Air filter change

Sierra1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2016
Messages
14,815
Location
Joshua TX
:eek: "Where do you ride?" would've been my first question. Even Texas doesn't jack up a filter like that at those miles. Is there another explanation?
 

VRODE

Easy Does It
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
940
Location
Northern Vermont
Vermont and the Northeast. I have been on a few dusty backroad rides. Actually the picture looks a little worse than the reality. I didn’t think it was all that bad for the mileage/usage.
 

yoyo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2016
Messages
915
Location
Swansea UK
Paint it red and it'll look good as new, just pop it back in......

Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk
 

magic

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2015
Messages
743
Location
WISCONSIN
I just cracked open my air filter box and noticed the same amount of oil/gas inside. is this anything to be concerned about?
I have seen the same on my bike, nothing to worry about. It's just a little oil mist from the breather. There is a drain built into the bottom of the airbox. It's located on the left rear corner as you sit on the bike. It's a clear plastic cap with a spring clip on it.
 

~TABASCO~

RIDE ON ADV is what I do !
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Vendor
Joined
Apr 4, 2011
Messages
7,328
Location
TEXAS
Your air filter is ‘average’. The oil is crank vapor. The Tenere is know for a bit ‘excessive’ vapor. Having to much oil in the engine exacerbates the situation in the air box with oil on the filter.
Not life or death- the filter looks normal :)
 

shift_enter

Active Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2019
Messages
103
Location
Metro Detroit, MI
I pulled mine this afternoon. The filter looked fine with no oil on it. But the box was filled with a light brown oil. There was so much I had to pour it out. This can’t be normal.
View attachment 78675
definitely not normal. does your oil fresh out of the pan look the same? how about through the sight glass? it makes me think of a coolant and oil mixture when I see that color.
 

Morgan

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
64
Location
Cambridge, UK
definitely not normal. does your oil fresh out of the pan look the same? how about through the sight glass? it makes me think of a coolant and oil mixture when I see that color.
I changed the oil at the same time and it was the normal dark brown/black. I’m at a loss as to what’s causing this. I changed the spark plugs and they all seemed normal except one which had some brown crud on in.
 

Top Ten

Active Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2018
Messages
105
Location
Rockwall, Texas
Looks like an emulsified mix of oil and water to me. Since your crankcase oil looks normal, I'd guess you do not have a coolant leak. Is your coolant and oil levels staying normal? Maybe somehow you are getting water in your air breather box and it gets agitated with oil to look that way.
 

Morgan

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
64
Location
Cambridge, UK
Looks like an emulsified mix of oil and water to me. Since your crankcase oil looks normal, I'd guess you do not have a coolant leak. Is your coolant and oil levels staying normal? Maybe somehow you are getting water in your air breather box and it gets agitated with oil to look that way.
The oil and coolant levels have been steady. I have been commuting this last year. Perhaps it’s just water getting in. I did ride through a few heavy storms. I cleaned it all out and put in a new filter. I did this service as part of a confidence booster for checking the valve gaps. When I open it back up in a month or so I’ll check again. The bike seems to be running normally. The fact that the filter did not have oil on it makes be think it could just be water getting in.
 
Top