FD oil appearance?

[Mark Hooton]

Hi All, doing the 12k service on my 2010 DOHC and, of course, changing the FD oil (oh, yea of little faith..............)

Last changed at 6k (the paranoia is endless) by the dealer on request............ so I did it again, just to be sure (god, I need therapy but all these threads about FD`s................).

I used Castrol SAF-XO as specified by BMW (even bought it off them).

I was surprised at the colour of it after 6k miles? Anyone experienced the same? (I refer to colour of oil, not the desperate FD paranoia).

Normally this appearance would indicate ingress of moisture or emulsifying...............

Thank you for any feedback, mechanical or medical

ta,

Mark
www.cymarcbikeparts.co.uk

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[Fanum]

Unless it's a trick of the light, that's fucked.

It ought to be clear, no milkyness at all.

I've seen a lot worse, but it's knacked.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Not sure what to make of that to be honest. First time mine was done it was a bit mank looking. Second time it was like darkish clear honey. Yours on the other hand looks like white honey. It almost looks like it is emulsified with some water only it doesn't look like the usual mayonnaise.
Was the lube dumped immediately after a run? Just wondering if it's aerated which is why it's milky.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Unless it's a trick of the light, that's fucked.

It ought to be clear, no milkyness at all.

I've seen a lot worse, but it's knacked.

Yea that's the mayo I would expect with water.

 

[Mark Hooton]

Unless it's a trick of the light, that's fucked.

It ought to be clear, no milkyness at all.

I've seen a lot worse, but it's knacked.

What do you mean `fucked`? FD fucked? Oil change at 6k and at 12k and now fucked?

 

[Fanum]

What do you mean `fucked`? FD fucked? Oil change at 6k and at 12k and now fucked?

No

It won't have done the bearings any good, but it's unlikely to have done too much damage either......good job you did check though

I'd get another bearing, 'o' ring and seal just in case, and look up the procedure for changing them, then keep half an ear out for a rear end rumble....Chances are it'll last another 20k miles, but you will need them at some point anyway, so get them now (it's a pretty good way of ensuring that they won't fail too )

(I used to have to stick a new bearing in every 10k miles when I was doing a lot of fording, but that was with oil the colour of the pic above every few months )

 

[Mark Hooton]

Aha

ok, ta, looks like some water ingress then so no, mebbe the bearing hasn`t been too happy about it.

don`t do any fording but by god did it rain in ireland a couple of weeks ago, it was like fording at street level

i may check the oil after 3k just to see but I presume this has happened in the space of 6k from the last service.

And yes, i`ll get the gubbings but have heard further horror stories about the FD not being put back correctly leading to more problems.

And I prefer a shaft drive...................

 

[Beemerman59]

No

It won't have done the bearings any good, but it's unlikely to have done too much damage either......good job you did check though

I'd get another bearing, 'o' ring and seal just in case, and look up the procedure for changing them, then keep half an ear out for a rear end rumble....Chances are it'll last another 20k miles, but you will need them at some point anyway, so get them now (it's a pretty good way of ensuring that they won't fail too )

(I used to have to stick a new bearing in every 10k miles when I was doing a lot of fording, but that was with oil the colour of the pic above every few months )

Where's the procedure for changing the bearing on a 1200 twin cam?

Mark, my FD oil comes out a light gun metal grey on my '08. Its been that colour at both of the last changes at 18K and 24K miles. The bearing was dealer changed just before the 18K service. I use the same oil as you as well.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Gun metal grey = not good, tha'ts metal that causes that colour.

 

[patzx12]

Hi Mark,
What does the oil smell like?
Are there any fine particles in the oil?
If its out of warantee i would:
Check the wheel for any noise when spinning the wheel with the bike on the stand.
Any exessive play or backlash.
Put in new oil and check again in a couple of thousand miles.
I am in the water ingress camp.

 

[Mark Hooton]

Mate, thanks, answers below

Hi Mark,
What does the oil smell like?
Are there any fine particles in the oil?
If its out of warantee i would:
Check the wheel for any noise when spinning the wheel with the bike on the stand.
Any exessive play or backlash.
Put in new oil and check again in a couple of thousand miles.
I am in the water ingress camp.

No discernable smell other than `used oil`....... but there is an odor.....
No, oil seems clear of lumps and bumps and iron filings etc.
2010 so out of standard warranty
I`ll check backlash now - no discernable or undue noise or back lash when stationery and revolving the wheel.
How would water get in
Totally agree with new oil regularly - its kinda spooking to find this after all the FD `hype`

Thanks sooo much for taking the time to help

 

[Spout]

How would water get in

Does your 2010 have a breather?

 

[Mark Hooton]

Oh yeah

Yes it does so i guess its the way it gets in eh?

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

TBH I'd be concerned as to why there was so much water in it but other than that I wouldn't worry, you change the oil regularly so that's good

Check the breather's clean, refill and change again in 6k. Sod changing bearings and seals!

Andres

 

[Nutty]

Not that it should make much difference, but do you take the bike off road much Mark?

 

[Mark Hooton]

Not that it should make much difference, but do you take the bike off road much Mark?

Sadly no - I`m lucky if I get the time to take it ON the road
The only things I can think off are that both ny recent tours where nearly all in heavy rain..............

Oh, and I use a low pressure (purposely) jet wash to clean it

 

[Shep]

There used to be a guy in the pits that used to run a supercharged, methanol burning kwak 900, they used to run it so rich (common with methanol) that the engine oil used to look like that after each run, they would just drain the oil off then leave it to stand 'till it separated then pop it back in and run again

Not recommended for your FD though but it might be interesting to see if any water separates out over time, i suppose even a warm sealed final drive unit suddenly drenched in cold water could suck water past the output shaft seal.

Shep

 

[Beemerman59]

Gun metal grey = not good, tha'ts metal that causes that colour.

I was thinking the same although its been that colour on every oil change. It is only a very light grey but as I'm fitting a new rear tyre this weekend so going to drop the oil to see. Its got 4K miles on it since the last change. Normally I ride the bike first but this time I will do it after its been sitting for a while. There's no play or rumbling from the FD so I'm hoping it might just be residue left over from the rebuild. Will stick a magnet in there and see if its metal or not.

 

[Mark Hooton]

What the dealer says

Guys the dealer (not a bad crowd) say that it does seem like moisture ingress and if I don`t do a lot of fording then to check the breather - apparently if it gets blocked it can cause condensation in the FD..........

Sounds like good advice.

 

[davegs]

Waterworld

If you've been fording you can bet it's got in the breather.