Engine oil grime

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by Pandemonium, Jun 3, 2018.

  1. Darth Vader

    Darth Vader New Member

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    You need to flush that grime out. Id get some cheap 10-40 w semi car oil and put it in with a new filter and just run it for 15mins then drain it out . Repeat but leave the filter this time . Dont operate the clutch just let it idle then drain . If the oil comes out the same colour it went in job done and refill with your favourite bike oil and filter then change it in 1000 miles. If still dark looking do it again.
    Your old mechanic screwed you and put some cheap old shit in there.
     
    Pandemonium and Egg on Leggs like this.
  2. dbuzz77

    dbuzz77 New Member

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    I don't think oil is going to clean anything. Dino oil is what caused that. Usually some oil flush and some cheap oil and run for a few mins and then dump it. if you can't find oil flush that you are happy with then synthetic oil will clean it better than anything. just don't leave it in for more than 1k or so and change again.
     
  3. Pandemonium

    Pandemonium New Member

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    That's essentially what I did just before popping off the clutch cover. I put in fresh oil + the recommended dosage of Seafoam, which is a Petroleum-based detergent with a good reputation for breaking down grime and carbon. It claims to be safe, including for motorcycles with wet clutches and trans. I rode it with Seafoam in the oil for a day or two then drained it. The oil came out pitch black, but after that is when I popped off the clutch cover and still saw all the grime in the pictures. It would take a LOT of flush cycles to clean up most of it, and my suspicion is it'll never be completely gone.

    Based on the great suggestions here (thanks!), I think my plan now is to do more frequent oil changes for a few cycles (maybe every ~2k or ~3k miles) and run a detergent or flush through it immediately before each oil change to incrementally clean up as much as is reasonable. I have synthetic in it now, and I'll probably keep doing synthetic with each change because:
    1. Dino oil seems to be at least related to the problem, if not a direct or dependant cause, and I certainly don't want it to get worse
    2. While it is more expensive, it's cheaper than, say, an engine overhaul or any other significant repair/replacement that could result from the problem worsening.
    3. Anything that is having trouble with lubrication or heat from the buildup will at least have the benefit of a high quality synthetic to help with the problem.

    I haven't yet looked into how one gets at the oil pickup screen. If it's not horribly involved, I'm going to check and clean as needed. If it's a serious job, I might just hope that the detergent flushes with each oil change will clean it up.

    My clutch plates are starting to show early signs of needing to be replaced. My new mechanic is excellent by all accounts and I'll have him take a closer look at the grime problem when I have him do that job. I had planned to do the clutch job myself but now it's worth letting him do it so he can inspect the state of things.
     

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