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Oil Turned A Grey Colour !

Featured Replies

hi , my gas gas jtx 270 seems to be turning the oil a grey colour ! i think its water. any clues as to how can be getting into the engine ?

Hi adig,

Usual places for water ingress is through the water pump shaft/seal and possibly past the cylinder head O ring seals, these harden with age and lose their sealing ability.

Bye, PeterB.

Gday - Head Gasket only if its a 4 Stroke. Otherwise water pump. Is the oil a creamy colour and consistancy? That is water. If its silvery coloured with obvious flecks you have a bearing failure.

HTH,

Cheers,

Stork

What kind of clutch does it have? I have never owned a Gasser before so I don't know.

My twinshock Husky crosser does this and i thought there was something wrong with it but I was told that it is the aluminium clutch plates that cause it.

It is aircooled.

JTX 270 will be watercooled

if its the water pump seal then the the coolant level should have dropped.

doubt its ally clutch plates causing the oil to go grey but hey, I'm an accountant !

Hi adig,

Usual places for water ingress is through the water pump shaft/seal and possibly past the cylinder head O ring seals, these harden with age and lose their sealing ability.

Bye, PeterB.

Sometimes, as Peter states, in a two-stroke, if an inner head o-ring is leaking slightly and the radiator overflow tube is restricted, the excess pressure can force coolant past the W/P seal into the trans case, and, yes, it's generally true that only four-strokes have a gasket sealed junction of trans oil and coolant, but two-strokes can do it also, just indirectly. If the bike has been in deep water quickly, the trans vent tube (it comes out the top/rear of the cases) can ingest water due to rapidly cooling of the case, causing a vacuum, but Peter's correct in that the usual path is past a worn W/P shaft/seal from my experience.

Jon

JTX 270 will be watercooled

if its the water pump seal then the the coolant level should have dropped.

doubt its ally clutch plates causing the oil to go grey but hey, I'm an accountant !

I doubted it too but I was told by a certain Charlie Preston who is Mr. aircooled twinshock husky in the UK.

  • Author
What kind of clutch does it have? I have never owned a Gasser before so I don't know.

My twinshock Husky crosser does this and i thought there was something wrong with it but I was told that it is the aluminium clutch plates that cause it.

It is aircooled.

no mate its water cooled ! , surely if it was the clutch plates there would be tiny shiney bits in the oil . its a hydraulic clutch thats on my gasgas .

hi , my gas gas jtx 270 seems to be turning the oil a grey colour ! i think its water. any clues as to how can be getting into the engine ?

I would suggest if it's going grey that it is metal fatigue. Oil contaminated with water is normally easy to detect and not normally grey in colour

no mate its water cooled ! , surely if it was the clutch plates there would be tiny shiney bits in the oil . its a hydraulic clutch thats on my gasgas .

I know your gasser is watercooled.Its my husky that is aircooled!

Doesn't matter whether it is cable or hydraulic,its the clutch plates that are aluminium or steel.

I had a similar problem but it turned out to be disintegrating clutch friction material. Bad news was the bits of kevlar, or whatever it is, got into the gearbox bearings.

Hope your problem is only water!

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

turned out to be water pump shaft worn , so water was leaking passed seal . all sorted for 25 pound

Hi

My oil has also turned a grey colour- bike seems to be running ok though- could anyone tell me how to fit the seal or shaft ( how do I know if the shaft is worn?)- how can you tell if the seal is worn as well? Also where do I get these parts from?

cheers

Bob

Hi

My oil has also turned a grey colour- bike seems to be running ok though- could anyone tell me how to fit the seal or shaft ( how do I know if the shaft is worn?)- how can you tell if the seal is worn as well? Also where do I get these parts from?

cheers

Bob

Bob,

Probably seal as mentioned above (check for coolant loss), and installation will depend on what

type/year/model bike you have. If the shaft is worn, the seal (unless a new one) is worn. If

it's a new seal and still leaking, replacing just the shaft should restore the system.

When the shaft is out, run your fingernail over the sealing area and if you feel a depression, the shaft

is usually worn (you can usually see the groove) and this will decrease the seal lip pressure and will

cause premature failure of the new seal to do it's job. The fingernail is amazingly sensitive to

surface variations and is good for checking fork tube nicks, shaft grooves etc.

Your local dealer should be able to get you what you need.

Jon

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