Water potentially in engine and carbs

[jacjr]

Okay so i dont even want to begin to explain why i think this is possible because .. well someones getting their throat ripped out but lets just say somehow some way water got into a carb and or engine itself from the carb, what damage does that do and how bad am i going to have to physically harm someone if thats what happened?

 

[xschris]

The carb, not too bad drain the bowls by removing the brass bolts on the bottom. The engine, bad drain all the oil out even the sump and the filter, all of it asap!!!!! And put new bike oil in and kick the engine over to circulate the new oil so nothing starts to rust. And if I may ask how did water get into your carb?

 

[jacjr]

someone may or may not have touched my "mock manometer" found it empty in the trash with half the liquid in it its a long stupid story if you want to know ill PM you

 

[xschris]

Thats ok enough said

 

[jacjr]

its like "hey i really appreciate the help but dear god dont let me find you" could that be the reason the bike wont turn over?

 

[xschris]

If its full of water ... yes

 

[xschris]

Drain it and don't try to force kicking it over you could brake the kick shaft housing.

 

[jacjr]

i highly doubt anywhere near full like i said it was a home made mock manometer i would say probably 7 inches of water inside a .17tube im not good at equations but there aint no way in hell that little bit of water can fill anything

 

[Recreateme]

I'm fairly new to bikes but I can't see how a bit of water would hurt much. Wouldn't it just separate and be burned/evaporated and then exhausted?

I can see an issue if its flooded, but a bit doesn't seem THAT bad to me. How much water you guys talkin here?

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[jacjr]

Nothing a paper towel wouldnt handle but the oil needs to go anyway now that i know that a lot of my trouble came from the last pair of carbs i had and not the engine

 

[Spad]

An added tip, pull the plugs, shoot some Birchwood-Casey Barricade gun preservative (aero-sol can)into the cylinders after you have changed the oil..Crank the engine over with the plugs still out...This will coat the valve surfaces. The Barricade is a good rust preventative. I have done this on engines when working on them, and storing them. Not like WD-40 which has kerosene and can promote rust..Spad

 

[jacjr]

thanks spad.. will do, and i tried to find a thread on oil changes and what not what do you recommend for oil some say diesel oil some say regular 20w 50 what do you think and how much should i get?

 

[Spad]

Change the filter too..There are specific motor oils for motorcycles....Namely, Mobil One for bikes, Valvoline for motorcycles and others...Don't use a Diesel motor oil...Walmart even carries motorcycle oil. Not all the Walmart stores do, most thou...Auto Zone, O'Reilys..Napa have a good variety...Depending on the age and condition it is hard to tell what is best weight wise...I would think 20w-50w is a little heavy..I run 10-40....Motorcycle oil is formulated for bikes with wet clutches which we have in the XS400, automobile oil is not...Spad

 

[jacjr]

off the top of your head (im used to working on cars not bikes) do you know how much oil i should buy

 

[16VGTIDave]

There are plenty of threads here about oil. Get one that is JASO MA rated (which is what our bikes call for). I used to use Rotella T, and now use Rotella T6 synthetic. Both are diesel truck oils that are JASO MA rated. Much cheaper than motorcycle specific oils.

To get the water out of your engine, shut off your petcock, drain the float bowls, remove the spark plugs and ground the wires, open the throttle wide open, and gently turn the engine over a few times. Then kick it over a few more times.

Change the oil and filter.

Drain the tank and fill with some gas line anti-freeze (or methyl hydrate) and slosh that around and drain. Repeat until the gas line antifreeze (or methyl hydrate) drains clear. Then fill the tank with gasoline and prime the carbs. Install the sparkplugs and try starting it. Once it is running, take it for a 15 - 20 minute ride and work the bike to get it good and hot so any remaining water is evaporated.

 

[Robsteeler66]

If water was vapor it could just burn off yes, but in liquid form water does not compress that is how it damages engines.

 

[jacjr]

Not being a smart ass but what do you suggest I do?

 

[Lou Ranger]

Not being a smart ass but what do you suggest I do?

Follow Dave's procedure, step-by-step.

off the top of your head (im used to working on cars not bikes) do you know how much oil i should buy

From your sohc manual:

 

[Spad]

Jacjr, On the oil I mentioned, that is synthetic oil...Regular fossil oil breaks down much quicker in a motorcycle engine and it get kind of complicated as the newer fossil oils contain less of the additives that were used in the older oils...Do a little research on the net...My thoughts have always been, a good quality synthetic oil is cheap when you are only getting a few quarts and air cooled motorcycle engines and transmissions are hard on lubricants...Spad