[westinbrad]

Any one else have problems with driving their Outlander v-twin in winter? Specifically watery oil.

I live in Alaska and it gets pretty cold.

Both me and a friend have had problems with water in the oil during winter.

Mine: drove it most of the winter and engine light came on saying low oil, but pulled the dip stick and watery oil came gushing out. Coolant was low, so I figured my water pump seal went, so I changed it, and a few days later happened again.

Friend: Had watery oil, so he changed it. Few weeks later same watery oil and it sounds like his crank bearings went out----probably caused by water pump seal going out? Just checked his oil and it was watery again.

I parked mine for the winter, and we are going to start tearing his apart next week.

It just seems like the water pump seal is our culprit. Seems like a bad design having the water pump seal on the other side of oil. I'm thinking the seal is freezing stiff and allowing coolant to flow into the oil from the pressure.

I don't think I did damage to mine, but his definitely doesn't sound right. (pretty bad knocking)

I would like to think that we can drive our machines year-round, but it just seems to be a design flaw that's causing this?

This ain't a vent, and I'm not trying to knock my can-am (I have 4 of them and plan on getting another)...just wanted to see if any one else had problems driving their can-am in the winter. I usually just drive my snowmobile in the winter, but bad snow conditions cause me to use 4-wheelers.

This is the same engine that's in the Ski-Doo V-800, and you would think that they would have engineered for extreme cold.

Any thoughts?

 

[pf/l]

No problems here to that extent. I didn't ride mine much this winter but in previous winters I've put on as much as 400 miles and never had any problems. If you do allot of start stop running and lots of idling you will have problems no matter what brand you ride. Needs to get hot enough to burn off the condensation that accumulates from idling and the hot and cold temps.(hot when you shut it off then cools and condenses) if your rotary seal failed then ya that would mess things up I. A hurry but to do so your weep hole would have to be plugged solid. Normally you will end up with oil in the coolant before you get coolant in oil. Can't remember right now if there is a oil journal on the back side if that seal so there's pressurized oil there or if its just to seal the oil in. I want to say there is a oil gallery there for the plain bearing but can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[JetSnake]

I just bought my Outty 800 in January, I have 500 miles on it, I think the coldest I rode was only -15F, but no problems here.

 

[RaiderMike67]

You may be getting condensation inside your valve covers. I would suggest removing them and making sure they are clean then do a good flush, use a bottle of sea foam it will remove moisture from your oil when you drain it.

 

[Dr_Z]

We rede tracks all winter and no problems on any of the brands in our group.

 

[styk]

third winter on mine, so far so good.

 

[toxicwaste29]

I plow with mine all winter and also no issues.

 

[knotsburls]

I've plowed with mine all winter with some temps as low as -25 (celcius) with no problem.

just my 2 cents....

 

[John_A]

Holding up here in Norway to, no issues here this winter.
Did you loose any coolant the second time?
I'm thinking blown gasket between cylinder and head from you'r description, coolant leaking over to oil.

 

[brpbear]

What oil are you using .

 

[OuttyUpfront]

While it's "possible" that a faulty water pump seal caused your and your buddy's watery oil, it's highly unlikely.

Here's why:
There is an air cavity between the back side of the water pump shaft seal and the front side of the oil sump seal - both of these seals are for the water pump drive shaft. The air cavity's sole purpose is to keep coolant from entering the oil sump if the water pump shaft seal should fail. The empty cavity is vented to atmosphere via the small nipple and 3" section of hose that's run down under the frame. SHOULD any coolant leak into this space, the coolant drains out of the weep hole's drain tube. IF this drain tube were to collect water in it and freeze, THEN it's possible for enough coolant to fill the cavity and to pressurize into the oil sump. But it's not likely as the bock warms up with usage, and the water in this cavity will warm, and thus, melt any ice in the tube. Being clogged with mud would be a more probable culprit

It's also possible, but not probable for oil to enter the coolant system the same way, but you have to have a failed oil seal around the water pump shaft, a clogged weep hole, full weep hole cavity, AND a pressurized sump - which it isn't.

My guess would be some other reason fro watery oil - condensation plays a big part when things get cold. Ever watch how much water comes out of the tailpipe when things are cold?

 

[MUDDINMIKE]

excellent description of how the water pump seals work. Thank you

 

[norsepeak]

have ridden all winter long in temps down to -10 for the last 9 years on 6 different machines with zero issues.

 

[Outty13]

Had mine out in -10 degree weather and no problem.

 

[teknition]

Pour your used oil into a clear jug and let it sit to separate the fluids. Oil will float on top and what ever the other liquid is will settle to the bottom. You will then be able to see the color of it to see if it is coolant or water that is in your oil and progress from there.

 

[westinbrad]

We can get -25f and colder temps for weeks. Mine was doing fine when it was warmer.

I use 0w-40 when we get well below 0. I'm not too sure what he uses. His is pretty new with 400 miles, mine is an old timer with over 8k miles.

The oil is a gray(cream color), on both of ours, so it's hard to tell if there is actually any coolant in there.

One of my other machines I bought used and broken down did this in the spring when I first fixed it and pulled it out, I changed the water pump seal, and it was fine for the rest of the summer. This is the first winter I'm trying to drive any of my Can-Am's.

 

[scottmc]

I'm wondering if your riding routine might have something to do with it. At those temps it's important to get the motor thoroughly warmed up and run it for a good while.

Lots of quick trips to the corner store (or whatever) can be a problem. The motor never gets properly lubed or heated.

 

[SnorkedNTorked1000]

If. There is moisture in the engine what is a good way to flush it?

Drain oil and run diesel fuel in it for 30 seconds, drain and flush with a cheap oil?

Let me know

 

[Outty13]

How much moisture we talking about? Every engine has moisture in it and best way to get it out is to heat the engine up to operating temp.

 

[westinbrad]

I do maintenance on a daily driven Honda Foreman, and the oil gets a little bit of grey in it after a while, but not to the extent of our Can-am's(actually overflowing through the oil checker). What get's me is, I drive my snowmobile(4-stroke), my personal truck(diesel), and my work truck just like I drive my Can-am, and the oil is nice and dark-brown in all of them.

For some reason, all I want to do is blame the prolonged and extremely cold temps with the design of the water pump some how allowing coolant to the oil. My coolant level was low both times this happened to me(The first time coolant was pretty low, I changed the water pump seal and checked my oil and coolant the next day and it was great, then another day later it was watery grey and my coolant went down), so I figure it's getting into the oil somehow. My friend is going to check his next week when we pull it apart to see if his coolant level is low. (I know it's an easy look, but he seems to be busy).

I'm going to pull mine back out in a month or 2 when it gets a little warmer, and I'm guessing I won't have low coolant levels, or watery oil all summer.