Oil doesn't go here, right?

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kerryb

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Looked at an 83 interstate to buy today, 88k miles, sounds good, but that's all. The whole bike needs attention in addition to belts and 1 tire. The surprise came when I stuck my finger in the coolant overflow tank and came up with motor oil! The seller didn't claim to know anything about bikes and wouldn't comment on how it got there.
If I purchase this one I figure just flush the coolant,(oil) and put the correct coolant in for the engine. Any one think the oil did more damage than can be repaired with a flush and refill.
 
Hmmmm it ran well then notice motor oil in coolant tank...hmmmm if it was strait oil and not milky looking mix might be someone put it there stupidly...that's a big gamble...when it cold check radiator for oil in it.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222414#p222414:2qcb0y3o said:
joedrum » Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:08 pm[/url]":2qcb0y3o]
Hmmmm it ran well then notice motor oil in coolant tank...hmmmm if it was strait oil and not milky looking mix might be someone put it there stupidly...that's a big gamble...when it cold check radiator for oil in it.

I'm hoping someone put the oil in the overflow thinking it was the oil fill port. If the engine has enough coolant then not much if any would be siphoned back into the radiator. Of course that is a "best case" scenario. There are no leaks anywhere, which is a good sign.
We'll see what it's like if the price is right and this one follows me home. First thing to do will be to remove 50 lbs of chrome farkles and the cracked fairing. This one must have been meant for me because a great condition black fairing is all I saved from the bike that donated it's engine to my first wing a few years ago. I guess I always knew I was destined to bring home another '83i

p.s. there was no coolant in the tank that I could tell, just motor oil in decent condition!
 
When I had the '81 engine in the Slug, I ended up with oil in the water at the top of the expansion tank. Turned out to be a bad water pump. New pump and cleaned out tank and no further issues.
 
Ok, that's interesting stuff. When I get it home I'll pull the fairing and check the radiator. Then I'll pull the false tank and empty the coolant reservoir into a glass jar to see the contents. Then I'll drain the cooling system to see what's in it.
On another puzzling discovery, the rear gear drive is full of oil up past the fill port. Short of filling it through the vent cap, how could this happen?

All part of the adventure...
 
If the rear drive is filled on the side stand, it can be seriously over-filled. If submerged for a long period, water can ingress through the vent, collecting on the bottom and raising the level of grease. I would drain ALL fluids and check for contamination. Also pull the belt covers, inspect for evidence of submersion, and..... change the belts.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=222425#p222425:22co1eqg said:
joedrum » Sun Jun 27, 2021 12:55 pm[/url]":22co1eqg]
My my ....I'd say..you made a good buy ... Idont think there any real problems

Yes I think so, aside from the broken fairing which I have a replacement already, there is no apparent damage. Just a total rebuild of fluids, seals, and maybe a water pump oring. And I'll get a few bucks from the scrap yard for all the excess chrome (slightly rusty) farkles on it. I'll post some pictures of those to see if anyone needs part of it.
So now the search begins for a pair of driver footpegs to replace the running boards.
 
It was a good news/ bad news day. Emptied the reservoir into a jar and after sitting a few hours it has begun to separate into an inch thick layer of oil sitting on top of the coolant. I guess that means a seal has failed somewhere. Someobe said oil pump, is it the pump or just the separating seals and orings? I've done a few water pumps and head gaskets,but the oil pump is new territory...back to the research files, sigh!. I took off all the farkles, haaven't weighed them yet but it feels like 35-40 lbs of stuff! So I stripped off all the the tuperware and washed the rest with Honda-brite and the garden hose. Learned that if the drain holes for the spark plug wells are plugged, the caps short out and it won't run on all cylinders...powerful lesson there somewhere. Hard to believe but after the garden hose it seems the radiator has sprung a leak, so I gotta sort that one out . Better now than on the maiden runs. Good news is the pioneer radio/cd player works really well! Some fancy speakers will sound nice on my aspencade.

IMG_6487.JPG

IMG_6480.JPG




(Fix pic orientation, df)
 
1" thick layer is very wrong. That is more than a water pump would put in. Is the oil black from running in the engine or look more like fresh oil? If dirty oil, it might have come from the engine, but it that is still a lot of oil. I would think there would be other serious issues and signs of trouble first.
 
The oil pump isn’t the issue, there is no connection to coolant but there is in the water pump. "They say" oil can't get into the coolant by way of the water pump but I'm not so sure about that.

I would refill the coolant and run with it keeping an eye on both the coolant and engine oil. Judging by the over filled final drive may just be the prior owner put oil in where oil don’t belong.
 
The paper trail on this bike shows it went through three POs just before I got it. The chrome sidecovers and very dirty oil sight glass prevented me from checking oil level at all! With the covers removed and the glass cleaned, I put one whole quart of oil in it, so it is now full. Those clues let me think someone put oil in the reservoir. The stuff from the overflow tank is so dirty I can't tell if the oil put in was fresh or not. The coolant in the radiator is a nice green color with no evidence of oil at all. I want to think someone put oil in the coolant tank, but I'll watch all the levels to see.
I havent switched the belts yet, so no riding it yet. When I do get to work on it I plan to pull the water pump cover & check the impeller. Thanks for all the advise, and fixing my pics Dan. I'll update progress on this 0ne when there is some.
 
Also, if the engine fires up, don't be afraid to run it. My '81 engine was absolutely shot with worn out piton skirts, rod and big end bearings, water pump leaked oil into the coolant and that engine still ran out on the highway!

One of my old videos of the '81 engine knocking in the bike, but still running down the highway. They are nearly bullet proof!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7J6SBjGdc
 
Did some more investigating on this engine. Compression test...#1= 181psi. #2= 181psi, #3= 160psi, #4= 144psi. I tried pressurizing the cylinders with air to look for valve vs rings leaks, but didn't have valve covers off to to be sure of tdc on which cylinder. #3 has massive leak from exhaust valve, and # 4 has massive leak from intake valve.
Also, before the compression test, I ran it on the lift long enough to see thermostat open and cooling fan come on. Started out blowing smoke from left exhaust (sidestand side), this smoke eventually cleared up. Then, after a 2 hour cool down and still on the lift it smoked on the right side ( and not on the left) for a short period of time (2 minutes max), and then both sides were smoke free. After a cool down, I checked the oil level and there was a noticeable loss of oil. There was not a noticeable loss of coolant.
So...it seems I'll be doing both head gaskets if only to check/lap the valves and look at the cylinder bores.
Also check water pump for play before putting on new belts.
Question...would head gaskets account for oil in coolant and blowing smoke from oil leakage? Just trying to plan what to look for. In the past I have replaced head gaskets but looking at the old gasket told me nothing!, it just looked bad all over.
I have decided this will be my naked wing, with a custom seat pan, higher bars, and reduced weight where possible.

CORRECTION, checked oil after overnight rest and oil consumption is negligible!
 
I've been scraping road gunk and goo offthe bottom of the engine, enough to pull the drain plug and put the drained coolant into a clean bucket for inspection. There was just a hint of oil in the coolant,so I believe the PO put oil in the reservoir by mistake. A very good sign. After sitting on the lift not running for 2 weeks, I was surprised that it started so easily with no choke, another good sign. I was a little dismayed at the amount of smoke on this startup because the bike was vertical for those two weeks. Not to worry yet because a gasket kit is on order and the heads will be coming off to lap the valves. I keep waffling between a naked wing and some form of vintage F6b. But at the pace work has been progressing on this project, I have lots of time to make a decision.
Now back to cleaning with a brush and a spray bottle of kerosene...stay turned.
 
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