water in oil

[lesterl]

I used my atv for ice fishing and a little for hauling wood. I changed the oil and it wasn't long before it turned milky which means there is water in it I can't change it every few days but I don't want to hurt it what are others doing?

[Dozer]

If you are getting water in your oil and you arnt sinking your wheeler you have a mechanical problem. Just fishing and hauling wood there is no reason you should have water in the oil. My guess is there is antifreeze is getting in the oil.

[LMITOUT]

How long does your ATV run while you're ice fishing or hauling wood? Are these short trips? If you have the opportunity after putting in fresh oil, take a long drive where it gets warmed up real good and then check again for discoloring. Is the antifreeze level in the reservoir going down at all?

[Dave S]

What brand/model of ATV do you have? That may help diagnose the root cause based on historical defects.

[lesterl]

I have a yamaha timberwolf air cooled engine so it must be condensation. I have not been in any water since last fall and I changed the oil twice since then.

[Dave S]

that rules out the anti-freeze. Sometimes even 2 oil changes isn't enough to get all of the water out of the motor. I'm guessing you still had enough there to discolor your oil. I would perform at a minimum, 2 more oil changes to completely remove any water.

[rundrave]

ditto to what LMITOUT said

mine only does this when its cold and its only in the oil tank that i see it, I see no signs of water or foam when I drain the oil from the motor

take it on a good run, get it hot, keep the RPM's high etc. to burn it off. then see if it is still there

They can get a bit milky with constant short trips in the winter. The foaming may just be the motor is not warming up or its just cold and damp weather and the oil cap is not giving a good seal.

[lesterl]

Thanks for the replys, I found a fourth drain plug this time and I blew more out with my compressor. Do all atvs have so many drain plugs?

[LMITOUT]

Four??

[Wanderer]

Guess they built in plenty of maintenance opportunity!

I sunk a wheeler once. Not counting the gear case changes, I had to do 7 oil changes with filter before I could let myself give it back to the guy. There was just a hint of milk left.

Yeah, it was borrowed.

[river-rat4]

Not sure if this comes into play, but if the recoil rope is not "seated" it will allow moisture in. Will it let moisture into the crank case, I can not tell you that, maybe.

Good luck in getting it resolved. Let us know the results.

river-rat4

[Fish_R_Man]

On hondas and I would expect all others, there are seals between the recoil and the rest of the engine that prevent water from entering. The housing around my recoil is open on the bottom to let water out.