Everything that Glitters is not Gold

chiefmeat68 · 07-26-2023, 02:05 PM

I am pushing 4,000 miles on my Hawk 250. I changed the oil initially then at 50 miles, 100 miles, 200 miles, 250 miles, then every 200-400 miles after that. I changed it that frequently at first because I kept seeing so much "glitter" in the oil.

I started with Rotella T4 then transitioned to Rotella T6. Used some Delo at some point as well.

I am still getting a significant amount of shiny "glitter" in my oil change.

I'm wondering if I should be worried? Or is this normal for one of these engines? I've never owned an engine with a wet clutch... could it have anything to do with that?

Megadan · 07-26-2023, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefmeat68

I am pushing 4,000 miles on my Hawk 250. I changed the oil initially then at 50 miles, 100 miles, 200 miles, 250 miles, then every 200-400 miles after that. I changed it that frequently at first because I kept seeing so much "glitter" in the oil.

I started with Rotella T4 then transitioned to Rotella T6. Used some Delo at some point as well.

I am still getting a significant amount of shiny "glitter" in my oil change.

I'm wondering if I should be worried? Or is this normal for one of these engines? I've never owned an engine with a wet clutch... could it have anything to do with that?

The question is, is the glitter magnetic or not?

chiefmeat68 · 07-27-2023, 02:21 AM

Megadan,

I put a neodymium magnet on the outside side of the drain plug for a couple of changes and did not see any noticeable pickup... but I don't know if it was strong enough or in a good spot to pick up anything... I will try running it thru the oil on my next change.

For what it's worth... I have only seen maybe two very small metal shavings that were big enough to be caught in the screen... and that was early in the break in... otherwise it has always been clear.

chiefmeat68 · 09-18-2023, 02:00 PM

At my last oil change a couple days ago I took some pictures of the used oil (see below). The odometer is broken but I'm estimating this oil went no more than 500 miles (Rotella T6, 15-40).

It was at night, and in case you can't tell what your looking at... the pictures are of the spent oil in my oil catch pan. For scale the three knobs you see would normally be where you put an oil filter to drain.

I was sloshing it around so you can see the trails and swirls of "glitter" and the weird green color. No big chunks of anything... nothing in the filter screen... and nothing ferrous.

This is the way it has looked at every oil change since new. Maybe it's normal? What do you think?

I replaced the stock clutch springs with Japanese ones maybe 1000 miles ago and since then I have had the clutch spin/slip 2 or 3 times when I really hork on the trottle in high gear and low to mid revs. I'm fairly sure the clutch is adjusted correctly... and the oil looked like this before I replaced the springs... so I have tentatively ruled thoes two possible issues out.

I am thinking of putting in a new clutch... or at least new clutch plates to see if that cleans it up at all. Will the TT250 clutch work for a hawk? Any recommendations for a higher performance clutch? As mentioned I already upgraded my springs to the Japanese ones and I bought an an oil cooler but have yet to install it.

XLsior · 09-18-2023, 03:49 PM

Having experienced a catastrophic head gasket failure, cooking the crank case and catching a piston eating its cylinder I can tell you this oil sparkle is tame. I would say its mostly clutch material adjusting to oil type shifts and some riding scenarios...

I've since rebuilt the top end on the cooked engine and after a couple of hot flushes the engine is running fine 'knock wood'

the CG engine might not make high performance power...but it can take a beating.

07-26-2023, 02:05 PM	#1
chiefmeat68 Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Eastern WA Posts: 20	Everything that Glitters is not Gold I am pushing 4,000 miles on my Hawk 250. I changed the oil initially then at 50 miles, 100 miles, 200 miles, 250 miles, then every 200-400 miles after that. I changed it that frequently at first because I kept seeing so much "glitter" in the oil. I started with Rotella T4 then transitioned to Rotella T6. Used some Delo at some point as well. I am still getting a significant amount of shiny "glitter" in my oil change. I'm wondering if I should be worried? Or is this normal for one of these engines? I've never owned an engine with a wet clutch... could it have anything to do with that?
	0

09-18-2023, 02:00 PM	#4
chiefmeat68 Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Eastern WA Posts: 20	Followup on this one... At my last oil change a couple days ago I took some pictures of the used oil (see below). The odometer is broken but I'm estimating this oil went no more than 500 miles (Rotella T6, 15-40). It was at night, and in case you can't tell what your looking at... the pictures are of the spent oil in my oil catch pan. For scale the three knobs you see would normally be where you put an oil filter to drain. I was sloshing it around so you can see the trails and swirls of "glitter" and the weird green color. No big chunks of anything... nothing in the filter screen... and nothing ferrous. This is the way it has looked at every oil change since new. Maybe it's normal? What do you think? I replaced the stock clutch springs with Japanese ones maybe 1000 miles ago and since then I have had the clutch spin/slip 2 or 3 times when I really hork on the trottle in high gear and low to mid revs. I'm fairly sure the clutch is adjusted correctly... and the oil looked like this before I replaced the springs... so I have tentatively ruled thoes two possible issues out. I am thinking of putting in a new clutch... or at least new clutch plates to see if that cleans it up at all. Will the TT250 clutch work for a hawk? Any recommendations for a higher performance clutch? As mentioned I already upgraded my springs to the Japanese ones and I bought an an oil cooler but have yet to install it. Attached Thumbnails
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07-27-2023, 02:21 AM	#3
chiefmeat68 Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Eastern WA Posts: 20	Megadan, I put a neodymium magnet on the outside side of the drain plug for a couple of changes and did not see any noticeable pickup... but I don't know if it was strong enough or in a good spot to pick up anything... I will try running it thru the oil on my next change. For what it's worth... I have only seen maybe two very small metal shavings that were big enough to be caught in the screen... and that was early in the break in... otherwise it has always been clear.
	0

09-18-2023, 03:49 PM	#5
XLsior Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Australia Posts: 1,297	Having experienced a catastrophic head gasket failure, cooking the crank case and catching a piston eating its cylinder I can tell you this oil sparkle is tame. I would say its mostly clutch material adjusting to oil type shifts and some riding scenarios... I've since rebuilt the top end on the cooked engine and after a couple of hot flushes the engine is running fine 'knock wood' the CG engine might not make high performance power...but it can take a beating.
	3