'Mayonnaise' in breather tubes. Gasket problem?

[Maddog Reynolds]

Any advice, please? I pulled off the breather pipe from the top of the crankcase and it was lined with white gunk. I shook it out and refitted it.

The oil was changed about 2,000 miles ago and it looks OK in the sight glass. The bike usually does 25 miles each journey, mostly on empty roads, but 3 weeks ago it was doing short journeys for a whike and not reaching normal temperature every day.

Could it be water in the oil from the short journeys evaporating off?

The engine lost some coolant just once a few months ago, when I was late for work and rode it hard in warm weather, then stopped it without riding gently for the last mile and giving it time to cool off. I topped it up and it has not gone down since.

I'm obviously hoping it is condensation. Also the bike lives outside at the moment and it rains a lot. Could water be gathering somewhere and getting into the crankcase breather that way?

Or is it the first sign of a head gasket failure? :-(

Thanks for any ideas you may have.

 

[isaac_]

A gasket failure would look like a mocha latte when you drain the oil. Frothy. Delicious.

Do you have picture of said gunk?

In some electrical connections I've found like a cream-like consistency product. Wonder if that is used elsewhere on the bike.


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[green_bread]

Im willing to bet its just condensation. Youve already done the right thing by cleaning it out and reinstalling.

Do you leave the bike sitting outside or does it sit in a cooler temp, then you ride it out in a warmer temp? Like an air conditioned garage or something?

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

At the moment, it sits outside in the rain (it rains a lot in Cumbria). That's the way it has to be, until I get a car project out of the garage.

One day it struggled to start, then spluttered and ran normally. It had rained non-stop for 2 days. Coincidence? Otherwise, it *always* starts first time.

 

[isaac_]

I'm still concerned about your description, "mayonnaise." That implies a certain consistency. Unsure how that translates to condensation.


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[uberRC]

Yeah, I see this on the top of the oil cap on our cars when the weather is extremely cold. It does look just like mayonnaise. It's condensation + oil blended together.

I agree that Maddog should be keeping an eye on coolant and other potential areas for concern.

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

I took some pics of the 'mayonnaise'. It's a common problem in engines that don't warm up. But I was worried it could be early signs of water getting past the head gasket into the oil, which can only get worse.

It idles and runs normally, so for now I'll have to wait and see

By the way, what does the breather connect to? It connects to something in the air box and another tube the same size and material goes forward, maybe to the cam cover? There is no sign of water getting into the air filter part of the air box, but I couldn't see further forward near the throttle body.

 

[isaac_]

I think mayo is a pg description of what that looks like.


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[Fasteddy]

Looks exactly like an LC8 / SuperDuke engine with a failing waterpump seal...

 

[Michelle]

I think the bike is fine ,, before we had this hot spell it was really cold here , ,, I have had that gunk come out on other bikes I have had ...... Also cleaning my breather pipe out a little while back ( RC390 ) I had some ,, not as bad as that ,, its cos of the cold weather we mostly have.... I really would not worry chap..

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

It occurred to me it shouldn't take very long to check the water pump. I may do that to put my mind at rest

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

I'm hoping to look at the water pump seal tomorrow. I've heard a rumour that the seal could be installed inside-out! I'd expect the flat side to crankcase pressure and the other side to cooling system at up to 20 psi. Can anyone tell me the official answer, please?

 

[Fasteddy]

There are two seals, one on the impeller side of the side cover the other on the inside. Both are installed : "Press shaft seal ring all the way in with the open side facing inward." per the manual which is correct and I think oppisite of what you are describing.

P / N

J760122455

SHAFT SEALING RING 12X24X5,5

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

Thank you for the reply. I'll see if I can find who said they were fitted the wrong way for clarification.

 

[Maddog Reynolds]

I am now more suspicious of the water pump. I didn't have time to take the cover off, but I have changed the oil and removed the lower rubber seal from the rad cap, so the system is unpressurised. I'll see if that reduces the amount of water. There is no sign of bubbling or surging in the header tank, even when the fan cuts in.

Does anyone know where I can get a really low pressure cap, say 0.5 bar?

 

[HolyJeansMan]

I'm having a similar issue but its through out the clutch case and in my oil sight glass. I was overdue for first service by 700ish mile. Just wanting to know if I this is signs of trouble or something with the first time oil.

 

[thunderrun53]

Be very weary about anything that could be called mayonnaise, milk shake, or latte. I popped my water pump gasket and only had a small amount of "mayo" in my oil. The vast majority of it was in my radiator and hoses. I'm certainly not saying you have a blown gasket, but from my experience, nothing looked that bad until everything went wrong at once.

 

[=maz=]

Something to think about...
When our head gaskets went, there wasn't any contamination of the oil with water. What did happen was that the increase in pressure within the cooling system forced water from the Rad into the overflow bottle every time the bike was ridden.
However, when the water pump seal went, we did see a massive amount of contamination like you have in your pics.

 

[Fangfactor]

Something to think about...
When our head gaskets went, there wasn't any contamination of the oil with water. What did happen was that the increase in pressure within the cooling system forced water from the Rad into the overflow bottle every time the bike was ridden.
However, when the water pump seal went, we did see a massive amount of contamination like you have in your pics.

Same with me when head gasket went between the barrel and water gallery above the exhaust port. No oil contamination but pressurised the cooling system and blew coolant out the overflow pipe

 

[babbles41]

Any advice, please? I pulled off the breather pipe from the top of the crankcase and it was lined with white gunk. I shook it out and refitted it.

The oil was changed about 2,000 miles ago and it looks OK in the sight glass. The bike usually does 25 miles each journey, mostly on empty roads, but 3 weeks ago it was doing short journeys for a whike and not reaching normal temperature every day.

Could it be water in the oil from the short journeys evaporating off?

The engine lost some coolant just once a few months ago, when I was late for work and rode it hard in warm weather, then stopped it without riding gently for the last mile and giving it time to cool off. I topped it up and it has not gone down since.

I'm obviously hoping it is condensation. Also the bike lives outside at the moment and it rains a lot. Could water be gathering somewhere and getting into the crankcase breather that way?

Or is it the first sign of a head gasket failure? :-(

Thanks for any ideas you may have.