pic is a couple different rides, but you get can see the white stuff.
99 Evo 80, S&S .508 cam, S&S reed breather gear, rebuilt stock carb, K&n air filter, 45K miles.
Tank oil looks as normal as I can imagine. It's a little bubbly on top when I first shut down but otherwise looks fine. I keep it just below the neck of the oil tank and change it every 2500 miles with a synthetic blend. When the foamy stuff first comes out, it's like half melted whipped cream. Once it cools or just after a few minutes, it flattens out.
The oil comes in contact with the moist air inside the breather hose, same thing happens sometimes on cars at the oil filler area and the dipstick tube.
OP: Since the oil in the tank looks good, it is nothing to be concerned about.
New to the site so Hello. Now down to it I have a 92 heritage Softail and rims need to be replaced. Had opportunity to buy NEW rims still in box from a 2012 Road King. Question is what Will I have to do to make these rims work on my Softail ?
Yes, the original post was three and one half years ago, but if you would have paid a little more attention, you would have seen that the post we are responding to was posted YESTERDAY.
I've found that crap inside an engine already. Built up so thick I had to scrape it out, brake cleaner didn't even cut the crap !
I've got pics posted that show the build up. Search for TC cam tensioner repairs to find pics.
I sent a sample of that crap to Blackstone Labs for analysis and the report came back stating water contamination. The bike's owner was doing 2 mile short trips back and forth to work 6 days a week. No time for the crankcase to heat up !
I just came from my home shop there was a new CVO Glide in there with the same problem two mile ride's ate the cams and lifters looked a mess the short rides can kill a motor.
I have a 10 minute warm up and 15 mile ride each way to work in the morning so I don't think I fall under the short ride category.
I'll chalk it up to aerated oil drippings and or aerated oil drippings mixed with water in the drain tubes. I was actually concerned that I might have been siphoning gear oil somehow.
Thanks all!
Rik
EDIT HERE:
SCHMIDTYS - I searched for "TC cam tensioner repairs" amd didnt find any pics. Can you post a link maybe?
the build up imho was assinine for a motor under 20 grand
bought a go-cart oil catch can and some fittings -am going to run the head vents into it - just have to drill and tap 2 holes in the big sucker and plug the old holes
On an air cooled engine the moisture is from the air heating up and condensation occurring. Once the condensation gets hot it evaporates away. Ever notice a car that is first started blows water out the tail pipe. The same is happening on your bike and in the engine. Just let it get up to operating temperature and all is fine. This is one reason you should never start a motor be it on any vehicle and only drive it 1 or 2 miles and then shut it off and then an hour later do the same. The water never evaporates out and rust begins in the engine and tail pipes. That is why Taxis need more maintenance.
This isn't good. I drive my cage about 1.7 miles each way to my job each day. That short trip must be destroying my engine as well. I must either get another job further away or I need to retire!!! LOL!
Not good. My wife used to work 4 short blocks from work, and she came home for lunch to let the dog out. Took it in for service as it was blowing oil at 36,000 miles (car was 8 years old), and the service manager called to ask if we had rolled the odometer over making it 136,000 miles. Engine was just plane shot. We had the drain pan gasket replaced as well as a breather. We ran it for a couple more thousand miles till we were able to trade it in.
Leave early and take the long way to work.
The cylinders and exhaust might feel hot but put your hand on the bottom of the crankcase to gauge if the engine is up to operating temp.
I do this. ..I Jane less than 2 miles to work and I ride every day. ..I have at least a 10mile loop that I do to and from work to make site the mirror gets warm
My ride to and from is about 20 minutes or so with 5-10 minutes of warm up on each end. It's not a gentle ride either. I go from 0-80 and quick as I can and I cruise at 75-80. I would think it's plenty warm.
Running to rich can also wash lubricant from the cylinder walls causing a small amount of blow by, resulting in moisture being in the engine. That is why I asked if it is possible he could be over choking during startups.
Running to rich can also wash lubricant from the cylinder walls causing a small amount of blow by, resulting in moister being in the engine. That is why I asked if it is possible he could be over choking during startups.
Again, my original concern was that I was somehow drawing gear oil into the engine oil and the two were mixing.
Thanks,
Rick[/QUOTE]
The two oils mixing would not cause any kind of a moisture condition. I run full synthetic Amsoil, the same oil goes into all three holes. So if you are concerned that the fluids are mixing you may want to try that.
The two oils mixing would not cause any kind of a moisture condition. I run full synthetic Amsoil, the same oil goes into all three holes. So if you are concerned that the fluids are mixing you may want to try that.
Sorry- to clarify, I was seeing that tanish-brown color of oil coming out. Thats what caused the concern. I would understand why there was a little oil dripping, it was the fact that it was aerated or very thick and had that light tan color. (See pics above)
Good, bad or indifferent- my mechanic refuses to run the same oil in all three holes. I specifically asked about that when I started goign to him and he specifically said no. :spank:
Rick
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