ATV oil change

[captpierre]

Changed the oil on my 2013 Honda 420 today. Old  oil  looked pretty good -still golden but  a bit dark.  I change it annually along with filter. Honda SJ 10w40.  I drive maybe 200 km/ season. Not in winter. 

Do i still need to change it annually What do you guys think?  

[chris.brock]

for the small cost and potential benefit, damn, change it, once a year with a good synthetic and your kids will inherit it and thank you

 

[captpierre]

4 minutes ago, chris.brock said:

for the small cost and potential benefit, damn, change it, once a year with a good synthetic and your kids will inherit it and thank you

 

$57 in materials from dealer. 

[chris.brock]

hiway robbery but I'd stick to it

[Big Cliff]

Pay me now or PAY ME LATER . Keep changing it every year, it will cost you less in the long run.

[Fisherman]

Yes highway robbery for sure, Honda does NOT make oil, it's just rebranded.

[pike slayer]

I'm in the same boat as you. My uncle is a mechanic and he told me as long as it golden your fine. Check your diff fluids and grease everything well and you got nothing to worry about.

[lew]

I've got 2 lawnmowers that are used alot and I change the oil every fall without fail.

I've also got a TORO snowblower and even though I have 250' of driveway to clear I usually do it all by hand just because I like the exercise. I still change the oil on it every year but last winter I only fired it up once for maybe an hour so didn't bother with the oil change and figure I'll be fine with it.

[Whitespinnerbait]

A lot of FEAR MONGERING when it comes to oil changes/winterizing boats etc etc.

Pay me now or pay me later.......according to who ??

How bout I don't pay you now and I don't pay you later !! Lol

 

[Terry]

I agree, I saw a tv show where they went to a scrap yard and took oil from 10 cars. Some  had been sitting there for more then ten years. Every one of them passed the test for acceptable oil for new car warranty 

so if you want to change your oil go for it, but if you don’t t put maga  miles on your atv every year 

look at the oil if it looks good.  I say ,save your money

[aplumma]

You can ignore maintenance for as long as you want however you can be sure that it will catch up to you eventually.  I prefer to do maintenance and put the odds of failure in the worst time or place at a minimum. One of the reasons to change the oil is to see if you have metal shavings, water, or other contaminants  which will tell you before a catastrophic failure. 

Art

[Big Cliff]

Here is an excellent link that explains why you should change your oil on a regular basis Hydroscopic water contamination

Shorter runs (where an engine does not get a chance to really warm up are the worst)

As for the "You can pay me now or PAY ME later" you have to belong to the old timers club, that goes back to an old oil filter add 😊

[bigbuck]

As long as you are using the correct type, grade and service designation, the brand is not that important. There are other brands that are less expensive and just as good. If you have the time, do it yearly, if not, every other year is ok. Through the combustion process, oil becomes acidic which can be hard on the bearing surfaces as well as the gaskets. Ask anyone with a German car with the 24k service intervals, by 100k, they leak oil and it is an expensive proposition to fix the leaks. 

[Whitespinnerbait]

7 hours ago, bigbuck said:

If you have  the time, do it yearly, if not, every other year is ok.  

Bingo !!!

[BillM]

I definitely wouldn't be spending $57 on oil for an ATV.  Figure out the specs and buy something without the Honda label on the bottle.  As it was mentioned before, Honda doesn't make their own oil.  I'm sure there are a tonne of oils out there that meet or exceed the requirements that are a 1/4 of the price.  

[captpierre]

2 hours ago, BillM said:

I definitely wouldn't be spending $57 on oil for an ATV.  Figure out the specs and buy something without the Honda label on the bottle.  As it was mentioned before, Honda doesn't make their own oil.  I'm sure there are a tonne of oils out there that meet or exceed the requirements that are a 1/4 of the price.  

The $57 included 

4 litres oil, filter, washer, tax. 

[mukluk]

The Honda oil contains the special additives needed for the "wet clutch" on their atv's.   I quit smoking 32 years ago and managed to save enough money to purchase the best name brand oil for my Honda 2001 foreman 450 over the years.  Peace of mind in the long run. Honda oil.

Have to agree; a rip off on the prices; but break downs are even worse.

Read on another site: If it doesn't say "JASO-MA" on the container somewhere;  then it's not for wet clutches.

[captpierre]

58 minutes ago, mukluk said:

The Honda oil contains the special additives needed for the "wet clutch" on their atv's.   I quit smoking 32 years ago and managed to save enough money to purchase the best name brand oil for my Honda 2001 foreman 450 over the years.  Peace of mind in the long run. Honda oil.

Have to agree; a rip off on the prices; but break downs are even worse.

Read on another site: If it doesn't say "JASO-MA" on the container somewhere;  then it's not for wet clutches.

This is good information. Thanks Mukluk. I suck at fixing machines. 

I’m into proper maintenance. It usually pays off in the long run. 

[Terry]

do any atvs oil not have to be wet clutch compatible, with special additives 

AMSOIL Synthetic ATV/UTV Motor Oil is formulated to deliver upgraded ... Delivers consistent clutch feel; Superior all-weather performance; Wet-clutch compatible ... including those made by Kawasaki*, Suzuki*, Can-Am*, Honda*, Yamaha*,

[OhioFisherman]

https://www.coreplanets.com/best-atv-oil-reviews/

[chris.brock]

On 10/7/2019 at 6:21 PM, captpierre said:

The $57 included 

4 litres oil, filter, washer, tax. 

It takes 4L? that seems like a lot

then $57 doesn't seem as bad

I'm not a mechanic or physicist, but maybe just because the old oil looks gold and clean, doesn't mean it's not been contaminated from the combination of time and use, the lubricating properties might be diminished

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Canadian Tire has ATV oil on sale starting on Friday.

Saw it today in the preview of the weekly flyer.

[ch312]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:48 PM, chris.brock said:

It takes 4L? that seems like a lot

then $57 doesn't seem as bad

I'm not a mechanic or physicist, but maybe just because the old oil looks gold and clean, doesn't mean it's not been contaminated from the combination of time and use, the lubricating properties might be diminished

 

I agree. Not a single person on the planet can simply look at oil and make the determination if it's still good just because it "looks good". 

Broken down oil can still look fine, but that broken down oil will also contain trace amounts of your engine parts that are being prematurely worn due to inadequate lubrication. There's a reason oil testing is so common, it's the only way of knowing if your oil is doing its job.

 

An oil change is a miniscule fraction of the cost of an engine rebuild....

[pics]

Many oil filters are compatible with other machines.  I use a Canadian Tire motorcycle filter rather than an original Suzuki one because its half the price .. exactly the same filter.. oil goes on sale at Royal Distributing a few times a year.  Theres no reason to pay 10 bucks a litre..