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water getting into engine oil?

Hairy Potter

Hairy Potter

Well travelled
Location
Scotland
Has anyone else had problems with water getting into the engine oil? Had just done an oil change followed by an 85 mile ride with some rain showers followed by a washdown and put the bike away, went to check oil level today and the site glass is white! Filler cap has a bit of white emulsified oil stuck to it but it's quite thin and still oily, ie not like thick whipped cream but you can't see the oil level through the glass.
Trying to figure where water could get in except through the air box or starter motor, I note the engine breather enters the very bottom of the airbox, so any water in there goes straight into the engine.
 
H

HimalayanPete

Well travelled
Location
Norfolk UK
I could be wrong but I think thats just condensation. I get the same when the relative humidity is high and it's wet. The sight glass mists over. Never occurs in summer. As the bike is air cooled I cannot see any other conclusion to the sight glass misting. It's a similiar problem to the misting of the clocks, only occurs on the wetter colder days.
 
Harleyboy

Harleyboy

Well travelled
Location
South East
Never had a problem myself, not doubt others will supply opinions but just asking. How much water it would take to go white as described don't know most probably minimal.
Just asking and I'm sure you did tighten oil filler cap firmly (cap rubber seal ok?) as if not quite seated could it have allowed some water in?
Not sure if you waded through anything or just road spray. When you wash down assuming bucket and sponge or was jet wash involved which may have pushed water in somewhere! Did you happen to look inside air box for possible answer?

Assuming you will replace oil again you may get some residual moisture/water so another change maybe required again to ensure as much as possible is removed. Hope you can resolve it an look forward to feed back.
 
R

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Location
Adelaide Australia
Doubt if the air box drains into the engine-there is usually a one way valve and the vent usually exits the engine higher than the bottom of the air box.
How did you wash down ? I have given up putting a hose on a bike, after a few bad experiences.
Might check the oil you used for the oil change, always the possibility it might have got contaminated.
I would drain and dump the oil and refill with fresh new oil - just for peace of mind!
 
Hairy Potter

Hairy Potter

Well travelled
Location
Scotland
I think it must be condensation, just wondered if it was a normal thing. Pretty sure the crankcase breather enters the airbox right at the lowest point, there is a drain with a pinched one way valve but looks like any water could also head to the engine. Thinking about it the engine wasn't run for more than a few seconds after the wash, just to move it into the garage.
 
T

TheElevatorMan

Well travelled
Location
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Roy Gavin said:
Doubt if the air box drains into the engine-there is usually a one way valve and the vent usually exits the engine higher than the bottom of the air box.
How did you wash down ? I have given up putting a hose on a bike, after a few bad experiences.
Might check the oil you used for the oil change, always the possibility it might have got contaminated.
I would drain and dump the oil and refill with fresh new oil - just for peace of mind!
Click to expand...
On the Euro 4 model it is possible for water to enter the airbox and then drain into the crankcase. The breather hose for the crankcase connects at the lowest part of the airbox and does not have a check valve. For this exact reason, I relocated that hose to the upper part of the airbox after performing the air injection delete mod. If you have the open intake (e.g., DNA) then you could easily suck in rainwater or have rainwater enter should you be parked on the center-stand during a rainfall. There’s actually a plugged drain hose barb at the bottom of the airbox. That would be a great place to connect a hose with one way check valve.
 
Wintrup

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Hairy Potter said:
Has anyone else had problems with water getting into the engine oil? Had just done an oil change followed by an 85 mile ride with some rain showers followed by a washdown and put the bike away, went to check oil level today and the site glass is white!
Click to expand...
Same happened to me after an oil change. There's been a lot of rain over this winter, so there's been high humidity. I was worried when I saw that oil level glass was white, but decided to take it for a long run and check again. Voila, the glass was clear and has stayed clear. Don't waste your time and money changing the oil, it's just condensation.
 
Kiwiscoot

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
Location
Christchurch, New Zealand
TheElevatorMan said:
On the Euro 4 model it is possible for water to enter the airbox and then drain into the crankcase. The breather hose for the crankcase connects at the lowest part of the airbox and does not have a check valve. For this exact reason, I relocated that hose to the upper part of the airbox after performing the air injection delete mod. If you have the open intake (e.g., DNA) then you could easily suck in rainwater or have rainwater enter should you be parked on the center-stand during a rainfall. There’s actually a plugged drain hose barb at the bottom of the airbox. That would be a great place to connect a hose with one way check valve.
Click to expand...
This is actually not true. I did a study of how no water got into the engine when I dropped mine in the middle of a river. The water actually flowed over the seat. Here is a link to the study with photos of the insides of the airbox. It is a very good design and would be very difficult for water to get into the engine.


this is the ""duckbill vent at the rear end of the airbox. The water just drains out here when the engine is not running.
 
T

TheElevatorMan

Well travelled
Location
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Kiwiscoot said:
This is actually not true. I did a study of how no water got into the engine when I dropped mine in the middle of a river. The water actually flowed over the seat. Here is a link to the study with photos of the insides of the airbox. It is a very good design and would be very difficult for water to get into the engine.


this is the ""duckbill vent at the rear end of the airbox. The water just drains out here when the engine is not running.
Click to expand...
I can agree with water possibly not entering when parked, regardless of which intake is equipped. However, sucking in small amounts of water while riding is easily possible.

Did you look at where the crankcase breather hose is connected when setup stock from the factory? Towards the front not far from the Duckbill valve where water collects at the lowest point.

Didn’t notice the duckbill and did think it was a strange plug. Thanks for the correction.
 
Kiwiscoot

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
Location
Christchurch, New Zealand
I took the air filter out and inserted a camera during my investigation.
No, there is no way it can suck any water into the engine as the crankcase is at a slightly negative pressure as air is sucked out of it by the airbox&engine. Any water/rain will be sucked straight into the carb/throttle-body.
The "baffle"is sealed air/water tight right around with only a hole at the top approx. 10cm above the floor of the airbox. The crankcase breath pipe is in front of the shock on the bottom left side of the airbox behind the baffle and the duckbill drain is on weatherside of baffle behind the shock on the bottom right hand back, 13cm diagonally away from the bottom of the baffle and crankcase breather. The only way water will get near the crankcase breather hole is if the water level inside the airbox is above the hole at the top of the baffle, so approx 10cm high inside the airbox.
Also the breather from the crankcase will not suck air, but rather pulse and the dead air inside the baffle (guess about 200ml) will provide enough of a reservoir to stop most if not all of the pulsing at the top hole of the baffle.
Water inside crankcase comes from cold rides where blowby from the piston condenses and the oil temperature doesn't reach high enough temperatures to evaporate it off. Avoiding short rides and getting the engine nice and hot will get rid of the condensation in the crankcase.
This bike is very well designed and there is very little to be concerned about. Most of the "solutions" I see on Himalayan forums are solutions without "real" issues, only perceived issues . And hey some of my "improvements" are probably in the same camp too. We're all enthusiasts at the end of the day:D(y)
 
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