Coolant in my oil?????

[sam20]

Wondering if anyone who owns a 2nd Gen Vmax has experienced or heard of this? I purchased the bike for a good deal from a dealership. I noticed the coolant was low but didn't think too much of it. Upon changing the oil, I observed a greenish tint to the oil and odor of what appears to be antifreeze. Not a happy camper. What do you guys think, head gasket? I cannot seem to find a post or example of this occurring on the new VMAX. I found oil in the coolant threads, but no coolant in the oil threads.

Also, the clutch seems to have a very long dragged out grab (which could explain the coolant affecting the clutches maybe?) - The bike only has 7,200 miles.

I appreciate any input, ideas or knowledge on this matter.

Thanks.

 

[Itgoes]

Wondering if anyone who owns a 2nd Gen Vmax has experienced or heard of this? I purchased the bike for a good deal from a dealership. I noticed the coolant was low but didn't think too much of it. Upon changing the oil, I observed a greenish tint to the oil and odor of what appears to be antifreeze. Not a happy camper. What do you guys think, head gasket? I cannot seem to find a post or example of this occurring on the new VMAX. I found oil in the coolant threads, but no coolant in the oil threads.

Also, the clutch seems to have a very long dragged out grab (which could explain the coolant affecting the clutches maybe?) - The bike only has 7,200 miles.

I appreciate any input, ideas or knowledge on this matter.

Thanks.

Don't know what to tell you, I've never heard of that in over 10 very active years of ownership.

At 7200 miles the engine is or should be like new.

I know if it was me I'd be speaking to the dealership.

What year is the bike?

 

[desert_max]

Absolutely! I would be having a nice little chat with that dealership. Well, OK, maybe not so nice.

 

[Radioguylogs]

I am not familiar with 2nd gen Vmax, but on other V4 bikes that can happen when the seal in the coolant pump fails.

 

[Parminio]

Absolutely! I would be having a nice little chat with that dealership. Well, OK, maybe not so nice.

 

[sam20]

It is a 2009. It's a small dealership located in Santa Cruz, CA.... go figure, no warranty/sold as is. Radioguy - Thanks, I will look into that. I would love for it to be something as small as a coolant pump seal. Thanks all for the replys.

 

[Itgoes]

There was an oil pump recall on 2009 VMaxs. Some of the recalls were botched by the dealers and engines were damaged after being run. At least a couple I know of were bought back by the dealers, or "repaired" by the dealers and returned to the owners. The owners that really pushed hard back at Yamaha got new engines ($10,000 dealer cost).

So presumably there are some of the "repaired" bikes out there. I put repaired in quotes because IMO there is no simple repairing that can be done to fix the damage cause by an oil starved engine.........especially by a dealer who could not even install an oil pump correctly.

I hope you don't have one of these bikes but I wanted to let you know that they exist.

Is it stock? If not could you post a couple of pictures, it's a long-shot but I might recognize the bike. I did have a friend a couple of hours from you that had one of those bikes.

It would be nice if the dealer could provide some history on the bike.

 

[sam20]

There was an oil pump recall on 2009 VMaxs. Some of the recalls were botched by the dealers and engines were damaged after being run. At least a couple I know of were bought back by the dealers, or "repaired" by the dealers and returned to the owners. The owners that really pushed hard back at Yamaha got new engines ($10,000 dealer cost).

So presumably there are some of the "repaired" bikes out there. I put repaired in quotes because IMO there is no simple repairing that can be done to fix the damage cause by an oil starved engine.........especially by a dealer who could not even install an oil pump correctly.

I hope you don't have one of these bikes but I wanted to let you know that they exist.

Is it stock? If not could you post a couple of pictures, it's a long-shot but I might recognize the bike. I did have a friend a couple of hours from you that had one of those bikes.

It would be nice if the dealer could provide some history on the bike.

Hmmm, I guess I will just have to monitor the oil consumptions/coolant tank level and see if they change. Wouldn't there be a indicator light or something if there is low oil pressure? I know the abs light blinks most of the time, not sure what that is about. As far as I can tell the bike is stock.

Thank you for the info ITGOES

Also, the STEALERSHIP I purchased the bike from is called THE ARGUS COMPANY - looks like the bike had two owners, with no records of recalls performed or maintenance completed, per a carfax type request.

 

[desert_max]

Man, I hope this works out for you. At the very least and lacking any dealer support (i.e. sold "as is"), you need to get to the bottom of why your oil is being contaminated with coolant and stop it now. Then assess whether or not there's been and detectable damage done. Worst case, you might "show" 7K miles, but it might have "experienced" some amount of higher wear than 7K would normally present. Hopefully not enough to either be detected or even make a difference!

So, fix the intermixing and ride the wheels off of it.

 

[sam20]

Thanks, me too. I love this bike. Having difficulty finding anyone with extensive knowledge about these engines and how something like this is happening, so I know what steps to take next.

 

[blackbyrd]

Hmmm, I guess I will just have to monitor the oil consumptions/coolant tank level and see if they change. Wouldn't there be a indicator light or something if there is low oil pressure? I know the abs light blinks most of the time, not sure what that is about. As far as I can tell the bike is stock.

Thank you for the info ITGOES

Also, the STEALERSHIP I purchased the bike from is called THE ARGUS COMPANY - looks like the bike had two owners, with no records of recalls performed or maintenance completed, per a carfax type request.

I have an 09 as well.still in the shop,bought it in March of this year,bike has been in shop for numerous things,first fork seals started leaking,then bike was dying on me when coming to stops,idle was erratic, found out the wiring recall for tps and aps was not completed in California, even though they got paid for it,so again,bike is tied up at a shop here in Tucson, Arizona, I sent Yamaha a letter to let them know how disappointed I was in there dealerships,the techs need to go back to school for more in depth training, tired of making payments on a bike that's at dealership more than my driveway,hope you dont have the same issues with ur 09,call,check to make sure them recalls were done

 

[ouchez]

There was an oil pump recall on 2009 VMaxs. Some of the recalls were botched by the dealers and engines were damaged after being run. At least a couple I know of were bought back by the dealers, or "repaired" by the dealers and returned to the owners. The owners that really pushed hard back at Yamaha got new engines ($10,000 dealer cost).

So presumably there are some of the "repaired" bikes out there. I put repaired in quotes because IMO there is no simple repairing that can be done to fix the damage cause by an oil starved engine.........especially by a dealer who could not even install an oil pump correctly.

I hope you don't have one of these bikes but I wanted to let you know that they exist.

Is it stock? If not could you post a couple of pictures, it's a long-shot but I might recognize the bike. I did have a friend a couple of hours from you that had one of those bikes.

It would be nice if the dealer could provide some history on the bike.

A major issue with me in buying the 2nd Gen is the seeming dwindling of Yamaha dealers in my area of Mi. and the clearly lack of skilled technicians to work on the Gen2 motor which is a complicated item. Not to mention many dealers are so very unprofessional. When you are buying a machine as expensive as MAX these are real concerns.

 

[blackbyrd]

A major issue with me in buying the 2nd Gen is the seeming dwindling of Yamaha dealers in my area of Mi. and the clearly lack of skilled technicians to work on the Gen2 motor which is a complicated item. Not to mention many dealers are so very unprofessional. When you are buying a machine as expensive as MAX these are real concerns.

Ur right brother,lack of professional techs in this Field is crazy,luckily I'm a seasoned automotive tech that understands computers,wiring issues.Then when you talk to them and explain the issue,I can actually see it going over his head...its really sad,just want to get my bike back and never take it there,just do the work on it myself from now on..

 

[C2protect]

Don't know what to tell you, I've never heard of that in over 10 very active years of ownership.

At 7200 miles the engine is or should be like new.

I know if it was me I'd be speaking to the dealership.

What year is the bike?

It's an 09...it says it in the text.

 

[Itgoes]

It's an 09...it says it in the text.

Uh huh......what's your point?

 

[sam20]

Just an update for any/all who might be interested. I have ridden the Max for almost 3K miles, and the coolant level has not appeared to really change. Furthermore, the oil in the sight glass does not appear to be discolored and no foam is observed. I will be conducting an oil change very soon and provide an update with my findings. I am hopeful that the green color from the prior change was simply some kind of dye/additive package.

Also, if anyone has advice on what packing/insulation material to use on a muffler pipe to decrease the DB level it would be GREATLY appreciated. I installed a UFO 4 into 1 exhaust and it is absurdly loud. I removed the metal fiber insulation packed in some cheap pipe insulation, which made very little difference if any. Again, would really appreciate any advice on this, love the pipe, just need to quiet it down a bit.

Cheers.

 

[Itgoes]

That's great news! Happy to hear that.

The UFO and now Voodoo exhausts are some of the loudest out there. You might want to try a different muffler. In general a longer can will give you a deeper sound.....not as harsh sounding.

 

[sam20]

Thanks. Might just have to do that, which is unfortunate, because the muffler looks good.

 

[Jaketheone46]

Wondering if anyone who owns a 2nd Gen Vmax has experienced or heard of this? I purchased the bike for a good deal from a dealership. I noticed the coolant was low but didn't think too much of it. Upon changing the oil, I observed a greenish tint to the oil and odor of what appears to be antifreeze. Not a happy camper. What do you guys think, head gasket? I cannot seem to find a post or example of this occurring on the new VMAX. I found oil in the coolant threads, but no coolant in the oil threads.

Also, the clutch seems to have a very long dragged out grab (which could explain the coolant affecting the clutches maybe?) - The bike only has 7,200 miles.

I appreciate any input, ideas or knowledge on this matter.

Thanks.

I know this is an old thread but what probably happened here is a previous owner probably ran motul 300v in it which is known in the sport bike world to be the best oil available. It’s green oil.

 

[a6pacman]

Coolant and oil would show beading/separation too.