Kawasaki ER5 cooling system drained engine oil...

[Willson]

The wonderful contraption it is as well!

Took out the drain bolt and got a cup full of used engine oil, and when I refill the system it starts pissing out of the spark plug recess vents (holes that drain the water out of the spark plug recesses).


All I seem to get afterward is the smoke of the evaporating coolant until the system is empty.

Could I have blown a seal or have a leaky pipe?

Any help is much appreciated!
____________________
Benson: Wouldn't life be easier if we were all turtles?
Me: Pig on bread = The way forward.
Riding: '00 Suzuki SV650S. Previous: '99 Kawasaki ER5 - sold, '02 Suzuki GZ125 Marauder - sold

[iooi]

Blown seal or worse still a cracked cylinder head.

Only one thing to do, take the cover off and have a look.....
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[Willson]

In that case I'm going to have a replacement motorcycle/cylinder head ready just in case!

It's my only mode of transport!
____________________
Benson: Wouldn't life be easier if we were all turtles?
Me: Pig on bread = The way forward.
Riding: '00 Suzuki SV650S. Previous: '99 Kawasaki ER5 - sold, '02 Suzuki GZ125 Marauder - sold

[finpos]

I think the nice mr. stinkwheel is on top of this one...

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=206099

f.

[stinkwheel]

The coolant will be coming out of the pipes through the rocker cover. As I described in that other thread.

HOWEVER. There shouldn't be oil in the coolant system.

So. One of two possabilities:
1) The water pump mechanical seal has failed.
2) The head gasket has blown in a big way.

Option 1 shouldn't make the bike run like a dog, nor should it cause leaking from the rocker cover pipes. Option 2 could well do, if the water jacket was being pressurised by a blown head gasket, those water pipe o-rings are one of the first things I would expect to let go.

Pissing coolant over the sparkplugs could well explain running on one cylinder though.

Check your oil for coolant too. Usually forms a creamy "mayonaise" in the oil.

Not sure what would be a good test to differentiate a blown head gasket from a water pump mechanical seal failure.. Anyone?

Before heading down the road of pulling the head off etc. consider how much it will cost in time and parts to repair any damage you find. A gasket set is £65 to start with. The mechanical seal is a twat to do because everything is invariably corroded together.

I now regard those 500 twin engines as disposable. If anything in the top end fails in a way needing more than a clean up and a new gasket, I'd be very tempted to get a second hand engine and bung it in. You'll pick one up for around £200 and it takes less time to remove the whole engine and fit another than it does to change a head gasket.

£250 and a days work will see it back on the road with a replacement engine in it (I added £50 for sundries such as oil, filter, plugs coolant and exhaust gaskets).

EDIT: A leakdown test would be useful I think. Not so easy to find someone who does them though.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[stonesie]

One way is to get a garage to do a 'sniff test' or block test, they pass some air from the header tank/radiator through a chemical which changes colour if there are hydrocarbons (exhaust gasses) in the cooling system.
They can only get in via a blown head gasket / cracked head.