[drycharge]

A couple of years ago when changing the oil on my 1997 Foreman 400 I noticed the oil had turned a pale yellow and smelled of gasoline. I also noticed that there was more oil volume wise than there should be. I talked to the Honda dealer and he said the carb needed to be rebuilt. I had that done and noticed several months later when checking the oil level that the oil had turned yellow again. I took the bike back to the dealer and they flushed the milky oil out with 2 extra oil and filter changes, running the motor for 5 to 10 minutes between changes. Got the bike back and several months later same story. This time the dealer said I needed a new carb. $358 later plus labor and I thought I was over the problem. Wrong! Last time I checked the oil, there was a milky yellow hue to the oil on the dipstick, and the volume was slightly higher than it should be on the dipstick. I know that the needle and seat were not made to handle ethanol in the gas back in 1997. Is that what is causing the problem or is there some other way that gas is finding its way into the oil? The dealer has no other ideas except to shut the petcock off every time I park the bike, which I have been doing for the last year, but the problem persists. Anyone else had this problem or have any ideas on what to do?

 

[SamUK]

Ethanol gas will cause some issues yes, avoid it! I assume you changed the petcock before spending all that money at the dealer? Again, ethanol gas is probably eating away at seals within the petcock.

Another thing to take into consideration, that Milky colour of your oil may infact be condensation from being parked up for long periods at a time, the oil smelling like gas is just something that occurs naturally with small petrol engines.

 

[shadetree]

Ethanol gas will cause some issues yes, avoid it! I assume you changed the petcock before spending all that money at the dealer? Again, ethanol gas is probably eating away at seals within the petcock.

Another thing to take into consideration, that Milky colour of your oil may infact be condensation from being parked up for long periods at a time, the oil smelling like gas is just something that occurs naturally with small petrol engines.

oil should NOT small like gas..ever !. if it does ?, then fuel is getting into the oil !, most times the float needle sticks open, letting fuel over flow, then through the carb, intake valve or air box, back through the breather tube to the crank case. ranchers are the worst about this, as well as a few foreman 400's.

 

[fishfiles]

crude in the tank , fuel crystalizing in the petcock and fuel lines , one little piece of trash is all it takes to cause the needle to get stuck open , if you clean the carb , then reintroduce the trash right back in to the carb , then it will keep doing it over and over -----turn the petcock off when you stow it , keep the tank clean and don't use ethanal gas , to keep that from happening again

 

[mrbb]

I agree, cleaning a carb with crap in your tank is wasted time, on cleaning the carb at all!
if you have crap in your tank
you NEED to clean UP stream of the carb to keep a carb clean

you need to clean TANK first, drain and blow out, and make sure its clean inside tankl
then make sure peacock isn't all gummed up
ETHANOL fuel will leave a varnish on parts over time and that will interfere with both fuel flow and can break off and cause dirty carbs and running issues

as can the inside of the fuel lines to carb?

fuel line is CHEAP, RELPACE it and have peace of mind its NOT dirty inside from age or ethanol fuel!
BUY the yellow< tygon fuel line too, its the ONLY fuel line made for ETHANOL fuel too
the black and other colors was INVENTED before Ethanol fuel, and its NOT made to handle it!

after tank and fuel lines are GOOD , CLEAN carb and clean it correctly, JUST spraying with carb cleaner is NOT cleaning a carb!
countless GOOD how too videos are on you YOUTUBE
its NOT hard or needed to PAY someone to do this if you have even basic tools and some willingness to try!
a CARB rebuild kit is NOT a bad idea, as you can then just replace some parts over trying to clean old ones(as that varnish can be HARD to get off many)
and there NOT that expensive either


NEXT< change your OIL ASAP
fuel in oil can ruin many parts on you , its dry's seals and can lead to RUST and weakening of parts! causing BIGGER more expensive repairs for you!

also REPLACE fuel filter ASAP with said oil change!

once you do this stuff, rep[lace with GOOD NEW fuel(preferably NON Ethanol too LOL)

or at least treat any ethanol fuel you use!, if atv sits at all
ETHANOL fuel can go BAD in weeks
treated can last a LOT longer!
do the above and you should be problem free for a LONG time, if you keep using GOOD clean fuel !

 

[SamUK]

Ethanol gas will cause some issues yes, avoid it! I assume you changed the petcock before spending all that money at the dealer? Again, ethanol gas is probably eating away at seals within the petcock.

Another thing to take into consideration, that Milky colour of your oil may infact be condensation from being parked up for long periods at a time, the oil smelling like gas is just something that occurs naturally with small petrol engines.

oil should NOT small like gas..ever !. if it does ?, then fuel is getting into the oil !, most times the float needle sticks open, letting fuel over flow, then through the carb, intake valve or air box, back through the breather tube to the crank case. ranchers are the worst about this, as well as a few foreman 400's.

Unfortunately shade yes it does, it’s impossible for you to prove me wrong on this one, traces of fuel are always found in oil. Smelling of gas, maybe not always but a lot of the time small engines often have some slight aroma.

 

[LedFTed]

the float needle would stick some with my rebuilt carburetor. plus the petcock fuel shutoff/tank/reserve, was shot. lucky, i never got any gas in the oil. with a magnifying glass, i got to see some white, about the seat of the needle, and cleaned it up. i used a drill bit with my fingers. you cut to much around that seat, you will need a new float bowl, or carburetor.
i had a slightly leaky plunger, plus my overflow in the carburetor also worked. i think i got an overflow :smile.
"the oil in a weed eater smells like gas" .. a yuk yuk.
there may be a war between sam an shadetree, on the smell of gas in oil, but i got to side with shade on this one.
i seen oil with water in it. happened with my 46 tractor, among other thingies, that i have had through the years.
whites, yellows, an grays, water/antifreeze in the oil.. i didnt think gas in the oil, made much of a color change. i havent had this experience. i got to knock on a 2x4 with my head, 3 times too get out of this one, or v/s. //ed

 

[SamUK]

As I said, moisture. More than likely condensation, possibly water depending on how and where it’s kept.

Ethanol isn’t helping the fuel system either, ALL small gas (petrol) engine oils will usually have an aroma of fuel. Mowers, generators, bikes, you name it, have a smell next oil change ;-)

As above, ditch the ethanol and clean the system.

 

[LedFTed]

When your right, your right. must have cross threaded some post reading. not the 1st time. the chart could use some more colors to it, concerning moisture.
i might just be able to get you some. from oil changes i've saved in the past.
as far as oil smelling like gas, im still not sure of that. give me a couple of days, an i will get back to you. sometimes my days last decades.
there is a difference, from aroma, to strong, when it comes to smell. as there are those that are sensitive of smell, and those that are sensitive to smell. my sister was told by the allergy doctor, she was sensitive to smell. she took it the wrong way. she thinks she has a great smeller. could explain some of er cooking. ;~}

 

[mrbb]

fuel should never be in oil in a motor PERIOD
NOW can oil have some fuel smell to it
I say YES it can, but most times it will not
and I only say YES, , due to well fuel smells and scents can cling to anything

say you fill a motor with fuel and then drain ALL fuel out, let air dry for a few days, even BLOW dry afterwards to make sure its ALL gone and evaporated and likes
I BET the metal still smells like fuel
NOW add oil to this motor
and well that OIL can absorb some of the SCENT of fuel

BUT it should wear off in time and use and smell like BURNT Oil or just OIL after running some!
the cleaning agents and make up of fuel (water too), is whats RUINS parts in a motor when fuel gets in them, and even if you get SMALL amounts in a motor, it can do damage, BUT it will also burn off as time goes by
SMALL amount here
fuel should NEVER be in motor oil unless you don';t like long lasting motors, or just like fixing them often! LOL

 

[misterclean59]

When your right, your right. must have cross threaded some post reading. not the 1st time. the chart could use some more colors to it, concerning moisture.
i might just be able to get you some. from oil changes i've saved in the past.
as far as oil smelling like gas, im still not sure of that. give me a couple of days, an i will get back to you. sometimes my days last decades.
there is a difference, from aroma, to strong, when it comes to smell. as there are those that are sensitive of smell, and those that are sensitive to smell. my sister was told by the allergy doctor, she was sensitive to smell. she took it the wrong way. she thinks she has a great smeller. could explain some of er cooking. ;~}

My motive is not to correct Sam because I appreciate his great attitude on this forum........but I agree with Ledfted here. I've owned an outdoor equipment repair shop for 35 years now. My experience is oil should not ever smell like fuel. Also a yellow tint indicates water as many have suggested. I've seen perhaps hundreds of oil sumps polluted with fuel. Some just a few percentage points of dilution, some with more fuel than oil! Never ever ever has it looked yellow. Just a thinner color of the oil. Once a friend brought in an engine full of molasses!Yes , molasses. It was parked in a barn where bulk molasses was stored and someone thought it was oil! LOL..........our biscuits tasted like oil now that I think about it.

 

[shadetree]

When your right, your right. must have cross threaded some post reading. not the 1st time. the chart could use some more colors to it, concerning moisture.
i might just be able to get you some. from oil changes i've saved in the past.
as far as oil smelling like gas, im still not sure of that. give me a couple of days, an i will get back to you. sometimes my days last decades.
there is a difference, from aroma, to strong, when it comes to smell. as there are those that are sensitive of smell, and those that are sensitive to smell. my sister was told by the allergy doctor, she was sensitive to smell. she took it the wrong way. she thinks she has a great smeller. could explain some of er cooking. ;~}

My motive is not to correct Sam because I appreciate his great attitude on this forum........but I agree with Ledfted here. I've owned an outdoor equipment repair shop for 35 years now. My experience is oil should not ever smell like fuel. Also a yellow tint indicates water as many have suggested. I've seen perhaps hundreds of oil sumps polluted with fuel. Some just a few percentage points of dilution, some with more fuel than oil! Never ever ever has it looked yellow. Just a thinner color of the oil. Once a friend brought in an engine full of molasses!Yes , molasses. It was parked in a barn where bulk molasses was stored and someone thought it was oil! LOL..........our biscuits tasted like oil now that I think about it.

sam has some great info here and there !. but !!!, I know for a fact, if oil smells like fuel ?, its because it leaked down into it from the tank. yes..oil will have a '' slight '' smell of fuel ?, but this is from being burnt off from the engine running , not from being dumbed into it. and even after being burnt, it still should not have a fuel smell, not much..if any.

 

[SamUK]

I hold my hands up when I’m wrong, it’s part of learning isn’t it. However my experiences with small engines is that 90% of the time oil will have some smell of petrol (gas)
I can go drop the oil in numerous machines we have here and get a slight whiff, maybe I have a strong sense of smell, I don’t know?
Even cars, EFI I can smell fuel.

 

[shadetree]

I hold my hands up when I’m wrong, it’s part of learning isn’t it. However my experiences with small engines is that 90% of the time oil will have some smell of petrol (gas)
I can go drop the oil in numerous machines we have here and get a slight whiff, maybe I have a strong sense of smell, I don’t know?
Even cars, EFI I can smell fuel.

welllllllllllll..your not wrong, and your not right. yes..oil will have a slight smell of fuel. but !. we've got to determine the difference between a '' slight '' smell ?, or a strong smell ?. there will always be a '' slight '' smell of burnt fuel in ALL engines !. but when you have a strong smell of fuel in oil ?, then there is a reason ?, FUEL IS GETTING STRAIGHT TO THE BOTTOM WHERE THE OIL IS. .

 

[misterclean59]

LOL everybody. I will make it easy. I either smell fuel or I don't. Of course there is the odd time or two where it just started flooding and it was caught very ,very soon.

 

[LedFTed]

must have cross threaded, she thinks she has a great smeller. could explain some of er cooking. ;~}

LOL..........our biscuits tasted like oil now that I think about it.

Sorry,, i couldn't help myself. //ed

 

[fishfiles]

Maybe try the taste test : LOL

I was watching one of them BBQ shows and the guy used kerosine to light the fire on his smoker pit and a bucket full of it at that , I was like wow , I don't think I would like his BBQ , imagine it would taste like kerosene

 

[LedFTed]

know exactly what you mean. some people abuse charcoal fluid. or start cooking before its burned out. lol
i can smell gas or kerosene, and its like i tasted it, for an hour or so after. Funny how that "J.B. cinnamon" dont bother my taste buds, it's 70 proof, 35%. it can bother my ability to be fully awake the next day.. a 750ml bottle has about 7 inches of whiskey in it. the other night, i got it to 2" 5/8". unfortunately, bout 10am i got sumthin to eat, an a half hour later i was ready to crash..... didnt wake up tiil 5pm. lucky no hangover. that dont happen often. 6-7 beers will leave me sluggish the next day. must be the cinnamon.

 

[LedFTed]

colors of water in oil

if you ave even had the flu, or walking pneumonia, an some of those other things, then you have seen the colours of water in the oil, except for gray. green too is a color of water in oil. ah never seen red, nor black....

 

[_Wilson_]

Once a friend brought in an engine full of molasses!Yes , molasses. It was parked in a barn where bulk molasses was stored and someone thought it was oil! LOL..........our biscuits tasted like oil now that I think about it.

I just can't wrapp my head around this ^^^^^^ 1st I've ever heard of something like this. hmmmm molasses verses motor oil ? How did you flush it, or.....what did you flush it with, with the high sugar content, WELL------ most of us have heard of the sugar in the gas tank deal. IE locked up engine, does it really seize one up ?