Milky looking stuff in the sight glass

Hey guys,
I've got an '03 with just over 13k miles on the clock that I was washing and getting all ready to go out on a ride tomorrow and I noticed something very strange. I let it run for a bit, stopped it, then checked to oil level and it looks like there is a milky substance on the inside of the sight glass. I changed the oil the day before Thanksgiving and haven't taken her out since. When I changed the oil there was nothing that looked like this in the old oil. What do you guys think? Oh, and no bad news please :unsure: Thanks.

 

I just searched the forum and found another guy with the same problem. It said that it was either the head gasket (please please please please no) or just condensation build up. I'm hoping condensation. After all, it is new oil that has only been in the bike long enough to winterize it and it has been sitting in my cold basement for the past few months. Thoughts?

 

A chocolate coloured milkshake material inside your motor typical means , as you said, headgasket. I doubt it though.
Why not drain the oil and replace with some cheap oil. Run the bike a bit and see what happens. Also check your coolant level. If you had a head gasket leak the coolant level will be dropping.
Good luck

 

Did your bike seriously overheat anytime?? If not then probably condensation, which should disappear after the first hard ride.

 

As previously mentioned this is likely due to condensation. After the bike has warmed up do you see any white sweet smelling smoke coming from the exhaust? The only way to be sure is to drain the oil and put some new oil in there. Don't waste your money with synthetic oil either until you determine if there is a problem.


Rollin

 

If your old oil is 'latte'...it's a bad sign. If it's got a few swirls...run it and watch your coolant level. Another possibility for fluid exhange...water pump...especially when the owner breaks a golf tee tip inside the weep hole to keep it from dripping.

 

Let it cool completely and then drain the oil. If it is significant water you should see it separate out in the catch pan. Probably just condensation though.

 

Best IMO to drain what you have in the bike and replace it with the cheap stuff, run the bike and change oil again. Save some the old oil and see if it stratifies. This may give you some indication of what is in the oil besides what you put in in the first place. The coolant isn't just water.

Any chance you left the filler open at some point?

 

does it get to freezing temps where you store your bike? More than likely condensation as stated above but it is possible for much worse things to happen if the bike was stored cold without antifreeze(head gasket or even worse cracked block)

 

I concur with the others as well. More than likely just some condensation from over the winter. Drain and replace with standard Honda oil for it and watch it. Watch your coolant level and oil level. If coolant is getting lower and oil is getting higher, then you've got a problem. If after a thousand miles there is no change in either, drain and replace with your regular oil then ride on and be happy.

 

lets see if i can say all this without missing anything in one post...
just to reiterate, the oil is fresh. i put it in, then stored it.
its not chocolate milk colored or even latte, its just white. i had the fluids changed by the dealer last july and by the time it got to be about thanksgiving when i changed my oil, it was right at the bottom fill line. it has never overheated, i keep a close eye on that. when i started it up after i noticed the white stuff the exhaust was white, but it was also 38 degrees out, so that should be expected. the fumes did smell kind of funny, but it is also running gas with stabalizer in it from winter storage. i've never been a golfer, so that shouldn't be it. it doesn't get to the freezing point where i store it and i don't use water. after letting it run , i did notice a little line of oil coming out of the filler cap. it was on, just not tight enough.

i'm planning on going for my first ride of the season tomorrow (which i have been dreaming about for the past month, literally) so i can get a feel for it again, then take my girlfriend out on sunday. she is really looking forward to it and i dont wanna piss her off. would it be safe or should i put it off until after i change the oil?

i read some threads of vfrdiscussion and most people in this situation say to run it and see what happens.

what do you guys think

 

Run it. Whats the worst that could happen?

 

I'm not a mechanic, but I know that coolant in oil is not the least bit good.

 

So, what I need to know is if it is safe to ride tomorrow morning before I get a chance to change the oil. I'm not big on taking risks when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I'm leaning towards no. I'll get up, go to the dealership, pick up oil and a filter (not synthetic so I'm not throwing money away), change it, try to squeeze a ride in there before work. Ride it with that oil for a few days, change it again and replace with the good oil while keeping an eye on the coolant and oil levels. All that if it is not safe to ride tomorrow.

Opinions?

 

If it was mine I would change the oil before I took it out just to be on the safe side.

 

Does it sort of look "creamy" and have a mayonaisse color? If it does it's almost certainly just condensation. The old Triumph twins used to develop this a lot and it would come out of the breather tube looking like whipped mayonaisse. A lot of other bikes with dry sump lubrication (some people call them "baggers" will show a little bit of this on the inside of the oil tank filler cap. HTH

 

Alright, I'm going to pick up the new oil now. How long should I run it in the bike before changing it again? Meatloaf said about 1,000 miles, but I initially thought a fraction of that, you know, 30-50. All I'm trying to do is pretty much wash the old oil out of there with the new stuff, so I don't see why that should take 1,000 miles.

 

It's not unusual to see a white kinda 'scum' around the oil level sight window. Run your bike ten minutes, turn off and look through the oil add plug with a flashlight. If it looks basically regular oily, you're good to go. If it looks like the oil spun up on the parts is malted milkshake...that's a bit more than condensation and needs to be addressed before you ride.

 

if it smells fishy, could be semen - did you let Bubba Zanetti ride it? If so, definitely semen, if not prob just condensation. CHange the oil and move on.