i put the wrong oil in

[shanes]

hi all I have a a 1978 xs 650 .I had a ploblem with my bike on the week end .I have a small oil leak and needed a top up ,But i could ent find any 20 50 sae oil so I topped up my motorbike with sae 5 w 30 reg car oil .After 10 minutes engine started to make noise .I think the car oil i put in was to thin.Anyway I got home nice and slow ,the engine did ent sieize .I drained out all the oil right away .I will put new oil in a 20w 50 motorcycle oil and start her up .Is this the right thing to do thks

 

[gggGary]

It's all you can do. some of the oil being 5w30 should not present a problem in Canada for a short distance. Where is the oil leak, how low did the oil get?

 

[5twins]

The other problem with that light weight car oil is it's "energy conserving". It has anti-friction additives and they can make your clutch slip. If your clutch starts slipping, you may need to change that new oil out again, maybe even a few times to flush all the 5-30 out of there.

 

[shanes]

the oil leak is near top of engine and the oil level was on the lowest mark on the dip stick .I will change oil with new and hope it stops making that noise cheers

 

[aaronrkelly]

That lowest mark on the disptick is still safe. Id be surprised if the noise had anything to do with the oil you put in.

I also dont think adding a half a quart or so of 5w30 would present a problem.