Found greenish colored motor oil in my bike.
#1
10-11-2011, 07:22 PM
Found greenish colored motor oil in my bike.
Well, I bought a 2006 KLX 250 this week, and I changed the oil in it today to find a greenish colored oil. The previous owner said he recently had difficulty starting the bike and he found a cracked vacuum tube which fixed the starting issue. I've seen blown head gaskets in cars and trucks causing the milky white motor oil, but I can't say I've seen green. I did find a big white glob of goo under the spring behind the oil filter, and some similar white goo on the mesh screen behind the air filter. Could this be a blown head gasket or gasoline getting into the oil? Could the bike have gone through some deep water? I first thought the white stuff in the airbox screen was lithium grease until I saw the glob behind the oil filter. The bike starts and runs great. If this bike is screwed up I don't know if I'll be more mad at myself or the guy I got this thing from. What in the world is going on here? Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Austin83; 10-11-2011 at 07:38 PM.
#2
10-11-2011, 07:48 PM
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 21,060
The white goo you describe behind the filter is likely lithium grease that said previous owner put in there to hold the spring. Nothing to worry about. Run the bike for a couple hundred miles, and watch the sight glass for color, then change it again to see if the "green" color comes back. If you have antifreeze getting into your oil, it will be from the head gasket or the water pump seal. Don't panic just yet.
#3
10-11-2011, 11:35 PM
German-made Castrol 0w-30 used to be green...greener than that picture, though. Like deej said, I wouldn't panic about it yet.
#5
10-12-2011, 12:37 PM
Castrol will also milk on you if you slightly overfill and the crank turns it into butter. I've had this happen in cars, and much worse than your photo. I'm not a big fan of Castrol for this reason. Agree with the other guys^, I probably wouldn't lose sleep just yet. Try another high quailty brand of oil.
#8
10-12-2011, 02:32 PM
Valvoline 10/40 thumper oil.
$4.00 a qt.
If you use anything more expensive, you're wasting your money and living with the illusion that it's somehow better for your bike.
$4.00 a qt.
If you use anything more expensive, you're wasting your money and living with the illusion that it's somehow better for your bike.
