Is metal flake in the oil "normal"? (See pics)

[19Delta]

We have 2 H series KDX's, a 97 and an 03. I change the oil after two rides, or 6 hours, whichever is first. Every time I change it, I see a little bit of flake in the oil. Both bikes run great. The PO owner of the 97 said he had the top end rebuilt (unknown hours, but bike had been ridden a lot), the 03 is all stock, and was mint, and nearly new when we bought it a year ago. I would guess it has less than 60 hours on it.

What do you guys think?





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[Friedom]

You could run a magnet through the oil (maybe inside a bag to clean it off) and see how much of that is actually metal. Won't work if it's aluminum, but gears are steel IIRC. How is your breather tube setup?

"Good job, guys. "

[pumpguy]

Can't provide answer specific to KDXs, but with other bikes I've always found some metal with drain oil.

You might look into fitting a magnetic tipped drain plug. I understand these are available from Moose. Any steel particles floating around in the oil will get attracted to the magnet and won't damage other parts.

Just curious, what kind of oil is that? Don't believe I've seen any that looks like that before.

[Jaguar]

that white color in the oil is because you need to replace the water pump seal.
Buy a rare earth magnet from Radio Shack and JBWeld it to the tip of the drain plug. That will catch all metal flakes.

[JFortner5]

Looks like clutch material to me. I usually see a little bit of it when I change oil too


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[Tyl3r]

I was going to say that I sometimes notice some in mine as well, I've always thought it was form the clutch plates too.

I would be more worried about the color of the oil too. The only time I've seen oil that was white/green like came out of my truck differentials after they were submerged in a water crossing. The photos could be deceiving, I don't know. Have you seen a drop in your coolant level at all?

[19Delta]

Thanks guys! I've been using Rotella T lately. Now you guys have me thinking and a bit worried! I would think I would have noticed the color.... it does look funny color in the pics. My coolant has not moved at all. Good thinking Friedom, I'll pay extra attention next time, and try the magnet in a ziplock trick.

Can't recall where my breather is routed to. But don't recall it being out of place last time I had the seat, carb, tank, etc off. I'll check it out. Plus, I haven't done any water crossings on this bike yet.

[Jaguar]

don't be a dum-dum. Water in the oil greatly limits its ability to lubricate. So while you keep on riding it, waiting for the water level to drop, the very small amount of water in your oil is letting everything wear down faster, all the bearings and gears.
There is no doubt about it, you need to stop being lazy and change that seal.

[JFortner5]

It's hard to judge the color of it looking at a computer/phone screen. The flash gives in a greenish tint too.

It looks normal to me, plus you'd have to lose a bunch of coolant to dye the oil green. On top of that if it sat for a little while the water would have separated from the oil anyway.