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7/15/2014
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AU
pdee4t
10/26/2014 5:21am
10/26/2014 5:21am
Edited Date/Time
10/27/2014 8:54am
Hi everyone.
Went riding today, ended up having to ride through some water ruts. Didn't realise how deep 1 of them was until I actually rode through it. It was almost to the top of my front wheel.
Anyway, the bike started blowing white smoke/steam, the oil became all bubbly and thin and wattery(wasn't milky but just looked very thin like it was water based), as well as the bike not wanting to start back up for a while(out of the water) and the inside of the muffler was all wet/wattery too.
(Its not a blown head gasket as the bike just had a rebuild and I also didn't lose any coolant).
Anyway, I brought it home, took the air filter out and checked inside the air box and found a little puddle of wet brown water inside the air box, just below the carby intake boot.
EVERYTHING else around the filter, including the filter itself was clean as a whistle, dry and still had air filter oil on it and the sealing surface where the filter seals against was not muddy or wet at all, just had rim grease on it, as it usually does....so the water didn't get in externally from outside the air box.
It got sucked up through the carby vent hoses that hang out the bottom of the bike(too much water going in at a fast rate), because that's the only other way it could've made its way into my air box, and through my motor then out my exhaust.
The bike did end up starting back up and running in the end, it wasn't hydraulic locked or anything, so I rode it back to the car even if the oil had a bit of water in it, and it wasn't too much water, but was enough to get into my air box.
Ive already done a few oil drains to get all, if not most the water out but i'm just wondering, what's the best way to re-route the carby vent hoses?? I have read the Dave Hopkins Carb Setup 101 method, wondering if there's other methods people use to re-route em? his method still has 1 hose facing below the bike.
It's a KTM 450 EXC 2004 model.
Went riding today, ended up having to ride through some water ruts. Didn't realise how deep 1 of them was until I actually rode through it. It was almost to the top of my front wheel.
Anyway, the bike started blowing white smoke/steam, the oil became all bubbly and thin and wattery(wasn't milky but just looked very thin like it was water based), as well as the bike not wanting to start back up for a while(out of the water) and the inside of the muffler was all wet/wattery too.
(Its not a blown head gasket as the bike just had a rebuild and I also didn't lose any coolant).
Anyway, I brought it home, took the air filter out and checked inside the air box and found a little puddle of wet brown water inside the air box, just below the carby intake boot.
EVERYTHING else around the filter, including the filter itself was clean as a whistle, dry and still had air filter oil on it and the sealing surface where the filter seals against was not muddy or wet at all, just had rim grease on it, as it usually does....so the water didn't get in externally from outside the air box.
It got sucked up through the carby vent hoses that hang out the bottom of the bike(too much water going in at a fast rate), because that's the only other way it could've made its way into my air box, and through my motor then out my exhaust.
The bike did end up starting back up and running in the end, it wasn't hydraulic locked or anything, so I rode it back to the car even if the oil had a bit of water in it, and it wasn't too much water, but was enough to get into my air box.
Ive already done a few oil drains to get all, if not most the water out but i'm just wondering, what's the best way to re-route the carby vent hoses?? I have read the Dave Hopkins Carb Setup 101 method, wondering if there's other methods people use to re-route em? his method still has 1 hose facing below the bike.
It's a KTM 450 EXC 2004 model.
You sure it didnt go in the filter, if you rode it then hauled home things cpuld dry out from engine heat.
There is a bowl vent on the back of the carb that would let water into the float bowl,same with those carb hoses,you should have muddy water in the bowl and it aint running right it that is the case. Water and jets dont mix.
Could the water went in the hot start opening?
And,if you had enuff water in the cylinder to contaminate the oil it would be blowing out the exhaust ,it takes a lot to bypass rings. If any water had been in the oil it would been milky,it was thin because of heat I'd have to believe.
so it had to of come up through the vent hoses somehow, the sealing surface for the air filter was clean as a whistle, no mud or dirt or anything. so I doubt it would've come from the air box after considering everything I just mentioned.
although the hoses don't create vacuum, I have heard of cases before where water creeps it's way up through them, especially considering I was in the water for a good 10-15 seconds before I got out of it.
the oil was a very dark brown colour(same colour as the water in the puddle). how could it of gone through the airbox and filter externally, when the air box and side covers are almost squeaky clean...doesn't make sense if that were the case.
there was only a little bit of water, so that's why the oil wasn't milky.
I also have a hot start lever on my carby that I put on, so it had no chance of getting in through there.
the exhaust was blowing very white smoke, like steam, for about 10 minutes.
The Shop
reason why i think this is because, after that water puddle, the bike didn't stall. I kept riding for 5 or so minutes until me and my mate stacked on a hill and the bike was on it's side for 5-6 minutes while helping him pick up his bike and roll it back down the hill(his bike has no side stand). When I got back to my bike, fuel was seeping out of the top of the fuel tank, where the cap sits, even though the fuel switch was turned off.
wondering if it would be that the bike was on it's side for a while, so the engine oil went up through the crank breather hose that goes into the carby intake funnel, then mixed it all together and out through the air box via gravity or something along those lines?
the fuel I used was yellow in color, the oil I use is like a light brown color, that's the same color that was in my air box.
the fact that it ran for 5 minutes without any effect probably means it wasn't actually water inside there?
If you put your finger over the crankcase vent hose you will notice it pulls your finger, then blows it off. Given enough time submerged in water, and a couple hundred or thousand rpm, water will make its way up this hose and into your precious engine.
Now for the water in the air boot. You either failed to allow the filter to dry completely between washing and re-oiling, or you over oiled the filter and it has passed through taking some fine dust with it.
how about my theory? is that possible?
the bike was not submerged in water for a long period of time and as I said, I rode for another 5 minutes straight after it.
you mean if the filter element got a bit wet from the fuel that bled passed the piston?
is there a way the fuel could've somehow gotten into the filter/passed the intake by laying on its side?
also, the bigger question is how long does it typically take for water in the oil to start corroding things, like bearings, etc? I am wondering if I should take the motor apart to inspect because I rode it for a bit like that and left the wattery oil in the motor for awhile(just under 24 hours).
At the moment one side connects to my crankcase and the other side connects to the carby intake funnel(there's a hole in the intake funnel it connects to), which allows air in.
Post a reply to: Water in airbox and through the motor...re-routing carby vent lines??