BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

My oil glass is cloudy and cant see the oil level. did anyone run into this? any advice?

I've herd that a cloudy sight glass can be caused by overheating your engine. Other than ensuring the sight glass is clean, I can't think of another reason why it would be cloudy.

ProductUser

isn't the sight glass two layers? possibly the outer seal has been compromised and you're getting condensastion between the two plates of glass.


i say you have them do a warranty issue check on it.

Whatever the reason, this is a long-term problem since BMW started using the sight-glass with the K Series in 1984. The good news is that they are cheap to buy and easy to replace.
1. Put the bike on the sidestand so that the sight glass is facing slightly upwards. If the oil level in the engine is no more than full, you shouldn't lose much when you remove the old sight glass. You may want to empty the oil filter to lower the amount of oil that is in the engine. OR.....drain all the oil from the engine and put the bike on the centerstand.
2. If you have a hand-drill, drill a small (1/8-inch) hole in the sight glass. Drill slowly, taking care to remove the plastic cuttings (from the drill bit and the sight glass) frequently, so they don't end up in your oil pan. Drilling the hole may help prevent shattering the sight glass and creating loose shards during subsequent steps. Some people have also heated up a sheet-metal screw and screwed it right into the sight glass (which is really plastic) rather than using the drill procedure.
3. Tap the sight glass with a standard (flat blade) screwdriver, using a hammer or mallet, to crack the sight glass. Avoid hitting it so hard that you drive the screwdriver into the sight glass' metal backing plate.
4. Once you have a few cracks in the sight glass, remove as many pieces as possible with a needle nose pliers.
5. The sight glass assembly includes a metal backing plate which is held near the sight glass with a gasket and a spacer (appx. 1/4-inch). The backing plate has holes perforating it to let the oil through. Take a 3-inch wood screw (appx. 1/8-inch diameter) and twist it a few turns into one of the perforations.
6. With a claw hammer (or maybe a "WonderBar"), slowly pry out the sight glass assembly via the wood screw. You may need to put the wood screw in a second location to work out the sight glass. Also, use a small piece of plywood as a backing piece for your prying tool.
7. Once the sight glass assembly is removed, check for debris in the area from which it was removed.
8. Rub some fresh oil on the gasket of the new sight glass assembly and press it in by hand as far as possible. Seat the assembly the rest of the way using a large socket as a drift, or by tapping it in around its edge in a star pattern (as you would tighten lug nuts) with a large plastic bolt or similar special tool. The sight glass assembly will stand out about 1/32-inch above the engine casing.
9. Run the bike a while and check for leakage.

Jax wrote:Whatever the reason, .....

Looks like a post for the FAQ section.

you can do what Jax said...

OR


Take the dang thing in and make bmw do it!

mzzogrno,

It sounds to me like your making short trips in very cold weather and water condensation in the oil is all over the inside of the engine, including the sightglass. Ride longer trips . . . . and after the engine warms up, use the gearbox to keep the RPM's always over 3,000 to generate more heat. I also block off both oil cooler tunnels with half a handtowel each when the temp goes under 45F (7C) and you are out of city traffic. You should have an engine temp gauge to show you what's happening.

I've had this problem with CX500 and FJ1200, with both bikes it was due to short trips in very cold weather. Always worst if the oil had just been changed.
Make a long trip once a week of about 50 miles to heat up the oil and get rid of the water in oil.

CycleRob wrote:mzzogrno,
... I also block off both oil cooler tunnels with half a handtowel each when the temp goes under 45F (7C) and you are out of city traffic. You should have an engine temp gauge to show you what's happening.

Rob, why is it helpful to block thermostatically regulated radiators? Is there too much of a pass-though even with a closed thermostat? Also, do you know how the oil thermostat on the R works? From the drawings I can't see any moving parts, and it sure looks different from a coolant thermostat.

mzzogrno, hai fatto la domanda a quellidellelica?

Arbreacames,

I block off the coolers to force the oil temp to over 200degF instead of the 172degF where the thermostat opens. What happens in very cold weather riding is the crankcase fins also cool the oil down so it doesn't even get over 168degF if the coolers are open to the airflow.

The thermostat is small, very simple and here are several pics of it when I removed it years ago, just out of curiosity:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/57232949-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/57232950-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/57232952-O.jpg

This last pic shows the oil cooler line's fitting that bolts to the engine and holds the whole thermostat assembly in place, under spring pressure:
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/57232954-O.jpg

Neat! Thanks a lot! I had been wondering about that mechanism for a long time.