Need help diagnosing bike issue

[PaytheMan]

Hello,

I recently purchased a 2012 s10 with 21k on it. started and ran well at the dealer no issues got a good price on it. I have been performing some maintenance/ add ons and noticed in the sight glass the oil was kinda gray. changed it out and sure enough was milky. Que panicking. refilled oil ran bike and its blowing white smoke and lots of water on the ground behind tail pipe. I dunno what to do from here, bike was sitting at the dealer since at least October who knows how long before that by PO, was pressure washed at least 2x by dealer, and been outside during the winter at their store and has been wet most days/months (that's how they display their used bikes) Also fuel tank is showing empty, I did put in a can of sea foam to the gas tank and was gonna fill up with fuel. checked coolant and it is full looks clean sky blue.

Where do I go from here? does it just need to be ridden after sitting? When I start and run no weird noises sounds normal but my experience is mostly dirt bikes new to road bikes. I am comfortable working on bikes for the most part but don't want to make anything worse. dealer is no help, they said they changed the fluids when they got it and no problems and emphasized no warranty. Any advise from ppl more mechanically inclined than me would be awesome!

 

[Squibb]

Sounds sadly neglected TBH. Could be a head gasket allowing coolant & oil to mix, but let's not get ahead of ourselves by starting with a worst case scenario. Anyway it would be blowing coolant once the system pressurised, which you don't mention.

The bike needs some decent runs to get some heat cycles through the engine which will clear any internal condensation as well as any residual water in the exhaust/cat. Keep a close eye on the oil window for milky condensation, the oil level (hot, after a few minutes delay) as well as the coolant level in the reservoir (cold).

 

[PaytheMan]

Yeah its not blowing coolant anywhere that i can see/find. the coolant bottle under the seat is within the two lines and coolant is clean. Raidator is full and looks clean too. Thats part of why I can't figure out what the issue is? I will ride it tomorrow for a little bit, its raining hard today, and see if it changes. I checked the oil after I ran it on the stand for about 5 min and there is still some sludge or milky oil in the sight glass but the actual oil looks clean still.

 

[EricV]

What stands out from your post is this:

Also fuel tank is showing empty, I did put in a can of sea foam to the gas tank and was gonna fill up with fuel.

You're running a very high concentration of sea foam thru the motor. That is not advisable. Fill the tank and run it for a while. Preferably on a short ride, not just idling in the driveway.

The other thing that stands out in your first post is that you

have been performing some maintenance/ add ons

What, exactly, have you done? We often do things to ourselves. Telling us what you have done may help track down potential issues.

 

[PaytheMan]

Just changed the spark plugs and Air filter so far. Checked the coolant it was full. Spark plugs had a lot of black on them when I changed them. No wetness or signs of corrosion on the ignition coils. other than that nothing mechanical.

 

[EricV]

Just changed the spark plugs and Air filter so far. Checked the coolant it was full. Spark plugs had a lot of black on them when I changed them. No wetness or signs of corrosion on the ignition coils. other than that nothing mechanical.

Did you re-connect the hose at the bottom of the air box when re-installing it? (centered underneath) As well as checking the vacuum hoses on both throttle bodies for cracks? One side just has a rubber cap, the other a hose organization. The caps can crack or go missing.

This may just be water in the exhaust from pressure washing and sitting, as Squibb suggested, along with the high concentration of seafoam in the gas. How long has the seafoam been in the tank w/o filling up with gas? Days? Or hours? And how many times did you fire the bike up like that?

I agree with the others that it's unlikely the head gasket is blown and to look at the cheap and easy things before jumping to conclusions that it's a big, expensive issue.

 

[PaytheMan]

actually the crankcase hose ( I believe thats the one you are talking about) I forgot to reconnect the first time and had to take it all apart again and reconnect it. I did not check the throttle body hoses. Its been in the tank a few days but this is the only time I have fired it up with it in there. I was planning on filling it up with gas before really running it.

 

[EricV]

actually the crankcase hose ( I believe thats the one you are talking about) I forgot to reconnect the first time and had to take it all apart again and reconnect it. I did not check the throttle body hoses. Its been in the tank a few days but this is the only time I have fired it up with it in there. I was planning on filling it up with gas before really running it.

Well, that sounds good. I have no idea if the seafoam will settle to the bottom of the tank or float on the gas or just mix in, despite the high concentration.

It's not uncommon to forget the crankcase breather hose. Glad you remembered. Not the end of the world, but can pull in un-metered air and contaminates.

There is a drain on the clutch side of the air box at the rear. Did you initially find a lot of oil in that? It normally has a clear cap on it on the outside that can be removed and drained. It's a good idea to clean out that area when you're inside the airbox for a filter change. Gen I bikes tend to have excess blow by when running sustained higher rpms, (6k up, more or less.). Like crossing Wyoming at 90 mph.

I previously had a '12 S10 that I put lots of miles on.

When you lifted the tank, did you disconnect the two hoses from the clip area down by the header? And remember to feed the hoses back down and re-clip them in when you put the tank back down? One is a vent, the other a drain. It's easy to get them crimped under the tank if you're not aware of getting them back in proper position.

 

[PaytheMan]

Yeah the clear nub was full of oil and I drained it. I have used seafoam a lot in the past and I have found it to be a good cleaner especially if the maintenance is suspect it usually mixes with fuel. The fuel hoses are hooked back and I didn't see and pinches. Between the plugs and everything else it definitely seems like the PO did not maintain the bike very well which sucks. Any other maintenance things I should be looking for? I would be betting not much as been done so I might as well make a list. Thank you for your help!

 

[EricV]

brake/clutch fluid should be changed every 2 years or so. It absorbs water moisture over time and can lead to stuck calipers and worse, a siezed ABS solenoid. There is a way to cycle the ABS pump by bridging wires under the seat in the diagnostic connector. You should be able to find that with a search on the forum.

Coolant is also on a 2 year schedule, but I usually just do it when I have the valves checked every 26k miles. You could reasonably just wait until then, as you'll be there by the next oil change.

Final drive oil is every 16k, (I think, don't recall exactly), but get some Valvoline Synpower 75w-90 and just change it every other oil change or so until it starts coming out clean, then extend the period to what's comfortable for you. Cheap insurance. It's a simple drain, then fill until it comes out the upper hole. (don't spin the wheel and try and get more in.)

Throttle body sync. Do some searching and some good procedures are written up. Might be pinned, or at the top of one of the technical sections of the forum.

Adjust the slack in the throttle cables - Spec is on the loose side. The adjuster is under a plastic sleeve at the top of one of the two throttle cables. Pull the plastic sleeve back to access it.

Check the headlight aim. Yamaha is notorious in aiming them high. Set the suspension sag for your weight and load.

Consider checking/lubing the steering head bearings and re-torqing them. It's common for them to get little grease from the factory and also be found loose at low mileage. It's a two step torquing process, first to a higher value, then back off and torque to a lower value. There is a special tool and the process is outlined in the factory service manual. (A nice thing to have if you're going to do your own service) Look for used FSMs on the forum and ebay. Beware of CD versions or copies. Often they are from 2010 and not always fully accurate and certainly not authorized copies.

You also might consider at some point changing the fork oil. It's not got a lot of miles on it, but it's 8 years old. Likely a bit funky. 5wt is standard.

Toss some fresh gas in the bike and take it for a ride. Hopefully there is just some water from sitting and pressure washing combined with the excess ratio of seafoam that's causing the white smoke now.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Moisture in the crankcase; get her warmed up good and change the oil at least one more time, twice wouldn't hurt. Could drain and reuse the filter, then install a new one with the final oil change. Get the tank filled soon. Every surface above the fuel level can be susceptible to rust. Be sure to change the final drive fluid too, it will have most likely pulled some moisture in as well.

 

[gv550]

Try get a fresh drop of that water coming out the muffler, taste it........ if it's sweet you have coolant entering the combustion chamber.

 

[EricV]

Here is info on cycling the ABS pump when you do the brake fluid flush/bleed - LINK

 

[Cycledude]

I’m guessing the person that washed it sprayed quite a bit of water inside the muffler (some folks just don’t know better), take it for a nice 50 mile ride to dry everything out and I bet the problems will disappear , change the oil and filter again after the ride while the oil is still hot And everything should be fine.

 

[offcamber]

I’m guessing the person that washed it sprayed quite a bit of water inside the muffler (some folks just don’t know better), take it for a nice 50 mile ride to dry everything out and I bet the problems will disappear , change the oil and filter again after the ride while the oil is still hot And everything should be fine.

This....start with the simple fixes... Its possible something cracked and is allowing coolant into the oil but my guess is it just needs to be run a bit.

 

[Don T]

Like the two previous posters I'm sure that the only issue with the bike is condensation.
Fill up the tank and take it for a long ride. That should do it.

 

[PaytheMan]

Alright. Ran it today got it nice and hot. smoke went away right away. changed the oil and there was still some milky oil but a lot less of it so I am thinking might have been left from before and not new. Bike ran great so hopefully in good shape. Hard to ride a lot in February in Idaho haha.

 

[Dwido]

Did you re-connect the hose at the bottom of the air box when re-installing it? (centered underneath) As well as checking the vacuum hoses on both throttle bodies for cracks? One side just has a rubber cap, the other a hose organization. The caps can crack or go missing.

This may just be water in the exhaust from pressure washing and sitting, as Squibb suggested, along with the high concentration of seafoam in the gas. How long has the seafoam been in the tank w/o filling up with gas? Days? Or hours? And how many times did you fire the bike up like that?

I agree with the others that it's unlikely the head gasket is blown and to look at the cheap and easy things before jumping to conclusions that it's a big, expensive issue.