UT400 First Oil Change Overfull Milk Chocolate What to Check

[Homeowner A]

Picked up an essentially new 2022 UT400 with 9 miles on it.  Decided to change the oil because it's probably never been done.  Pulled the dipstick and noticed it was overfull then went and pulled the drain plug and took off the filter and it was like brown water running out.  What should I start checking?

[Joe Breaux]

3 hours ago, Homeowner A said:

Picked up an essentially new 2022 UT400 with 9 miles on it.  Decided to change the oil because it's probably never been done.  Pulled the dipstick and noticed it was overfull then went and pulled the drain plug and took off the filter and it was like brown water running out.  What should I start checking?

You have a blown head gasket

[Homeowner A]

5 hours ago, Joe Breaux said:

You have a blown head gasket

How and why?  

[Joe Breaux]

You have water in your oil...bad gasket  or cracked head allowing water to enter the cylinder..then runs down to oil. Mine did it twice. Had to replace head to stop it.

[Alien10]

You might check the coolant level and its condition as well. 

[Homeowner A]

57 minutes ago, Alien10 said:

You might check the coolant level and its condition as well. 

The coolant is at the right level and looks good. 

[Alien10]

No loss in coolant but high crank case lube levels?  Wonder where the extra crank case volume came from? 

Maybe try refilling with correct oil to correct level and run it a bit to see if the contamination reappears. 

Don't forget, if you have a wet clutch system, most UTVs do,  to buy engine oil compatible with wet clutch operation.

Good luck. 

 

[Alien10]

One other thought.  No telling what was put into the crank case or what may have leaked into it before you got it.

Any evidence this machine was in a flood or run in water above recommended depth?  Its a low mileage machine on its second owner. Did you buy from a private owner or a deaaler?

Can you see if the old oil will settle anything out of it?  Give it some days and see if it starts to separate.  You can help it by warming it up in a jar then letting it sit for a few days. 

These are more just guesses on my part.   

[Homeowner A]

32 minutes ago, Alien10 said:

No loss in coolant but high crank case lube levels?  Wonder where the extra crank case volume came from? 

Maybe try refilling with correct oil to correct level and run it a bit to see if the contamination reappears. 

Don't forget, if you have a wet clutch system, most UTVs do,  to buy engine oil compatible with wet clutch operation.

Good luck. 

 

I've done that and used Valvoline ATV/UTV 10W40.  Haven't had a chance to run it very much since, but everything is at the proper level.  I've run it with the coolant cap off everything seems normal coolant is proper color no bubbles or other funny stuff out of the ordinary.    

[Homeowner A]

37 minutes ago, Alien10 said:

One other thought.  No telling what was put into the crank case or what may have leaked into it before you got it.

Any evidence this machine was in a flood or run in water above recommended depth?  Its a low mileage machine on its second owner. Did you buy from a private owner or a deaaler?

Can you see if the old oil will settle anything out of it?  Give it some days and see if it starts to separate.  You can help it by warming it up in a jar then letting it sit for a few days. 

These are more just guesses on my part.   

This one hasn't really had an owner and it was part of a surplus auction when Tractor Supply closed out this model from their stores.  This is just one of several from that lot.  I purchased one of those units from the individual that bought the lot.  It does look like it was run in some water or mud, but no evidence that it was in a flood or in very deep conditions.  May have sat outside in rain some I don't know.  Not really faded or dusty or anything.  Nothing seems to settle out of the old oil.  The old oil was like dirty pond or creek water very runny pretty much like straight brown creek water.  Very overfull and to the point that steam was coming out of the exhaust.  It was all the way up near the upper portion of the dipstick.  Probably had double or more liquid in it than the ~2.5 qt recommendation. I didn't run it very much like that before I decided to change the oil.  Coolant is full looks good proper level and now the oil is too,

[Alien10]

Maybe you got lucky.  I'd check it every start up and every shut down.   The OEM oil in my Hisun 550 (with Coleman stickers) was a tan color that alarmed me, but when changed it didn't separate and there wasn't any sheen present either.  I sort of wonder if they use whatever they have hanging around upon assembly and just ship it with garbage oil in it.  Who knows. 

Good luck hope it stays in good shape.  You'll know before long. 

[Greg Kilgore]

Could also do compression check. Once compression gauge is up. See if it leaks down and how long it takes to lose 10, or 20 psi. Write down the max and the drop over 10, 30, and 60 minutes. Report back.

If just dirty oil, will need another oil change soon. Cause the lines and oil cooler in front of radiator still was full of that nasty oil.

Not mentioned, but usually overheating is what causes head gasket issues. 

 

Best of luck.

[Homeowner A]

No signs of overheating or any other abnormalities.  I drove it tonight and it ran pretty well initially but after a while it seemed to splutter and not take throttle very well.  Wanted to stall at times.  Checked the oil, still normal.  Any ideas maybe change out the spark plug?  If so what should I get?  

[Joe Breaux]

Do you still have steam in exhaust ?

[Homeowner A]

34 minutes ago, Joe Breaux said:

Do you still have steam in exhaust ?

Didn’t see any steam but it was dark. I’ll check again later today to confirm. 

[Joe Breaux]

if theres steam, you have a gasket leak..  Unless the thing was submerged in water, theres no way water got in oil except a gasket or head leak.. It cant get in from rain no matter how hard it rains.  I hope its not but .....let us know what happens. 

[Alien10]

Do I understand from post #15 that the exhaust is dark?  Hmmm.  That along with sputtering and rough running might suggest a bad injector just dumping fuel into the cylinder instead of the fine spray it is supposed to provide.   Hisun injectors are said to be of fairly poor quality with early failure rates.  You can see how it functions by testing its spray pattern on a white paper towel.  Stream is no good, but a fine mist is OK.  

[Greg Kilgore]

Allen10, I think he ment it was dark out and couldn't tell if steam was coming from the exhaust or not. That's the way I read it anyway.

 

Homeowner A

Since it was bought 2nd or third hand and the oil was that nasty. You may want to completely remove all the liquid in the fuel tank. Just to make sure nothing stupid is in there. If this machine was a display model, where the public, (kids), could put anything anywhere might not be a bad idea. Could change the fuel filter, fuel injector ($20ish on Amazon), spark plug (I got the same as what was listed on OEM plug for my axis 500), and reset the computer. Then see how it acts.

And hopefully all is good.

[Alien10]

Ah yes I see.  Good advice for OP too.  

[Homeowner A]

2 hours ago, Alien10 said:

Do I understand from post #15 that the exhaust is dark?  Hmmm.  That along with sputtering and rough running might suggest a bad injector just dumping fuel into the cylinder instead of the fine spray it is supposed to provide.   Hisun injectors are said to be of fairly poor quality with early failure rates.  You can see how it functions by testing its spray pattern on a white paper towel.  Stream is no good, but a fine mist is OK.  

Dark outside not dark exhaust. No steam today other than the initial condensation that occurs when any engine starts and warms up. Going to change the oil again to try and get all the old garbage oil out. 

[Alien10]

Still if you are getting the rough running and sputtering, look into the condition of the fuel injector. They are prone to problems. 

In any case good luck, hope that oil remains in good shape.  

[Greg Kilgore]

I removed the oil drain plug from the bottom of engine. Then took the rubber hose off the metal hose that runs to the top of oil cooler in front of radiator. Then took a cheap 12V air compressor. The $10 kind that from the dollar general that plugs into 12V car cigarette lighter port. And the adapter that is used to air up a beach ball. To push out the old oil from the cooler. Once the oil is gone you can hear the gurgles from the drain hole. Don't really have to worry about any kind of air bubbles in the cooler. The oil pump will take care of that when running. Just reattach everything and fill to oil level, run engine checking for leaks, turn off and let sit for 5 minutes or so, check oil level again and add as needed. Suppose to check oil before every start anyway. And any air in cooler can escape into the crankcase.