Proud New Owner 1998 BB

[michbea]

Found my diamond in the rough in Florence SC.
After a brief conversation with the owner about it blowing oil into the carbs I obtained the info that I was after, was it "all" there and would it turn over. Answer was yes, all systems go, brought her home January 1, 2010. I bought my BB site unseen and she is quite a beauty. Pictures will be forthcoming.
Pulled the carbs. Everything looked clean except there was oil in bowls, cleaned it all up. I also had to tinker and a friend asked me to pick up for him best s2000 exhaust...

Started looking at the cooling system. Pulled one off the hoses-rusty water came out... proceeded to pull off all the peripheral cooling system items. Next will be the radiator. There was some caked on goo taking up about 30% of one of the water ports that I removed from the block. The radiator cap would not come off it was cemented on the inside with something that looked literally like cement, kind of grayish but not completely dry. My brother said it could have been pepper. Was it something to seal a radiator leak or something more sinister?

When I pulled the waterpump off the real revelation came. Oil mixed with a lot of gas came rushing out. Luckily my home water heater flame didn't ignite because I filled the entire garage with quite a mixture of gas fumes and oil, also my garage is quite drafty.

Shirlock Holmes now:

1. The bike has no center stand.
2. There was oil in the carbs
3. The carbs looked spotless except for the very clean oil in there.
4. Very significant amount of fuel mixed with the crankcase oil.

Could it be that the fuel petcock on the gastank malfunctioned and dumped the gas into the crankcase and raised the oil level sufficiently enough for it to blow into the carbs ?

Questions:

Where do I buy parts for my 98 BB ?
I need an airbox
Can I still get Honda Parts ?
Should I replace the Waterpump ? I cleaned it up the bearing seems good
How should I clean the inside of the engine water jackets ? How to flush ?

Thanks,

Jatt

[DBLXX]

PICS or it’s not true. 😁

[superhawk996]

How much and how many miles?  Any crash damage or missing/broken parts other than what you mensioned?  I ask out of curiosity and to gauge how much you should put into a bike with a potentially fucked motor.  Did you crank it or relied on him saying it cranks?  Did you get a story about how it wound up in it's current state?  Do you have the ability to pull the engine if needed?  I would do a compression test to see if the motor needs to come out.  Just cranking it and listening to the compression strokes might be enough if you know what to listen for.  I'd also do a pressure test on the cooling system.

 

Gas may have filled the engine and raised the oil level, but I don't think there's any way it could get into the cooling system without there being an engine problem; cracked block/head, or blown head gasket.  Maybe through the water pump, I don't remember how they're set up.  The 'cement' on the radiator cap could be from sealant, an attempt at fixing whatever's wrong with the motor.  Or maybe corrosion from using straight water, usually because it's leaking and they didn't want to waste $ on coolant.  My guess is it had a coolant leak, overheated, and damaged the motor-but who knows.

 

Some new parts are still available, and plenty of used parts from members here and ebay.  Is the airbox missing or damaged?

 

Simple Green is one of the go-to cleaners for oil in cooling systems.

Edited November 9, 2020 by superhawk996

[XXitanium]

For parts, look up @rockmeupto125 he has a boutique from which he distributes. ...up front and good pricing.

[blackhawkxx]

12 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

but I don't think there's any way it could get into the cooling system without there being an engine problem; cracked block/head, or blown head gasket.

That is a head scratcher but if there is a ton a gas in the oil and the head gasket is really bad, I guess it could get there.   

[superhawk996]

But only if the engine were cranked while there was oil in the cylinder(s) where the gasket is blown.  Just sitting, gas could fill the cylinder and flow into the case raising the oil level, but the oil would be unlikely to displace the gas flowing into the cylinder(s) to get through the gasket.  Old gas in the cooling system could appear to be an oil/gas mixture.  It's likely to be a bit dark on it's own, plus it'll be carrying carbon and probably some residue from the cooling system hoses that it's probably eating away at.

[Zero Knievel]

22 hours ago, michbea said:

....I bought my BB site unseen....

Many a maintenance adventure starts with those words.

 

For the cooling system, once you replace hoses, thermostat, pump, etc., you need to run a rust remover to get as much out as you can.  I used a product called Evapo-Rust from Advance Auto Parts.  It’s safe and did a good job getting the vast majority of rust out of my trucks cooling system after I had neglected it for a few years.  It works slowly, so don’t be surprised to have to let it sit for a few days.

 

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/evapo-rust-evapo-rust-rust-remover-32-oz.-er004/10182522-p?product_channel=local&store=7559&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=7559&gclid=CjwKCAiAkan9BRAqEiwAP9X6UdyqRfquv0wudEmIhUN1okfZCHHu9agJJK8_Y3ahD5KaSlCKCTAKmBoClT4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If the seals on the petcock failed, yes, gas can overflow the carbs and drain into the cylinders.  Piston rings won’t stop gasoline from getting through over time, so that HOPEFULLY is why you had oil and gas mixed.  Your only way to be sure no coolant gaskets are blown (other than a tear down of the motor) is to see if after while with coolant in the system, you’re burning coolant or the coolant comes out with oil in it.  Odds are, as you didn’t state there was oil in the coolant, with the low miles, the gaskets are okay.

[blackhawkxx]

1 hour ago, Zero Knievel said:

Odds are, as you didn’t state there was oil in the coolant, with the low miles, the gaskets are okay.

Quote

When I pulled the waterpump off the real revelation came. Oil mixed with a lot of gas came rushing out.

I think he did.

[superhawk996]

3 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

Your only way to be sure no coolant gaskets are blown (other than a tear down of the motor) is to see if after while with coolant in the system, you’re burning coolant or the coolant comes out with oil in it.

A pressure test should reveal them, but really small leaks, especially at the head gasket, aren't always revealed.  And yea, he said gas/oil flowed out when he pulled the pump so it'll need to be degreased/flushed.  There shouldn't be any rust in an all aluminum system like the BB.

[superhawk996]

If oil got into the cooling system I expect water/coolant in the oil, draining it should show it.  If it's sat with water in the oil there's gonna be some rust in the engine.  If it sat a long time it could be fucked.