Oil level window

[Woodrider]

  I have a 2004  1150 RT I have always kept it on the center stand when not in use. Till I was forced to keep it on a very steep driveway. Now the oil level window is so dirty I can't check the level. Is there a way to remove it? Maybe engine flush? Any suggestions are welcome, Thanks G

[Miguel!]

You mean dirty on the inside??

 

Miguel!

[AndyS]

10 hours ago, Woodrider said:

  I have a 2004  1150 RT I have always kept it on the center stand when not in use. Till I was forced to keep it on a very steep driveway. Now the oil level window is so dirty I can't check the level. Is there a way to remove it? Maybe engine flush? Any suggestions are welcome, Thanks G

 

Hi Woodrider. I am not understanding your problem.

Are you saying that when the bike was on the centrestand you COULD see the oil level, and now it is on the sidestand you CAN'T?

When did you last change the oil? 

[dirtrider]

13 hours ago, Woodrider said:

  I have a 2004  1150 RT I have always kept it on the center stand when not in use. Till I was forced to keep it on a very steep driveway. Now the oil level window is so dirty I can't check the level. Is there a way to remove it? Maybe engine flush? Any suggestions are welcome, Thanks G

 

 

Morning Woodrider

 

The sight glass can't be removed & re-installed to clean it so it is what it is now, or, you will need to install a new sight glass (not easy for a home mechanic)

 

You can try changing the engine oil to see if fresh oil will clear the lens slightly but in most cases the sight glass lens is darkened on the inside by years of hot oil varnish discoloring it.

 

If your sight glass was OK until you parked it on the side stand then hopefully it is just a light coating of dark crud on the inside  (hopefully new oil will help that after  a few hot engine rides)

 

If it is real cold in your area now & you only ran the engine a short time then maybe the sight glass is just fogged up with condensation inside the cold  engine crankcase.

[Miguel!]

Is there another way to measure the oil level if you can't see through the sight glass?

 

Miguel!

[dirtrider]

28 minutes ago, Miguel! said:

Is there another way to measure the oil level if you can't see through the sight glass?

 

Miguel!

 

Afternoon Miguel

 

Nothing easy, but with a little work a person could fabricate an oil drain plug with small fitting in one of the side flats to accept a clear hose that is oil proof & heat proof.

 

Then just route that hose up the side of the engine to end higher then the top of the sight glass with a little valve on the top.

 

Then just place bike on center stand, open the top valve &  view the oil level in the  hose (oil level in hose will be same height as in crankcase). Then close top  valve when  done.

[Woodrider]

I had the bike on the side stand for about 1 and 1/2 years and yes I've changed the oil several times but didn't help. I think I might try an engine flush see what that gets me. I hate not knowing what the level is. A site tube is an idea but could come with a leakage cost I'm not sure I want to risk. Thanks for the ideas. G

[szurszewski]

Out of curiosity, are you saying you had the bike parked -continuously- for 18 months on a steep driveway, or just that for those months you were still riding but it was on a steep driveway when parked between rides?

[Miguel!]

3 hours ago, dirtrider said:

 

Afternoon Miguel

 

Nothing easy, but with a little work a person could fabricate an oil drain plug with small fitting in one of the side flats to accept a clear hose that is oil proof & heat proof.

 

Then just route that hose up the side of the engine to end higher then the top of the sight glass with a little valve on the top.

 

Then just place bike on center stand, open the top valve &  view the oil level in the  hose (oil level in hose will be same height as in crankcase). Then close top  valve when  done.

Thats sounds rather risk and fugly. I was hoping that its possible to make a dipstick-like thing that reaches to the bottom of the oil pan. For example, could one use a length of tubbing, insert into the oil fill opening, when you hit bottom, cap the end of the tube with your finger and extract it Put some marks on the  tube corresponding to the full level. You'd be able to calibrate the full level height just after doing an oil change. You could estimate the lower level by eye.

 

Any ideas on that? I don't know what obstructions might be in the way to the bottom of the oil pan from the oil fill hole. 

 

Thanks! Miguel

[dirtrider]

34 minutes ago, Miguel! said:

Thats sounds rather risk and fugly. I was hoping that its possible to make a dipstick-like thing that reaches to the bottom of the oil pan. For example, could one use a length of tubbing, insert into the oil fill opening, when you hit bottom, cap the end of the tube with your finger and extract it Put some marks on the  tube corresponding to the full level. You'd be able to calibrate the full level height just after doing an oil change. You could estimate the lower level by eye.

 

Any ideas on that? I don't know what obstructions might be in the way to the bottom of the oil pan from the oil fill hole. 

 

Thanks! Miguel

 

 

Afternoon Miguel

 

Unfortunately the fill cap is nowhere near the crankcase oil sump area. The oil fill cap is out on the valve cover so is very high & remote from the oil sump. If you used  any sort  of dipstick in the oil cap hole all it c-o-u-l-d show is the bottom inside of the valve cover & that is WAY above the oil full level in the oil sump.

 

Probably the best approach is to just bite-the-bullet & install a new oil sight window. The older plastic-lens oil sight windows were easy to install but they discolored easily, the new design sight window are real glass so are REAL EASY to break when installing without a proper installer. 

 

 

[Miguel!]

Thanks DR. I just changed the oil It was unreadable before the oil change. I didn't have time to look at it to see if I could read it before I took off for travel. I'll have over the weekend. 

 

Best

Miguel

[dan cata]

On a bike that old, fitting a new sight glass would make reading the oil level such a pleasant job...

 

Dan.

[Scarecrow]

just to be sure. . . you are not trying to read the oil level when it's on the side stand, right? 

[Woodrider]

Can't blame you for thinking that way I know how some people are. I was a mechanic for 35+years and so the answer of coarse is NO. I was just forced to park the bike on the side stand. I have it in storage now on the center stand and the window is still very dark. Most gear boxes I've worked on over the years had replaceable sight glasses, no such luck with the Beemer. My plan at this point is to get the battery charged and run some engine flush through it and see how that goes. Hopefully it might clean the window up some I can only hope. G

[dirtrider]

16 hours ago, Woodrider said:

Can't blame you for thinking that way I know how some people are. I was a mechanic for 35+years and so the answer of coarse is NO. I was just forced to park the bike on the side stand. I have it in storage now on the center stand and the window is still very dark. Most gear boxes I've worked on over the years had replaceable sight glasses, no such luck with the Beemer. My plan at this point is to get the battery charged and run some engine flush through it and see how that goes. Hopefully it might clean the window up some I can only hope. G

 

Afternoon  Woodrider

 

The oil sight glass IS replaceable in your BMW, just not an easy task for the occasional home do-it-yourselfer.

 

If you were a mechanic for 35 years then you shouldn't have any trouble replacing your sight glass. It just requires basic knowledge on how to install the new (real-glass-lens) sight glass without breaking the glass window.

 

I can be done with a homemade seal diver that contacts ONLY the outer edge of the new sight glass rubber & using Windex or brake clean as an assembly lube.

 

 

[tallman]

OK, they're boxers.

They can, and do use oil, to some extent that diminsihes the quantity of oil.

IMO, a rider should know their bike and how much oil it uses between changes.

I started out like many, carrying 8 oz of oil on trips.

Never, ever, ever, ever, needed it. Left it out of the kit.

If it isn't leaking, it is ok if the proper oil change was done.

RIDE 'em.

But, I have seen older boxers self destruct when they had been in storage for years, got gummed up,

(nasty dark sludge, probably no where near correct original levels of fluids)

and blew up.

Don't run for long without cooling fans keeping temp down.

These bikes degrade when sitting.

Tires, in tank hoses, brake lines, etc.

Good luck, not too hard to replace, but, order a spare ( I did carry that).

If you break it on install, learn and do properly.

If you do it right, you have a spare.

Best wishes.

 

[Miguel!]

I just wanted to add a note here. I recently acquired a new-to-me 2001 R1100RT, 100K miles. When I got it, I knew it was due for an oil change. The sight glass was completely black and I couldn't se the oil level. I had a pro independent BMW mechanic go through the entire bike. The previous owner had impeccable records but as far as I could tell, he only had the dealer do things that were big things and scheduled or were beyond his capabilities and it doesn't appear he gave a mechanic carte blanche to look for and fix things that were wrong. It made a huge difference in performance BTW  (waaaay acoustically quieter, rode better, felt smoother). 

 

The oil change cleared up the sight glass and I can clearly see the oil level. I don't know if he did anything special to clear the glass but I'll ask him and report back.I'll be changing the oil every 6K miles and let him handle the 12K services.

 

Best

Miguel