Antifreeze in my engine oil.

[gtilby]

I am almost afraid to ask. I drained the oil last night and while I was swishing it around in the drain pan, I noticed that it had some antifreeze in it. I have noticed that I have had to add a little coolant to the overflow to keep it at the right level over the past couple of months. OK, how bad is it, just give it to me straight.

[MrBill]

03 700 right?
Head gasket?
Water pump inner seal? this is most likely not it because of a weep hole for coolant to leak out of the motor and not into the oil.
Was your oil milky or just some in the oil pan? (not mixed)
How much coolant did you add?

[gtilby]

Yeah, it is an 03 700. The oil wasn't milky, it actually looked rather dark until I swished it around. I didn't add much coolant at all. Just over the past two months when I have gone for the last 3 rides I noticed that the overflow was down below the low setting so I added maybe a half cup to bring it up to where it should be.

[Ken]

I'll bet it's the water pump.....

There's 3 water pump configurations....

1) Original plastic (which leaked)

2) First round "fix" with the plastic water pump, with a metal sleeve to help push it tight and evenly.

3) The final, 2nd round fix....A real aluminum water pump.

[gtilby]

Aluminum water pump? Is that a straight replacement fix? How can I verify that is the problem before I replace it? Is there a way to make sure it isnt the head gasket?

[Ken]

The plastic water pump cover is black....the metal one, is aluminum.

It's a recall item....so the dealer will fix it. I'd start there. And if that's it...and it is plastic...don't settle for the metal cover.....it doesn't work.

[gtilby]

Mine has the metal cover already. I called the dealer and spoke with the service department manager and was told that the water pump cover would allow antifreeze to leak on the outside but not the inside. So he was saying it couldn't cause antifreeze to get into the oil. I have someone pressurizing the cooling system to find out where it is leaking and hopefully I will have some more news in the next few days. I will post the grizzly news.

[Ken]

Oooh. Ok...definitely let us know....