Water Coming from Exhaust Valves

[Pownar]

I decided to collect whatever comes out of my exhaust valves into a clear bottle at the end of the black tubing and it happened to be almost an once of water in 100 miles. I checked my gas with paste and there isn't any water in it. Where the hell is it coming from??

I took the valves out and they had some water on them as well. When I looked down into the port I saw a few drips of water sitting against the piston on one of them!

 

[Ron]

Are you losing some water from the cooling system? It almost has to be leaking past the seals on the head-the o ring around the spark plug area can lose the seal if it gets hot. There are 2 sets of o ring seals and a large perimeter seal.
If this is an updated 800 then the tech may have messed up.

 

[speedemon]

Are you losing some water from the cooling system? It almost has to be leaking past the seals on the head-the o ring around the spark plug area can lose the seal if it gets hot. There are 2 sets of o ring seals and a large perimeter seal.
If this is an updated 800 then the tech may have messed up.

x2 leaky head! watch your coolant level!

 

[MORSNO]

Could it also be getting past the spring and bellows? Remember the little vent hole in the air plenum in the hood drips right into the exhaust valve spring. Usually this water just gets shot back out the hole when the valve opens, but if the bellows is torn this water could pass by, correct?

 

[Pownar]

It's a 700.
Did all the top-end work myself. I'm pretty meticulous. New O rings and all. Coolant level has been exactly the same since I did the work a few hundred miles ago. The water has more of a gasoline smell to it. No green color at all. Bellows have no tears and I re-located the drip in the plenum.

Could it possibly be that there's dissolved water in the gas and when it's compressed it gets pushed out the exhaust valves. It's really hard to tell if there's dissolved water in E10 with that paste.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

most likely it is coming from the air..the higher the humidity the more water in the air...when you compress air the water comes out.its normal....it could also be snow dust getting in the intake as well..but I would think you would notice that(gets boggy), it could even be condensation from bringing a cold sled into a warm shop after every ride...

 

[thefullmonte]

My first thought was condensation of some sort. The slight amount of exhaust gas coming out of the valves through the solenoid could act just like the tail pipe on your car. I'm sure you have seen water dripping from that before on a cool or humid day. The hose and solenoid will remain relatively cool while the exhaust gas is warm.
Just my initial thought.

 

[IQ 600]

I had the same problem on my IQ 600 this year. I had a new motor put in last spring, put on around 300 miles after the rebuild. Then this year when I was out west there was water all over under my hood that dust had accumulated on (looks as if it sprayed from the exhaust valve) Basically there were brown spots everywhere. But I also noticed my coolant level is down about 2 inches. I have ridden probably 400 miles with it like this, but the coolant is staying where it is now, and I have not noticed any more water/liquid blown out. Maybe I should bring it back to the dealer? Or just fill the coolant, monitor the level, and pin it??

 

[stem]

My first thought was condensation of some sort. The slight amount of exhaust gas coming out of the valves through the solenoid could act just like the tail pipe on your car. I'm sure you have seen water dripping from that before on a cool or humid day. The hose and solenoid will remain relatively cool while the exhaust gas is warm.
Just my initial thought.

If the coolant level hasn't changed then this is the "problem"
My initial thought as well...

 

[Ron]

I just don't buy the condensation theory-not in 100 miles and not in the quantity involved. I ran a catch bottle last year and din't have any water after 100's of miles. You might get a drop of water on a piston from condensation but moving it through the EV's to the catch basin isn't likely. Most water will leave the exhaust system the point of least resistance. ​

Another possibility is Ethanol fuel-the alcohol in Ethanol attracts water like a vacuum. All ethanol likely has some water it can collect from condensation along the delivery route. When you reach phase seperation the water alcohol mix seperate from the gasoline. At that point you are in real danger if you suck up an alcohol water mix from your tank. Here's some info from Wikipedia on Ethanol:​

Since ethanol and water readily dissolve in each other, when ethanol is used as an additive in gasoline, water will actually dissolve in the blended fuel to a much greater extent than in conventional gasoline. When the water reaches the maximum amount that the gasoline blend can dissolve, any additional water will separate from the gasoline. The amount of water required (in percent of the total volume) for this phase separation to take place varies with temperature, as shown in Figure 1. As an example, at 60 degrees F, water can be absorbed by a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol up to a content of 0.5 volume percent before it will phase separate. This means that approximately 3.8 teaspoons of water can be dissolved per gallon of the fuel before the water will begin to phase separate.​

 

[gcmci]

My first thought was condensation of some sort. The slight amount of exhaust gas coming out of the valves through the solenoid could act just like the tail pipe on your car. I'm sure you have seen water dripping from that before on a cool or humid day. The hose and solenoid will remain relatively cool while the exhaust gas is warm.
Just my initial thought.

X-2

 

[Pownar]

I just don't buy the condensation theory-not in 100 miles and not in the quantity involved. I ran a catch bottle last year and din't have any water after 100's of miles. You might get a drop of water on a piston from condensation but moving it through the EV's to the catch basin isn't likely. Most water will leave the exhaust system the point of least resistance. ​

Another possibility is Ethanol fuel-the alcohol in Ethanol attracts water like a vacuum. All ethanol likely has some water it can collect from condensation along the delivery route. When you reach phase seperation the water alcohol mix seperate from the gasoline. At that point you are in real danger if you suck up an alcohol water mix from your tank. Here's some info from Wikipedia on Ethanol:​

Since ethanol and water readily dissolve in each other, when ethanol is used as an additive in gasoline, water will actually dissolve in the blended fuel to a much greater extent than in conventional gasoline. When the water reaches the maximum amount that the gasoline blend can dissolve, any additional water will separate from the gasoline. The amount of water required (in percent of the total volume) for this phase separation to take place varies with temperature, as shown in Figure 1. As an example, at 60 degrees F, water can be absorbed by a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol up to a content of 0.5 volume percent before it will phase separate. This means that approximately 3.8 teaspoons of water can be dissolved per gallon of the fuel before the water will begin to phase separate.​

That's some scary sh1t. I hope this isn't what's happening. Does anyone know a good test for dissolved water in E10 fuel. I guess I'm stocking up on 5 gallon tanks any doing the 45 mile round trip it takes to get non E10 Premium. At least then I can test the gas and know that it does or doesn't have water in it.

If I do all that and there's no water then I know it's condensation.

I think another good test for condensation would be to dump out the contents of my collection reservoir after 50 miles and in the same day see if anymore water collects after another 50 or so. If there's no water and then there is water the next time I use it, It must be condensation.


Here are some pics of the top of my pistons through the exhaust ports.
Notice the exaggerated darkening near top of piston on the wall by exhaust port.
Cylinder wall looks fine.

 

[D808]

I had the same problem on the mag side of D8. I would bring it inside and clean it (wash with hot water hose) after each ride. I started putting tape
over the hole in the valve and have not noticed any water so far this year
but have only put about 100 miles on it.

 

[MARV1]

Condensation would be my guess as well. Cold engine sled brought into a warm garage, whatever dewdrops you see outside are inside as well.