I know there's another active thread titled similarly, but our pictures look very different. Here's what the coolant that was in my overflow tank looks like: Certainly looks like oil - haven't given it enough time to separate or anything. Just did the water pump rebuild literally 5 days ago. Had trouble with the gasket for the case so had to take the case off twice to get a better seal (that is, gasket between the case and the outside world). Had no trouble with the WP seal itself - bearings went in great, seal seemed good, shaft lubed with a small amount of engine assembly grease (all we had to lube with). Checked clutch basket for milky oil just for the heck of it - all clean. Oil level seems to still be very close to where it was after I filled it up. Coolant level went from "Full" line to right at the cap. I'm wondering if the paper gasket didn't seal well around the perimeter of the pump housing and is letting oil seep into the coolant. If that's the case, I guess I need to crack the case again and get another gasket (uuuggghhhh). Really desperate for some insight as I have been getting ready for a long-planned ride this weekend and only have tomorrow through Friday night to fix. HELP!
Not sure if that is caused by incorrect mounted waterpump or not. As far as I can tell (and my memory serves me), it looks more like a blown headgasket or incorrect torqued bolts. Guess there is better source of information but this is just my .02 /Zappa
Ok, here's a quick update. Drained the coolant from the radiator via the drain bolt at the bottom port side of the radiator itself this morning. Coolant came out clear for probably the first 90% of draining, last little bit had some blackness to it but not nearly as opaque as the overflow tank. Coolant from tank that I extracted last night has mostly settled, leaving dark cloudiness with small black debris at the bottom of the container with kind of clearer coolant at the top. Does this sound indicative of deteriorating hoses? Everything I've read about oil in coolant seems to suggest the oil should rise above the coolant and exhibit itself as pools of rainbowy brownish stuff. Mine is very much black and is settling below the coolant.
I have the other thread going. Looks and sounds the same too me. Mine has most likely been mixed longer. I'm banking on the gasket failure where you mentioned. Or the outer case has warped a bit allowing oil to pass in that area. Not much surface area there. Before you tear down do some heat cycle flushes on the cooling system. I got a a bunch more out on my first flush and second was clean. If I had pleanty of extra cash right now I would order new hoses too just to rule them out. ill keep an eye on this thread might give me some insight.
Ok, I'm trying to convince myself more and more that this is rubber from the hoses. A lot of online searching does not lead me to believe it looks like oil. Let's do a worst case analysis: My goal is to go on a ~500 mile ride this weekend, starting Friday night, that will range from slab to deep sand. Temps in the 80's. -If it's rubber, and I flush a few times, keep an eye on the coolant, will there really be any appreciable damage to the system? I don't seem to have any external coolant leaks so it should still do it's job whether there's rubber in there or not, right? Don't necessarily have time to get the Samco hoses and install before Friday. -If it's oil, worst case it could degrade the hoses to the point of failure, leaving me stranded 30 miles from the road with no engine cooling. Best case, it just keeps pushing some oil in there and is fine until I can take it apart after the ride. I know the conservative thing to do is not go on the ride, but I've been planning this for more than a year and it will probably be my last big desert ride in SoCal before moving back to the East Coast.
Okie dokie, here's some more info. Coolant from the expansion tank had settled pretty nicely overnight. Here's what the bottom looks like: Definitely black slimey stuff settled at the bottom of the container. In hindsight, I think I've seen very small amounts of it before when draining the coolant. The rest of the coolant was mostly clear with none of the colloidal black stuff in it. As a comparison, I mixed some Motorex liquid gold with the coolant I'm using and stirred as vigorously as I could. Still separated with the oil on top. I'm pretty convinced this is material from the hoses. That being said, does anyone think this is a BAD idea to ride with for a weekend? I think I pretty obviously need new hoses and probably a new radiator cap, but I don't think that's feasible in the next 48 hours.
I dont see a huge problem here with the sediments. could be left over from factory assemble, etc. I have flushed alot more out of my brand new KTMs
The rubber overflow tube is a culprit in clouding up the reservoir with black hose residue. Once residue is removed you'll be fine. Mine leaves small amounts of residue in my reservoir making me clean and bottle brush it out. I have nearly 30k on my motor so I don't think it is problematic in my instance. I recently spoke with another inmate who suddenly noticed a very large backup of black hose residue and within a few days a coolant hose ruptured on him. If you can bring a couple sections of the proper diameter hoses with clamps in an emergency... Then you might be able to limp somewhere by adding water to replace any lost coolant (non ethylene) worst case scenario.
I did the same test with my oil and coolant,Same results. Let's say it is still oil, more likely contaminated than fresh oil out of the bottle and has been cycling heat many times might get the oil to change properties with carbon deposits??? I dumped my oil in to my recycle bucket with other oils so I can't try that. If it is rubber, the. Why did we both see spikes in fluid level? This small amount of rubber would not displace that much fluid. Do we both need new radiator caps and hoses? Not trying to be negative or criticizing anyone's comments here. Just trying to think out loud And figure it out.
I actually pulled the oil out of my oil tank for the test; the oil is very new, less than 100 miles on it (was changed with water pump). I agree that the increase in level is the only thing that doesn't follow with the other conclusions. Wondering if I hadn't gotten the motor warm enough after completing the work - I let it warm up until the fans were running, but then didn't check the level again until the other night. Looking at my cap, it is pretty rough looking. Checked the tube to the coolant tank - didn't look great but better than the cap. Guess I can run to the store and get some new tubing for the tank, that's easy enough to get to. Concerning new hoses - Procycle seems to have the same Samco hoses and clamps for the same price as KTMTwins has just the hosing (w/o clamps)
Just to follow up on this thread, have been tearing into the bike due to another problem, decided to swap out the hoses while I was at it. Took the old hoses off and they looked very clean (read: not falling apart) on the inside. Hmmm... Next, flushed the coolant passages on each cylinder. Wow. There was A LOT of the casting sand type stuff. I am sure this is what was in the coolant as a few of the other inmates mentioned in this thread. Do yourselves a favor and flush the passages next time you're in the bike! Also, if I could go back and not buy the Samco hoses, I would. A pain in the butt to install, the hose clamps are huge and not easy to fit / get positioned to tighten. A number of them required trimming and flexing to get into place. Just not worth $150 to go through a bunch of back ache only to have hoses that are (maybe) a bit better than stock.
Ok samco hoses are much better than OEM you bought piece of mind, cheap when your miles from home Your residue may only be leftover oil/mineral sands from the casting process The sand is what can cause WP seal failure and scoring of the shaft Monitor your oil pressure (oil light) on your ride water in your oil will clog your paper filter hence starving your motor of oil take a spare filter just incase or better yet run a scotts stainless so that it doesnt clog The coolant and oil circuits are seperated by the WP seal, not the papers Ride and enjoy
It had gotten replaced a few hundred miles before this debacle happened. Well honestly, the hoses I took off were functionally perfect and aesthetically fine. IMO, I just spent $150 and ~2 hours of time on something that worked in the first place. YMMV I guess.
Straight silicone hose is three bucks a foot but full size screw clamps are a pain in the ass to install between the cylinders on my 950 , but they are ther and the rubber hoses KTM sells are not oil proof so if your water pump gets bad enough to get oil in the coolant the factory hoses go soft and will blow out the first time you see six bars on the gauge , if oil does get in the coolant a little cascade in the radiator run it a while drain and flush and it's good as new two or three times is good . Only thing it won't clean is the overflow tank . SEYA
FWIW.... Had the same problem with my overflow tank and coolant. Noticed the black looking coolant about 6k after doing the WP. After a little checking I found it to be my original hoses, 36k on my bike. The hoses were coming apart from the inside. Went with the Samco hoses. They are a pain to fit and get the clamps adjusted just right but I hope they worth the money? I did check everything before doing the hoses and found no water in the motor and no sign with the filter.
