gear oil gray in color

marpit · Post by **marpit** » 08:48 am Jul 31 2007

just bought a '90 kdx 200 and love in so far..gear oil was gray in color so i changed it and after a 2 hour ride when i got home the oil is gray looking again..its not milky lookin like its getting coolant in it and i'm not losing any...any ideas ???

KDXs rock

Post by **Indawoods** » 08:56 am Jul 31 2007

Flush it again... and again in needed. Use cheap 10-40 without friction modifiers in it.

skipro3 · Post by **skipro3** » 08:57 am Jul 31 2007

It may take a couple of flushes like that for the funk oil to completely be removed from the oil. The gray may mean metal in the oil too. Check for metal filings by placing a magnet in the oil, let set for a day or two, then pull out the magnet. If it's covered in a gray slurry, that's metal and not a good sign. It could also indicate hard clutch use. You may want to measure your clutch plate thickness to determine if excessive wear to the plate material has taken place.

m0rie · Post by **m0rie** » 10:06 am Jul 31 2007

If your riding anywhere wet the seal around the clutch lever is notorious for leaking. If its wet there i'll bet thats why you oil keeps getting funky.

Matt-itude · Post by **Matt-itude** » 11:07 pm Jul 31 2007

aluminum clutch plates?

IdahoCharley · Post by **IdahoCharley** » 11:58 am Aug 01 2007

skipro3 wrote:..... Check for metal filings by placing a magnet in the oil, let set for a day or two, then pull out the magnet. ....

Skipro - Totally agree with your post - but why the day or two wait on the magnet in the oil? Would not the magnetic attracted particles be pick-up out of the oil by a magnet almost immediately when it passes through the used oil?

skipro3 · Post by **skipro3** » 10:46 pm Aug 01 2007

If the particles are floating around, it will take a while for them to slowly fall to the bottom of the container if they are really fine. (I use a mason jar) I just toss a magnet in the jar, let it sit a couple days, then hold the jar up to peer at the bottom.

IdahoCharley · Post by **IdahoCharley** » 12:06 am Aug 02 2007

skipro3 · Post by **skipro3** » 08:14 am Aug 02 2007

The magnet attracts the iron particles but the particles are so fine, that they make the oil look gray. These super fine particles are having to overcome the resistance of traveling through a viscous oil as they are attracted to the magnet. That takes time. The magnet doesn't pull them though that thick oil very fast. That's why I let gravity help out if it can and wait a day or so as the particles fall out of the oil. The heavy ones anyway. The oil is still gray with particles, but you have a sample enough on the magnet to determine if you have an issue with iron wear going on in your motor.

Now stop giving me the stink eye!

marpit · Post by **marpit** » 02:47 pm Aug 02 2007

gonna check out the clutches and basket when i get time to tear it apart..

Post by **Mr. Wibbens** » 04:40 pm Aug 02 2007

My oil always turns gray on my kdx, in fact it always has within a couple rides

I change it maybe twice a year if I'm lucky, but I wasn't very lucky these last couple years, so that oil has been in there for awhile

Its a KDX for christs sakes, what the hell could go wrong?

IdahoCharley · Post by **IdahoCharley** » 05:35 pm Aug 02 2007

skipro3 wrote:The magnet attracts the iron particles but the particles are so fine, that they make the oil look gray. These super fine particles are having to overcome the resistance of traveling through a viscous oil as they are attracted to the magnet. That takes time. The magnet doesn't pull them though that thick oil very fast. That's why I let gravity help out if it can and wait a day or so as the particles fall out of the oil. The heavy ones anyway. The oil is still gray with particles, but you have a sample enough on the magnet to determine if you have an issue with iron wear going on in your motor.

Now stop giving me the stink eye!

Actually I was just indicating to you that I read your post on this thread and was indicating that I was thinking about that rational. I did not think of this as a "stink eye" but in the future I will!! (LOL)

skipro3 · Post by **skipro3** » 09:24 pm Aug 02 2007

LOL!

You always make me laugh, Charley!
Actually, I've thought of that emocion as if someone was saying, "I can't believe what I just thought I read."

Anyways, the opinion of a magnet and the gray oil is mine, whether anyone believes I'm nuts or a genius.

Post by **Mr. Wibbens** » 09:54 pm Aug 02 2007

Just don't start talking about your brown star!

All friggen FOUR of them ya freak!

kawagumby · Post by **kawagumby** » 03:21 pm Aug 03 2007

Mr. Wibbens wrote:My oil always turns gray on my kdx, in fact it always has within a couple rides

I change it maybe twice a year if I'm lucky, but I wasn't very lucky these last couple years, so that oil has been in there for awhile

My clutch plates stick if I don't change the oil every 4 riding hours or so AND warm up the bike before I drain it.

Post by **Mr. Wibbens** » 04:34 pm Aug 03 2007

kawagumby wrote:
Mr. Wibbens wrote:My oil always turns gray on my kdx, in fact it always has within a couple rides

I change it maybe twice a year if I'm lucky, but I wasn't very lucky these last couple years, so that oil has been in there for awhile

My clutch plates stick if I don't change the oil every 4 riding hours or so AND warm up the bike before I drain it.

Sure would not ride with us then

Sometimes we don't get back to the truck for 10 hours or more

kawagumby · Post by **kawagumby** » 05:23 pm Aug 03 2007

Yea, I was think'n about buying the Clarke 14.4 gal tank, but I'm not tall enough to see over it on steep hillclimbs, and I would'nt want to run over a downed rider.

Post by **Mr. Wibbens** » 05:26 pm Aug 03 2007

we stash gas for longer hauls

Post by **Mr. Wibbens** » 05:59 pm Aug 03 2007

Here's where we are headed tomorrow

Grayback, +7,000'

kawagumby · Post by **kawagumby** » 06:24 pm Aug 03 2007

Beautiful stuff. Enjoy the life.

To this day, I still haven't found anything better than riding...

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gear oil gray in color

gear oil gray in color