Checked oil on 350X and dirt fell into motor, Had to ride back

[clong]

I was out on a ride last weekend and stopped for a rest. While resting I unscrewed my dipstick to check the oil casue I just changed it the day before. I wanted to make sure I had the right amount. Anyways a chunk of dirt less than a half inch round or so fell off the motor above and in the oil to the bottem of the case. I basically had no option but to ride the bike back to the truck. It was a very short distance like a qrter mile. Do you think this did damage or the oil was able to soak it for the short ride back.

Also for changing the oil to get rid of this, should I start the bike and run it to tirn up the little bit of dirt and then drain it or just drain it cold.

Thanks for any input, Chris

[LonesomeTriZ]

I bet next time you will wipe the area down befoe removing the dipstick. Does the 350X have a oil filter? IUf so no worries. In this situation I have read you should add a little more oil and run it. Because the oil drains better when it is hot. The extra oil will add protect. Then drain it thoughouly, even if you have to let it drip over night. You may have to repeat the proacess depending on how much dirt actually entered the crankcase.

[clong]

It does have an oil filter, a brand new one in fact. Hope that prevented any dirty oil from going up to the head. It was a small amount but it stressed me out.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Run some flush through it and change the filter and the oil (hot) and you should be okay. Next time carry a rag with you. ;)

[AirManCam]

If it was a short distance, I wouldnt be caught dead riding that back with dirt in the oil. Just think, them little fine particles of sand grinding against your sleeve, and piston, I would be willing to bed you have some war marks now.

[clong]

What is flush and were can I get it?

I hope I don't have any wear marks. It was a small amount and hopefully the filter caught most of it before it got up to the head.

[350x'inNY]

I would drain it now.... and while it's open at the bottom, just run some straight new oil through it so it "flushes" any setiment that fell out when you drained it. I would then cap the bottom, put in a new filter, some regular oil and let it fully warm up and then drain it again and put in proper ATV 4-stroke oil and check your filter for any debris and change again if necessary.

Bruce

[asc180]

Oil filter should have caught all of it. I would just change the filter and oil and call it good.

[petesatc]

hey chris
i hate to say it but AirManCam is right the honda oil filter goes down to 20 micron most dirt particals are between 5-20 micron......my advise is to flush the engine, change the filter,take the engine casing off and clean out with a shop towel....refill with new oil......run the motor till hot(not riding) just on tick over.....change the oil again see if there's any dirt in the oil........ you did'nt run the bike for long so it should be ok
hope this helps

[clong]

I appreciate all the insight on this. After some thought this is what I think the best option is:

Since its been sitting, I'm sure most everthing has drained down. Therefore I'll drain whats in there now cold and even run a little oil through it open. Then cap it, new filter, fill it, run it till hot and drain it again. This should do it. It was a small amount of dirt that fell in there. Dirt is bad but its not like metal shavings which won't brake down. All this bumbs me out casue I try to take care of it.

[clong]

Buying the Honda oil gets expensive. Does anyone know of like a reagular car oil weight that I can use just for flushing it?

Thx, Chris

[350x'inNY]

Go to WalMart and buy the $.76 SE/SF quality oil. That is what the Honda Service manual calls for. I wouldn't run it in my motor, but to just flush it out it'll be fine.

Bruce

[1985 200s]

What about flushing with kerosene? Being thinner seems it would rinse away dirt easier. Seems the oil woudn't do much "flushing". IMO

[clong]

Good point. Could I spray brake clean solvent into the dip stick hole with the drain plug out to get sediment off the inside bottem pan of the case. Barke Clean shouldn't hurt anything.....right?

I don't have a Wal mart by me but could I buy any type of motor oil just to run it and drain back out?

[asc180]

I wouldn't spray any kind of cleaners in it including kerosene. I would use oil if anything. If any of the cleaners stays in the engine it could break down oil or seals for that matter. Brake Klean isn't to friendly to plastics and rubber.

[1985 200s]

I don't believe kerosene is anything more than refined oil or even diesel fuel for that matter. I don't see where either would hurt any plastic, rubber, or gaskets. Just using plain oil is not going to "rinse" it out good enough. Oil is made to cling to parts. Put some oil on your hand, go out and roll it in some dirt then rinse it off with oil and see how much dirt rinsed away. If your concerned go to a parts store and see what they recommend, there probably is some sort of motor flush.

[Howdy]

I could be wrong, but I think Motor flush is more or less the same as kerosene ( at a higher price ). I know I have used kerosene for flushing out engines for years without any problem.
Howdy

[jenndnn3]

Kerosene is fine to flush your engine. It has less additives then diesal.

[crackshot]

Use tranny fluid to flush. All tranny flluid is, is oil with detergent.
You can run it, then flush and won't wash your bearings like other methods.

[clong]

Last night I drained my oil cold. Then I took some brake clean and sprayed it in through the dip stick till it washed out the drain plug. Brake clean isn't good for seals but a little bit once like this shouldn't do anything. I asked a mx mechanic freind what to do next and he said fill it up with Dextron III tranny fluid and run it at adle till warm, then drain it, change the filter and then fill it back up with regular oil and I should be fine.

His opinion on a little dirt in the motor is that off course it was wasn't good but it will unlikely do any damage. He said these dirtbike engines get allot more dirt in them than people realize and the engines are designed with some levels of tolerance to handle it. Since I didn't run the engine but for a few minutes in cool weather with good oil in there not under a heavy load it is unlikely any damage could have occured. I hope he is right.

[ATCnut]

Ive used tranny fluid before in trike motors. The other thing it is good for is absorbing water. When you get your trike underwater, and the water gets in the motor, drain it and run half and half oil and tranny fluid. Warm it up good and the tranny fluid will absorbe all water left in the motor. Then drain out the mix, refill with fresh oil, and the motor will be clean.