Water streaks in engine oil

[Kalen]

Hello everyone
I finally feel pressured to write my first post, as i have hit an issue that i for the first time cannot solve myself with the guidance of my Clymer manual and the posts on this forum. I humbly seek your guidance.

The bike:
K1100LT

The problem:
Streaks of yellow appearing in my sight glass on my last few rides in October before winter storage (Denmark it is 3 months, december-april), i decided to now drain the oil, and have a look at where the water could be coming from. As you can see in the attached picture, the water amount isn't crazy (there is picture of first drain and second drain where it drained for 2 days), but it has me worrying if i have an internal coolant leak/crack.

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Could this just be condensation from the last few trips? (They weren't long) or being stored for 3 months? Or am I looking at a serious problem?

What i have already done;
Complete rebuild (not head or pistons), all gaskets, seals, o-rings, water pump, you name it, i have changed it, last winter 2022.
Compression test 140-138-139-140, so no cylinder leaks
Weep hole check, no blockage as i made sure to do it properly when rebuilding pump and checked just now.
Coolant system pressure test @16 psi for 6 seconds and 15psi for 1h +, no apparent loss of pressure, and no leaking coolant when I view the block from below with oil pan removed.

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I am stumped as to what to do next, am i being overly worried about condensation? Any tips or opinions will be appreciated dearly.
Sincerely Kalen

[Laitch]

Welcome, Kalen.

How long have you owned this Brick, how many kilometers have you ridden it since you've owned it, what is the typical length—in minutes or hours—of a ride, and is it in a heated space when it isn't being ridden?

[Kalen]

Hi Laitch,
I have owned the brick since summer 2021, i have driven the brick 2000km before the rebuild and 4300 km after.

My typical length is 15-30 minutes each way to work depending on traffic. Occasional 1-2h joyride. So there's bound to be some condensation with my small trips, but this amount is worrying to me.

It is stored in a shack with no insulation, so same temperature as outside but no rain/frost.

[Laitch]

If that shed has a southern or western exposure and days have been both sunny and cold like I've been getting here, those conditions would promote greater condensation from warming and cooling. You've done about all that's reasonable to do right now. Clear out the contaminated oil, refill with clean oil and forget about it until you get back to riding regularly to assess it again.
How many kilometers are on the odometer? Why did you replace all those parts; were there leaks happening?
 

[frankenduck]

K bikes have a combined water and oil pump. If the seal on that shaft is failing then it can let coolant into the oil. Not uncommon.

Do a Google video search for "k100 water pump."

[Kalen]

Laitch, it's got 200.000 km on the Odo, and developed a rear main seal leak. So since I would be changing the seal, i decided to just overhaul everything I could because of the high mileage as a preventative measure.

Frankenduck, i have already overhauled the water pump, a leak here would show in the weep hole before contaminating the oil, and will affect the coolant system pressure test. But yes, very common on these bikes, so i did it as a preventative measure during the overhaul 

[frankenduck]

Laitch, it's got 200.000 km on the Odo, and developed a rear main seal leak. So since I would be changing the seal, i decided to just overhaul everything I could because of the high mileage as a preventative measure.

Frankenduck, i have already overhauled the water pump, a leak here would show in the weep hole before contaminating the oil, and will affect the coolant system pressure test. But yes, very common on these bikes, so i did it as a preventative measure during the overhaul 

Did you happen to smell it the water in your oil to see if it's coolant?

I've seen a bike before that got coolant in the oil without dripping on a friend's K100RS.

[Martin]

There are companies that will analyse  the oil for a fee.
Regards Martin.

[Kalen]

There are companies that will analyse  the oil for a fee.
Regards Martin.

Martin, a very good suggestion, several companies here in Denmark offer this service. It sounds like a viable solution if it isn't too pricey, so i can finally put my mind at ease.

[Martin]

They should also give you a metal content analysis showing wear rates.
Regards Martin.

[Laitch]

Kalen, I'm inclined to view this condition as short-trip condensation based on Denmark's average temperature (not knowing your specific location). It's a large engine and needs heat to evaporate condensation but you aren't running it enough to do that so eventually condensation is showing up as streaks in the oil. Maybe it is possible for oil to leak from a gallery to a coolant passage from a faulty head gasket without showing a significant coolant pressure loss. Maybe the block is cracked.  I fully doubt either because you seem to be careful and competent.   

You'd be better served in your commute by a two cylinder KTM 390, a BMW 310GS or a single cylinder KLR with side cases—all of which will warm up much faster than your big Brick, but what you have is what you have. Change the oil every 2000–3000 kilometers to prevent wear on the engine and enjoy the ride.

[Kalen]

I'm going to agree with you Laitch, a oil analysis here is almost the same cost as a used engine, so I'm skipping that.

I'm going to blame too many short trips, fill her up with oil again and go for some longer rides and see if any streaks show up again.
I should start using my bicycle for work instead  better for my health anyway.

I'll throw an update once I take her out. Thanks for the inputs!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

You could do a crude test to see if it is coolant or water that is contaminating your oil.

Take a sample of oil with the emulsion in it and heat it slowly to above 100C.  You will smell the oil vapor and if there is water not much else.  If there is coolant the vapor given off at high temperature will be very acrid.

To get an idea of what it smells like take a small amount of coolant(2cc) and heat it by itself.  The odor is very distinctive.

[Kalen]

An interesting idea Mr. Gryphon, ill definitely be trying this out! Hope the wife doesn't come home to me boiling engine oil on the stove.

[Laitch]

Welcome to the premiere episode of Kalen's Danish Kitchen! Brought to you by your friends at Dansk—Promoting new ideas in cooking from sump to stovetop.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

An interesting idea Mr. Gryphon, ill definitely be trying this out! Hope the wife doesn't come home to me boiling engine oil on the stove.

I would strongly recommend a candle and a small can out in the shed.  Many women regard their kitchen as a sacred area.  A pan of smoking engine oil on the stove would probably inspire a reaction not unlike finding a strange woman in the bedroom, especially if you have the extra bad luck of having coolant mixed in with the oil.   

[daveson]

I'm also guessing it will turn out to be a condensation problem. Then one option to consider is installing a bypass oil filter. With one of those installed you probably wouldn't have found a drop of water in the oil. The elements in normal oil filters are only about 1mm thick so can't absorb much moisture.

[caveman]

When you talk about BMWs and women it made me think of this story.
http://jackriepe.blogspot.com/2009/05/learning-how-to-ride-two-up-by-yourself.html?showComment=1243396816310

[Kalen]

Update from the Danish kitchen premiere!
I'm still alive, the wife didnt kill me, just forced me to buy a new pot. It wasn't coolant, only water in the oil, didn't smell at all (except our whole house still reeks of engine oil).

Today I was removing the timing chain cover to fix a small oil leak, and immediately as i started prying it off, clean water poured out the bottom, small puddles upwards coming from underneath the small vent/tube on the top!

The vent is not secured properly, has no gasket, and water can easily leak down around the tube during rain/washing and into the engine.
Ill be taking it off and putting some liquid sealant on it to keep out water.

I am so glad it turned out to be something so stupid


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[Chaos]

That's a happy bit of serendipity!  Congrats!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

 

That's good news!  Just unfortunate that she caught you stinking up the house.  Next time use the candle and a soup can. 

[Laitch]

Next time use the candle and a soup can.

Practicing now with that setup will develop a useful skill if you are eventually exiled from home for bad kitchen manners and need to make meals in the woods.     

In the USA, that fitting was connected by a hose to one of two small ports beneath the tank, or it was plugged by fastening a short length of hose to it that had a bolt in the end, and the two tank ports dumped into a rectangular plastic fitting hanging on the frame. What's the status on the underside of the tank?
I share your joy in discovering this stupid situation, but I still consider that it is too early to start the party. Break out the party hats and whistles after 3K to 4K kilometers.