how bad did I 'f' things up??
 

Bike is a 98 (Evo) Wide Glide w/ Super E carb. I parked the bike about 5 months ago and left the petcock wide open. Today was a pretty nice day and I had a little spare time so I wiped the dust off the seat and went for a ride. The bike ran fine and I topped the tank off with fresh gas. Rode about 50 miles total, came back home and noticed the oil level was very high and smelled like gas. A quick search on here tells me that by leaving the petcock open my carb leaked gas into the crankcase. I changed the oil/filter but now I am concerned that I may have scored the pistons and/or cylinders running the bike with that gassy oil. Can anyone ease my fears any?? Or should I get ready for a costly engine repair? Doing the leakdown/compression test tomorrow but I am curious what people on here think.

Also if the engine is ok (hopefully) does this mean my carb is ready for a rebuild? Or does it just need a non-dumbass owner who will remember to shut the petcock off?

Looking forward to hearing your experiences and advice. Thanks

Just change oil

Must be an after market petcock because the 98 I had the stock petcock needed a vacuum to run gas.

Yeah change the oil, have the case scavenged to get all old oil out and then put fresh oil in and you'll be fine. I think the biggest thing you would be looking at is new rings on your pistons, hone your jugs and put it back together which is simple enough. But you're probably fine.

Try pasting this in the EVO section for possibly more responses. I'm suprised the S&S carb overflow didn't divert the fuel to the ground unless it's blocked-- not sure.

First thing I would do is to drop the gassy oil and filter and look/smell the drain pan for gas. If there is a lot you will see it/smell it easily.
Feel it with your finger to see how thin the oil feels as heavily dilution may be evident when you rub your fingers together then rub together with fresh oil and install a fresh filter and new oil.

Further, drop the carb bottom bowl and see if the float is sticking and for debris around the fuel valve that shuts off the flow via the float. It may just need a clean out, or could be a worn shut off valve or seat.

An indicator for how much fuel is in dilution would be to gauge how full your tank was when you shut the bike down against how much it took when you topped it up with fresh fuel.

Also your petcock (if it's the OEM one) is meant to operate by vacuum, in other words it's mant to shut off the flow even if the petcock is left open via a small diaphragm -- which may be blocked or torn/worn out as well. I had this happen on my 1996 FLSTN. There was a recall years ago about this issue which I believe was corrected after 1996.

Hard to say if there is any wear damage - you could get lucky with this depending on the dilution level. I would just clean the carb, change the oil/filter and ride it. Any damage is already damage done and I wouldn't worry about it for now.

Thanks for the replies! I changed the oil/filter already. I am guessing there was approx 2 quarts of gas in there. It was enough that it read very high on the dipstick and I also noticed that it took more gas to fill the bike as it usually gets 40mpg like clock work. Hopefully I didnt ride it long or hard enough to damage anything.

Tomorrow I will do a leakdown test, and look into the carb further as to why it is allowing gas to get into the crankcase. And change the oil. (again)

I am considering this a lesson learned.... I will ALWAYS close my petcock from now on!!!!

50 miles w/ 2 quarts of gas in the oil definitely did some damage. Learn to check your oil, regularly.

I never close my petcock on my Fatboy. No problems as it is vacuum operated.

+1. If it's done any serious damage it'll show up fairly soon. I doubt that you'll need to start researching machine shop services right away. It's more likely that if any damage has been done, all that's happened is you've shortened it's life a little. Run your bike for another 50 miles or so and change the oil and filter again.

That is a definate advantage of the newer EFI bikes. No petcock to screw around with. As far as damage goes, I would do the oil change, take it out for a spin, make sure no smoking or leaks have developed and if possible leave well enough alone. I am of the opinion, IF IT AIN'T BROKE - DON'T FIX IT!

I doubt it did much damage . You still had Oil in there for lubrication. On the good side all the sludge that was in the lower end should come out with the oil change