Janusz Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 My engine is overdue for an oil change now. I am planning to take the oil pan off this time when changing oil and clean/repaint it. In 3 days I am going away overseas for a month. Here is my dillema: Shoud I: 1- leave the bike like it is for a month in the carpot and do all the work after I came back, or, 2- let out all the oil now, let it drip till November and do all my painting and fill the new oil then. So basically I wonder if leaving an engine empty of oil for a month will be unhealthy for the engine more then leaving it filled with 16 month old oil. Doing all the painting/oil refill now is not possible (too busy getting ready for the trip/too lazy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuzziMoto Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 While neither option is the best, between the two of them I would drain it before you leave. My reasoning being old oil can be acidic. But I don't think either option is horrible. And I doubt there is much benefit to one over the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moscowphil Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Well, I don't think it really makes any difference. If you leave the oil in, the bulk of it just sits in the bottom of the sump where it can't really do any harm. Probably no different to it sitting in an old oil can in the corner of the garage. Whether or not you drain the oil though, it does mean you have old oil on all the bearing surfaces. I don't think this matters at all for just a month, but if you intend to let is stand longer, my inclination would be to drain the old oil, refill it with new oil (after changing the filter), and then run the engine to cover all the bearing surfaces with the new oil. That should guard against any possibility of corrosion from contaminants in the old oil. If you do leave the bike empty, make sure you put a big sticker on it saying no oil! it's amazing what you can forget in a month ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstallons Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 MosowPhil has the best advice... Do it!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 If wanna be real lazy and you have some room up the dipstick, add some fresh heavy SG auto oil, and run it in to dilute the acidic overdue oil, and then let it sit draining with pan off or not draining for the month, but don't overfill, and do remember to get it out. But yeah, it is much better to follow moscowphil's advice. And don't forget to add a Shloppage sheet and hose clamp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G. Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Well, I don't think it really makes any difference. If you leave the oil in, the bulk of it just sits in the bottom of the sump where it can't really do any harm. Probably no different to it sitting in an old oil can in the corner of the garage. Whether or not you drain the oil though, it does mean you have old oil on all the bearing surfaces. I don't think this matters at all for just a month, but if you intend to let is stand longer, my inclination would be to drain the old oil, refill it with new oil (after changing the filter), and then run the engine to cover all the bearing surfaces with the new oil. That should guard against any possibility of corrosion from contaminants in the old oil. If you do leave the bike empty, make sure you put a big sticker on it saying no oil! it's amazing what you can forget in a month ..... This is the way I'd go!! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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