Fluff in Oil

M

MNiceGuy

Joined
Oct 18, 2020
Messages
9
I was doing an oil change last week and as I was fulling the sump I noticed a dandelion seed fell onto the funnel and stuck to it.

This was on a motorcycle so the oil fills directly to the sump. What would happen if one of these seeds made its way into the sump? Is it anything to be concerned about? Does organic matter like this break down in hot engine oil?

Seed Small.jpg
 
There have been reports of weeds extending from exhaust pipes on high mileage engines.

If you suspect too many seeds got in the crank case, switch to Quantum Blue with the round-up additive package for 1 OCI.

Will fix it right up.
 
Start marketing it as "DandOIL" oil additive to reinforce fiber clutch plates. It'll rebuild worn clutches even better* than new!

*the term "better" is in no way to be construed as a guarantee of performance or improvement of any parts in contact with this product. All anecdotal "feeling" of improvement may be correctly assumed to be due to this product and any failure or detriment can be dismissed as you not following the directions or understanding the fine print. All hail DandOIL.
 
@MotoTribologist hahaha - that made my morning.

So this has got me wondering - does hot engine oil break down organic matter like this? I know some people use oil (not motor oil) as a preservative. Someone told me motor oil is caustic but I'm not really sure what to think.
 
Glad to help brighten your day :D

I don't think it would "break it down" in a molecular sense, aside from maybe some oxidation. The mechanisms would physically break it up into very small fibers though. Being saturated with oil will probably loosen up a natural fiber like that too. Those "loosened" fibers would be quite soft and relatively large with regard to oil contaminants. They'd probably get picked up by a filter or screen before getting into anything that could be affected by it.
 
If something like this got snagged by the screen (I have no idea how fine the pick up screen is on my particular application), would it stay there or would it break down over time?
 
MNiceGuy said:
So this has got me wondering - does hot engine oil break down organic matter like this? I know some people use oil (not motor oil) as a preservative. Someone told me motor oil is caustic but I'm not really sure what to think.
Click to expand...
Motor oil is not "caustic", it is a neutral hydrocarbon.
 
I think deteriorate would be the better word for it than break down.

My guess is; the looser, finer fibers will break off as oil continuously flows past it and there will probably be a somewhat central fiber that is a little stronger that just holds together, pressed against the screen or wherever it ends up getting stuck. That fiber will get saturated with oil and just stay there not affecting anything else and unchanging beyond very slow oxidation over time which might eventually disintegrate it into oxidized lignin floating around/getting dumped during oil changes.
 
Worst case the bike could be struck by lightning or other cosmic event and give rise to Captain Planet's newest nightmare
 
If I spot someone in tights with a green mullet you'll be the first to know!
 
No hot engine oil will not break down a dandeloin seed. You need water, air (sunlight might help as well). Oil would preserve it. But in the end, gears, clutches and/or the oil filter would take care of things. I am sure my lawnmower has injected a fair amount of grass clippings and no issue.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. I found a thread elsewhere where the person dropped a leaf in the oil fill. Commenters said the hot oil would break the leaf down until it could reach the filter.

I always have thought that oils preserved organic material though and hence why I am now here. I gather you folks know a thing or two about oil properties.

Seems that seeds and leaves and such have no problem surviving in hot motor oil (found on the net):

1603150374828.png


Just to tame my OCD I would consider dropping the pan if it were that easy. Unfortunately getting to the screen would mean a total tear down of the engine for my application (you're looking inside one of the main case halves):

1603150226686.png


Sounds like this is really nothing to worry about though. It's either going to live on the screen (I have no idea how fine the screen is) or it's going to live in the filter. Logic tells me that if by some chance it actually made it out into the engines oiling system (perhaps due to filter bypass at startup) then it would quickly get mushed by something. I'm assuming a single seed can't adversely affect a 120HP motorcycle engine.
 
Rand said:
I had to LOL at captain planet.. I remember watching that trash cartoon 35 years ago

Click to expand...


Yeah....since we're all being honest I watched it too. With your powers combined....I am Captain Planet!
 
Won't be a problem. Even if it is caught by the screen, that's what the screen is for. If it's not caught by the screen, it will either get destroyed by the gears and other workings of your crankcase, and/or it will get caught in the oil filter and removed with the next service.
As clean as some manufacturing plants are, debris still gets into motors occasionally, as well as other "sluff" from the build itself (silicone sealer, gasket fibers, clutch fibers, etc.) None of this has any effect on the performance or longevity of an engine. Don't worry about it.
 
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