help please, sick motor

[dawni]

any advice please? after riding home from farmyard about 100 mile ive noticed im loosing engine oil! the oil is being forced out through the oil filler cap (so much that its running down engine casing and getting onto back tyre) ive also noticed condensation on inside of oil level window, even when engine has been run for hundred mile?
any advice on what could be causing this, ie blocked breather???? ect.
bike is a 2000 m600 with about 7000 mile on clock.

thanks in advance
dawni :worried:

(oil filler cap was tight, and oil at correct level)

[crust]

I suspect that the oil is coming from the oil pressure switch thats above the filler cap. Its a well known weak spot on Monsters.

The good news is that there's a Vauxhall (?) part thats cheaper, a search on pressure switch should dig up the info.

The white gunge in the window will disappear if you leave the oil filler cap off for a few hours after you get back from a ride, otherwise I wouldn't bother about it. Your bike is not water cooled so its not the head gasket (there isn't one) as so called experts will tell you.

[dawni]

thanks crust, it defo from the oil filler cap. (this happened last year also) was so bad last year had to get bike recovered by AA as back wheel was covered in oil. bike went to bike shop for repair and i was told it was a blocked breather.
just happended again today (although not as bad as last time)
am worried that crankcase is pressurising and forcing oil out through filler cap, if so what could cause this, if its a blocked breather, where???? and why has it happend again in under a year?
sorry for all the questions but its got me head done in and all im seeing is £££££££££££££s

[yantheman]

yeah.. thats the vauxhall part no. 90534902 I got mine from a vauxhall dealer for about £6. Cheaper on Ebay but you have to pay postage.

My oil light was flickering from time to time so had it changed and sorted. I am not 100% sure it would fit yours as mine is a 03 620 but I believe they are all the same? Someone more knowledgeable would come along and correct me :)

[gary tompkins]

Too many short trips in colder weather cause sludge build up. The motor won't get hot enough to boil out water trapped in the oil, hence the milky oil sight glass. I suppose if this got bad enough it could block the breather system, but I've not seen this happen before.

I've binned my breather tank/hoses in favour of a K&N filter mounted on the engine

Seems to help the engine stay free of condensation :thumbsup:

[Albie]

Is the O ring ok on the filler cap. Try a new one or get a nice billet one off Ducati performance or oberon or maybe rizoma.

[crust]

thanks crust, it defo from the oil filler cap.

Ok, in that case

The breather is behind the back cylinder by your right calf, its a round aluminium thingy ( thats the technical term for it), there's a black pipe that runs up to an odd shaped black plastic container thats beside the suspension rocker under the seat.

From there a black tube runs to the side of the airbox.

The easiest place to start is under the seat, undo the clip and see if you can blow down the pipe to the airbox.

If thats ok, then take the oil filler cap off and suck on the tube from the breather.

If you cant suck then you need to unscrew the breather and give it a clean.

Shouldn't cost £££££, have a go at fixing it yourself. If you get any problems take some photos, post them up and we'll talk you through it.

If you go to www.ducati.com

then the dealers and services tab

click on - MAINTENANCE

Under spare parts catalogues select 2001,family - Monster, model - 600, language - United kingdom

you can can download the parts manual for your bike, the pictures are great for giving you an idea where things go.

[Nickj]

Too many short trips in colder weather cause sludge build up.
HA!! 100 miles with the motor up to temp (that was the IE) in winter never shifted it. The motor warms up condensation goes up the pipe gets cold then trickles back down the inside. As soon as the casing pressure goes up enough to vent through the valve the water dribbles back in again.
You also get sludge all up the pipe and in the first collector box.

I've binned my breather tank/hoses in favour of a K&N filter mounted on the engine
Me too on the IE and the carbie now, within 20 miles clean oil and never got any sludge again

[dawni]

thanks crust, that sounds probable. ill have a look at weekend (sounds like what dealer done last year)

and to nickj, i think ill follow you and get a k&n breather and see if this stops it happening again.

ill keep you's posted on what i find when i have a look, again thanks

[dawni]

quick update, the problem was the oil filler cap. over time plastic has gone hard and it just dont seal so a new one on order. still going to fit a k&n breather filter though. thanks for all the advice, was a great help
cheers
dawni x

[crust]

Result, nice cheap fix.

Time for a nice blingy one then.