was just wondering for all those who eventually swamp their machines and get water in the oil, whats the best way to clean out all the water and oil other than taking eveything apart( like the oil cooler)? also, seeing how i've never used my pull start on my 00' rancher, is it a good idea to seal it up to keep out the dirt and grit from riding in water?(i wash out the pull start after i ride anyway) if texmud is around, he mentioned something about siliconizing the pull start??? thanks for your replies - dana

 

I would not wash out the pull start, you dont want any water in there. Basically you just pull it out 3-4 inches and fill the hole with silicone and let it back in. Then just let it dry. As far as cleaning the crankcase, do some searching....those long instructions have been posted before.

 

Been there, done that and got the T-shirt.

Remove the oil filter and replace the cover without installing a new one. Refill the engine and run until it gets warm. Drain the oil and start over. Repeat until the oil looks okay, then install a new oil filter.

Don't be surprised if you notice a milky film on the underside of the oil cap every now and then. This can occur even in engines that have never been flooded.

You probably need to drain the float bowl as well.

Never try to start a flooded (with water) engine. Water is a non-compressible liquid . The starter provides enough torque that even a small amount of water can bend valves and crankshafts when present in the cylinder during the compression stroke.

 

thanks for the replies guys, i have one more quick question. i was told to pour kerosene into my crank and then turn the motor over a few times and then drain it, put in new oil and go. does this sound right or is there a better way than using gallons of oil? thanks again - dana

 

Dana, I would hate to see you trash a perfectly good engine. DO NOT FOR ANY REASON LEAVE OFF THE OIL FILTER!! You can accomplish the same goal with it on there. The reason is this--I have seen and sank MANY 4-wheelers in all kinds of water. I ride in Alaska in some of the worst kinds of areas there is anywhere. Our engines are under water most of the time. Every time I have seen a quad sunk--it is never in clean (POOL) water. It has always been muddy and silty. If you leave your oil filter off and run your engine--yes, you guessed it--it goes right in there and gets started on your rings and bearings. Yes, kerosene is a good idea as long as you don't leave too much of it in there. It doesn't provide as high a level of lubrication as your regular motor oil. Your best bet is to go to the dollar store and buy several quarts of the cheapest oil they have just for this job. Use that to flush out your engine while saving the expensive Silkolene to hit the road with. I hope I ain't stepping on anyone's toes here but in all my training as a mechanic for the Air Force I have always been instructed to leave the oil filter on during such procedures as flushing the system. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I think big500 knows what he is talking about. I would listen to him before anyone else, I mean He is a mechanic for the Air force

 

We once lost the backup generator at one of our sites when the underground fuel tank became tainted with water during a tropical storm. Unfortunately, the generator failed a second time once when the operators forgot to remove the water-soaked fuel filter.

Still, I can see your point for the initial restart of the engine. However, I would soon remove it once I felt any left over silt had been removed in fear of recirculating more water into the combustion chamber.

 

springdrl, I hate to do this again but on a 4-stroke machine oil cannot be introduced into the combustion chamber through the oil filter and pumping system. If that were so, the machine would run on it's own oil supply. The only instance I have seen this happen is when a turbo-charged diesel engine turbo bearings and seals went bad and caused the engine to overspeed while sucking it's own oil supply up through the oil supply tube. You do make a valid point though in that you shouldn't let the old filter stay in the quad too long after you add the new "flushing oil". If you do this it will push a bit of water out of the filter pleats which are waterlogged. It isn't a real big deal though as long as you just drain the oil for a few hours to make sure all the water/oil mix has left.

 

Did not mean to imply that water would enter the combustion chamber through the oil supply, only that water left there can damage the valves and crankshaft (with the crank being much more likely). I guess we both failed to mention that the first step is to remove the spark plug and crank the engine to blow such water out through the open hole.

As for th oil, the ideal situation would be to install a new filter each time the oil was changed. My experience found the oil required several changes before the engine was ready to run for any length of time. The point to remove the filter during these quickly repeated oil chnages is to reduce the expense and eliminate the chance of water being kept anywhere but in oil suspension.

The idea of using Kerosene to cycle through an unstartable (spark plug removed, engine turning by the starter) might also be the best way to remove leftover dirt and silt from the crankcase. A can or two of Rislone or automatic transmission fluid might even work better.

 

this is what i wanted to see, some discussion about cleaning a water and oil contaminated crank case. well, one thing i must say is that if anyone sinks their quad and it has an external oil cooler on it, you really need to remove the cooler and blow out with hot water to clean out all the white crap because the oil & water stuff doesn't come out to easy. i also left my machine draining for almost a week and i'll put kerosene in the crank drain it for a day and then the oil, oh and a new oil filter. thanks for all your input. later - dana

95' 300 trx 2x4
00' rancher es 4x4