bike flooded, now what?

[mrhedges]

So two weeks ago we got 6 inches of rain in 2 hours, my bike was parked on the street and the flash flood that ensued knocked the bike over, then it got a couple feet of water on top. :apologetic:

This what i've done:

1. removed debris from airbox (there were leaves inside!) then blow it out with compressed air to dry it
2. clean out fuel tank, drain carbs
3. remove spark plugs and run the starter to pump out any water in cyinders
4. drain oil and replace oil filter

After all that the bike runs but there is still water in the oil, I can see it through the sight glass, the oil has a milky color and the sight glass has condensation on it. I have only run the bike around the block, at 30mph, it idles correctly and responds to throttle correctly. A friend suggested to put seafoam in the oil to removed the water, then change oil again and keep changing until it stops being milky.

any suggestions? Don't wanna blow the engine up, I just got the bike running right and I wanna go on another long tour

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't bother with the additives if it were me, just buy the cheapest oil you can find that matches the specs the bike needs (Supertech diesel oil?)briefly cycle it through the bike, and then change it. I would do this several time over, probably 1 or 2 times past when I couldn't detect any water in the oil. Then do a final oil change and put your normal oil in it.

 

[tom203]

Since bike was submerged, you need to pull carb rack off ASAP....water is in carbs,so you got to get rid of it - the vacuum diaphragms won't like water sitting in them. Drain them thoroughly and put in warm oven (or full sunlight )to evaporate the rest. Plan on changing the crankcase oil again.

Your brake fluid is dangerously contaminated

 

[mrhedges]

I wouldn't bother with the additives if it were me, just buy the cheapest oil you can find that matches the specs the bike needs (Supertech diesel oil?)briefly cycle it through the bike, and then change it. I would do this several time over, probably 1 or 2 times past when I couldn't detect any water in the oil. Then do a final oil change and put your normal oil in it.

and change the filter each time?

 

[Big T]

Depending on how milky the oil looks, I'd take it for a nice long ride to let the oil heat up and evaporate the water

 

[mrhedges]

Depending on how milky the oil looks, I'd take it for a nice long ride to let the oil heat up and evaporate the water

Is that safe for the engine?

 

[Rob S.]

and change the filter each time?

I go overboard with oil and filter changes: I never do one without the other. If it's been only 600 miles since it was in the shop, so be it.

I've heard of condensation developing in the crankcase if it it doesn't exceed 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Most months of the year my oil cooler is covered with cardboard.

But your situation is well past condensation. I'd listen to the guys who say the carbs and fuel system must be disassembled and allowed to sunbathe (or lightly bake).

 

[mrhedges]

I go overboard with oil and filter changes: I never do one without the other. If it's been only 600 miles since it was in the shop, so be it.

I've heard of condensation developing in the crankcase if it it doesn't exceed 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Most months of the year my oil cooler is covered with cardboard.

But your situation is well past condensation. I'd listen to the guys who say the carbs and fuel system must be disassembled and allowed to sunbathe (or lightly bake).

if there was still water in the fuel system wouldn't I be getting white smoke from the exhaust from the water cooking off?

 

[mrhedges]

Depending on how milky the oil looks, I'd take it for a nice long ride to let the oil heat up and evaporate the water

After the ride around the block the condensation is blocking my view into the oil glass

 

[gustovh]

Time to change it again.

V

 

[Rob S.]

After the ride around the block the condensation is blocking my view into the oil glass

In my experience (especially after adding the 1150 oil cooler), it would have to be a long, hot summer day of high speed riding. Does your bike have an oil temp gauge?

Remember, it was playing submarine for a while. It's going to need a few cycles of 'wash', 'rinse' and 'dry.'

 

[Nessism]

Walmart SuperTech Diesel oil would be a good (and cheap) choice. I wouldn't bother changing the filter, just dump out the oil in the filter cavity. If the bike runs well I wouldn't worry too much about the carbs. Engine heat will dry out any residual moisture. In fact, ride the bike as much as you can since that will help dry it out.

 

[mrhedges]

I don't have a temp gauge. Autozone had shell rotella on sale and it was the cheapest oil there, which also happens to be what I usually use, maybe I'll ride to walmart and get some supertech. Just wanted to know that riding with a bit of water in the oil would do any serious damage.

 

[allojohn]

Bare in mind this is not clean, fresh water. It is laden with cr@p and that cr@p is in your carbs, engine, hoses, wheel, head-stock and swing-arm bearings. Plan on future problems.....

 

[Gorminrider]

as we all know, Motors actually "process" a certain amount of moisture from the air and a warm engine does vapourise it and blow it into the mufflers where it rusts the mufflers out if the bike isn't run long enough!! but when it's in the oil, that's way too much.
I wouldn't want any clashing surfaces relying on this crap until I had done everything else first. $40 in oil is a cheap fix versus any damage.
Ideas I would try:

Milky oil- I've had this issue with a bike that had a leaky seal so antifreeze got in the oil....Keep changing it! You are really relying on just the oil to "pickup" moisture cheapo diesel pickup oil 15w40 will do it.... a lot of "milkygummy" will be stuck up inside your valve cover and you can wipe it off. Mostly I'd run the (air-cooled) bike on it's centrestand with a fan on it to keep flushing the oil from engine,clutch gearbox,letting the wheel spin in the air going through gears... I wouldn't go anywhere beyond around the block gently....


If you are running out of $$ ,and the milkiness is not gone, drain into clear jars and let the milky oil "settle"- after awhile a certain amount of the water will go below oil in a clear jug and the oil on top will darken a bit if left awhile.You can reuse the top of it for flushing only. or maybe a lawnmower you are brutalising.
Added-my experiencewith antifreeze is that it does take quite awhile to "settle" if the oil is holding water "properly" but, if its oversaturated, water will appear at the bottom pretty quick...and the milky will be noticeable too the longer it sits ... the "least saturated" will be at the top

Probably pointless ruining a lot of oil filters after the first. I'd take the polluted one out and try to rinse it with kerosene,paint thinner or even diesel and reuse . But you will need a new one when you think you are "pretty good" as to milkiness and want to ride the bike.

Fuel: AFTER you have drained tank,carb,fuel lines and after after you have dried the tank with a vacuum cleaner (sucking /blowing ) a hair dryer has a red hot element so I wouldn't be happy putting it in gas fumes! I 'd use ethanol(=alcohol) laced fuel (10%) for a tankful if you don't use it anyway...This'll help with any moisture remaining in the fuel system ...Seafoam too but only because it probably has alcohol in it.

 

[mrhedges]

This is what the oil looks like BTW after the third oil change. I put a splash of seafoam in it then rode it around the block, let the motor get to operating temp, let it cool for 30 minutes, then drained it.

 

[Nessism]

Still quite a bit of water in the oil. That sucks. I'm not sure what to suggest other than just keep doing the oil changes. It must be getting expensive... Maybe some 30 weight non detergent oil? Something cheap that won't ruin your clutch plates.

 

[fbody_mike]

That milkshake of oil and water is some tough stuff, it sticks to everything and doesn't come out easily. If it doesn't look better soon I think I would pull the valve cover, clutch cover, stator cover and oil pan off and clean each with a solvent, then spray as much solvent in the rest of the engine as I could. That is the extreme though, its a lot of work so some oil changes while getting everything hot may be better if it improves over time.

Just to think outside the box. We have probably all had the crankcase full of gasoline that wasn't known to use when started the motor up. I wonder if adding a pint of gasoline to the crankcase would help speed up things. Its risky, but my sight glasses were always so clean after a carb float stuck and the oil got some fuel in it.

Or maybe, like I saw on that show from Wheels through Time, they put a hot plate, the type for cooking, under the engine of really old bikes that have sat in barns for decades. They get everything hot in the engine to help get out oil that has petrified.

 

[mrhedges]

Just to think outside the box. We have probably all had the crankcase full of gasoline that wasn't known to use when started the motor up. I wonder if adding a pint of gasoline to the crankcase would help speed up things. Its risky, but my sight glasses were always so clean after a carb float stuck and the oil got some fuel in it.

Or maybe, like I saw on that show from Wheels through Time, they put a hot plate, the type for cooking, under the engine of really old bikes that have sat in barns for decades. They get everything hot in the engine to help get out oil that has petrified.[/QUOTE]

I just put some seafoam in the oil and the sight glass cleared up. I'm going to put some gentle miles on it and see if the seafoam doesn't help on this next change.

On a sidenote I went to the autozone by my house to try to price out some cheapo oil and Rotella was by fare the cheapest and it's on sale, $35 for 2.5 gallons. I could try to go to wallmart, but autozone is much closer to my house.

 

[1978GS750E]

You might want to try adding a small amount (1/2 Qt.) of automatic transmission fluid into the next oil change. ATF is very good at cleaning things! Ever see inside of an automatic transmission? I know it helps with oil buildup and sludge (bought a truck that looked like it never had the oil changed once!). Just might help loosen things up.