Is my engine likely damaged?

[Andre]

Is diesel capable of lubing the engine sufficiently? Ik it's still oil just didn't know if it's as safe to use as regular engine oil though guess you don't run the engine for long with the diesel in it?

Diesel, like engine flush, will degrade your motor oil and makes it less capable of lubing. That is why you should only warm up the engine in idle for 10 minutes before draining when using either method!

Use proper motoroil for the cleaning as I said previously. I wouldn't use diesel/flush unless your oil is gloopy like this:

[Speedy1959]

Tut Tut...
No Gloves !!

[VladTepes]

The gloves probably melted....

[lloydjames]

FFS don't stick diesel in it.. Never mind the clutch plates, the engine internal seals aren't manufactured from a material designed to cope with that fluid and WILL degrade. I'm not saying they will fail, but rubber goes brittle when exposed to chemicals outwith what they are designed for 

[Andre]

If you'd check you will find petrol in your oil. In a diesel engine you'll find diesel in the oil. Drive only short distances that goes to 15+%.  Due to blow-by. Not a good thing, but also not catastrophic. That's why you should change your oil more frequently than is suggested for "normal" driving. Ester-based oils, very good and very expensive, do more damage to your seals than petrol/diesel in your oil. Unless, which of cause they do, additives to combat this (to a degree!) are added by the oil manufacturer.

[seth]

Just in a side note the low mileage between oil changes is due to the barrels not having metal liners and changing more often protects the barrel linings better.
The engine can do 8000 mile oil changes without a problem 
the barrels may get damaged/scratched if the oil not changed sooner but might be ok and that's why Suzuki put the 4500 mile oil changes for the bike  .

[Mister Fishfinger]

I would never put anything except the properly rated oil in an engine.

For what it's worth, my neighbour has a 2006 VW Polo which I remember him buying new. I also remember him telling me he takes it to be serviced by some mate/mechanic who is of course much cheaper than a main dealer. This guy apparently likes to flush out the old oil by adding paraffin (kerosene), warming it through, draining and refilling with new oil.

This car now sounds like two skeletons shagging in a dustbin. Just saying.

If you feel the need to flush out contaminants, just change the oil twice.

As for vegetable oil, don't even think about it. There was a time when Castrol R was the best oil you could get for race engines - the name "Castrol" comes from "castor oil", which as the name suggests is made from castor beans. The big problem with vegetable-based oils is that they leave gummy deposits that are incredibly hard to clean off. This is fine for race engines because they are regularly stripped, cleaned and rebuilt, but it's not good for road engines and it's the main reason why road vehicles have traditionally used mineral and later synthetic oils.

Nowadays synthetic oils are far better in most respects, so nobody uses 'R' except in classic racing. It does smell nice though.

[lloydjames]

If you'd check you will find petrol in your oil. In a diesel engine you'll find diesel in the oil. Drive only short distances that goes to 15+%.  Due to blow-by. Not a good thing, but also not catastrophic. That's why you should change your oil more frequently than is suggested for "normal" driving. Ester-based oils, very good and very expensive, do more damage to your seals than petrol/diesel in your oil. Unless, which of cause they do, additives to combat this (to a degree!) are added by the oil manufacturer.

Agreed, but I don't recall Suzuki ever producing a diesel GSX  . Not having access to the material spec of the seals, I wouldn't be in a place to confirm they are diesel resistant as not all rubber resists the same chemicals, therefore I wouldn't take the risk. It's your engine though.

Working with hydraulics for the last 20 years, I've seen broken down seals in fluid due to the wrong type of oil being used, never mind other fluids.

[grog]

a motor full of sludge is already in a bad way. it needs to be cleaned out. motors in cars with hydraulic lifters are worst. they jam up, hold valves open, no compression. a bike motor with sludge also needs a clean out. do we know how sludged one in case is? no. it needs a flush  if owner thinks its foamy, like gear oil, whatever. its owner neglect. clutch is only diff. to a car motor. clutch already coated in crap if sludged up. diesel wont affect seals. all common rail diesels have diesel by pass into lubricating oil, they cant fix it. diesel injected is such high pressure it just happens. no the seals dont leak, oil just needs to be changed. mazda will even do it for free on certain models, check the oil, its overfull, because diesel has leaked into oil. engine flush is kerosene, just branded as flush. yeah, a couple of oil changes is a great idea. if its really dirty, my way works. done it heaps of times, thats the industry i work in. if the clutch slips after, so be it. was already ruined by lack of maintenance. replace the clutch. after that, motor is clean, clutch will be new, just maintain it then. if clutch still ok, think it will be, a great result. 

[lloydjames]

Its funny that the original post only asked if there might be damage. Its only 13K miles so unless it ran out of oil then it's safe to say no. Where did this sludge filled nightmare come from anyway. You'll scare the poor guy into paying a fortune for new engine parts. 

As I said before, just change the oil and filter and try not to forget next time. No drama.

[Mick_J]

I agree with you Lloyd, I know of someone who changes his oil, car and bike at 12k with no issues at all.

[Hooli]

Just in a side note the low mileage between oil changes is due to the barrels not having metal liners and changing more often protects the barrel linings better.
The engine can do 8000 mile oil changes without a problem 
the barrels may get damaged/scratched if the oil not changed sooner but might be ok and that's why Suzuki put the 4500 mile oil changes for the bike  .

I thought the reason was being air cooled the oil broke down quicker than in liquid cooled engines.

Live n learn etc.

[Mister Fishfinger]

Just in a side note the low mileage between oil changes is due to the barrels not having metal liners and changing more often protects the barrel linings better.
The engine can do 8000 mile oil changes without a problem 
the barrels may get damaged/scratched if the oil not changed sooner but might be ok and that's why Suzuki put the 4500 mile oil changes for the bike  .

I thought the reason was being air cooled the oil broke down quicker than in liquid cooled engines.

Live n learn etc.

Being air cooled is one factor, also the fact that bike engines share their oil between engine and gearbox (car engines generally don't). Gearboxes do nasty things to oil, they break up the long chain molecules that give engine oil its protective properties. That's one of the reasons bikes have shorter oil change intervals than cars.

[seth]

Most modern new bikes have around 8000 mile service intervals and they use the same oil in the gearbox but as you say that's much shorter service intervals than modern car engines that don't use engine oil in the gearbox .
The engine the gsx1400 is developed from the oil cooler gsxr1100 had longer service intervals than the gsx1400 but also had steal barrels.

I was told that bikes like the gsx1400.xjr1300.cb1300 that use ceramics to coat the barrels to get the larger capacity, need shorter service intervals due to the way things wear over time with longer service intervals and dirty oil.
I could be totally wrong but I was told this by a long standing Suzuki mechanic and it sounds right to me.

[Andre]

Its funny that the original post only asked if there might be damage. Its only 13K miles so unless it ran out of oil then it's safe to say no. Where did this sludge filled nightmare come from anyway. You'll scare the poor guy into paying a fortune for new engine parts. 

As I said before, just change the oil and filter and try not to forget next time. No drama.

Nothing funny about it. You mention oil and you get the same mix as if you mentioned religion or politics.