Oil Change, first time, any tricks??

[TorontoBusa]

Gotta do an oil change, have the tool to tkae the filter off, but was wondering if there are any trick or things I need to know to make it as fast & easy as possible.

Oh ya, what type of oil do you use?? I used mobil 1 for years, but not sure if that is bad for the clutch??

Thanks in advance!

P.S. On my old bike I had to take my headers off, what a Pain in the ...!!

 

[Charlesbusa]

No tricks, however there is a lot torque on the filter than normal. The filter wrench from suzuki makes getting it off a lot easier.

I won't touch the oil subject, lots of opinions on that. I don't think it really matters if you use fossil type, blend type, or synethic type. But if it helps I use blend.

 

[Rocketman]

Oh this post is going to get ugly fast.  Take a look through the forums for my post on synth vs. everything else... it's like 50 replies long and heated debates about warranties and everything.

I got my bike in Oct 2004 - new.  My first personal oil change - took me long because i was being so careful.

One you get the hang of how to get the ferring off and on again, and used to the bazillion fastening screws, it'll be easy.  Is it new or used?  Was it a dealer sale or person to person?

It's pretty easy.  I put tin foil over my pipes to keep the oil from getting all over them.  Worked great - n'ear a drop of oil on my exhaust.  That's the big one for me.  that, and careful with your ferrings.

 

[TorontoBusa]

I like the tin foil trick, good idea. It's a 2000 with a Akrapovic full titatinium header.

So warranty is a non-issue for me.

 

[Wire Dawg]

It's very easy to strip the oil drain bolt, so watch your torque when you tighten it up. Many posts here about stripped drain plugs...

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

Put a few layers of masking tape on the upper fairing to keep the metal nut-clips from scratching it when re-installing the lower fairing.

It helps to have someone assist you with the fairing the first couple times.

I use honda 10w-40 regular oil. Motorhead recommends mobil 1 red cap in his turbo bikes.

 

[BA BUSA]

Mobil 1 red cap.

 

[TorontoBusa]

It's very easy to strip the oil drain bolt, so watch your torque when you tighten it up. Many posts here about stripped drain plugs...

Do you know what to the torque setting is for the drain bolt?? (I've nver stripped, but don't want to, especially if many have done it!)

 

[busahaya]

Mobil 1 Red Cap, & pretty much what everyone has noted above

 

[manatrader]

I needed to change my oil again too, seems like that’s all I do is lube the chain, change the oil and replace those dam tires. The price we must pay to have fun. I have not tried Mobil 1 Red Cap, will read up on it. Thanks

 

[BulletTrain]

It's very easy to strip the oil drain bolt, so watch your torque when you tighten it up. Many posts here about stripped drain plugs...

Do you know what to the torque setting is for the drain bolt?? (I've nver stripped, but don't want to, especially if many have done it!)

16.5 ft-lbs

 

[dm_gsxr]

It's very easy to strip the oil drain bolt, so watch your torque when you tighten it up. Many posts here about stripped drain plugs...

Do you know what to the torque setting is for the drain bolt?? (I've nver stripped, but don't want to, especially if many have done it!)

16.5 ft-lbs

Argh. I changed my oil Sunday and recalled the advice about not overtorqueing the drain bolt so I was very careful and torqued it only to about 15. I now have a slight oil drip at the bolt. How close does it have to be to 16.5? How much play before it's stripped? I want to tighten it a little more but if it strips at 17 then I might have a problem and need to figure out how to address it.

Thanks.

Carl

 

[Turbo-Torch]

Snug it up a little and you should be ok. It may also just be some remaining oil dripping down from when you pulled the filter.

I think many people cross thread them in or are ham fisted and crank it down with 50+ lbs of force.

 

[Red05]

There's a gasket, a metal crush type washer on the bolt. Get a new one from your dealer and it should take care of that leak. 15ft lbs should be fine.

 

[dm_gsxr]

There's a gasket, a metal crush type washer on the bolt. Get a new one from your dealer and it should take care of that leak. 15ft lbs should be fine.

Ok. I'll check that out. It's weird that when I bought the oil filter and oil from the parts guy (who walked out to show me the right stuff), wouldn't have mentioned needing the washer.

I'll head over tomorrow. Thanks.

Carl

 

[dm_gsxr]

Snug it up a little and you should be ok. It may also just be some remaining oil dripping down from when you pulled the filter.

I think many people cross thread them in or are ham fisted and crank it down with 50+ lbs of force.

It's not remaining oil, I'm pretty sure about that. I'm concerned more about stripping it, although I can't believe it'd be so delicate and still be a crankcase. I think I'd rather get the crush washer as suggested and retorque it.

Thanks though. I feel better about the solution.

Carl

 

[slammiam]

Most helpful tip I ever got was putting cardboard over the header pipes under the filter or aluminum foil. I think cardboard works the best, but peel one side off and point the valleys down into the pan.

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

I just give the pipes a shot of brake cleaner to clean them off.

They only smoke for a minute!

 

[URBAN COWBOY]

Snug it up a little and you should be ok.  It may also just be some remaining oil dripping down from when you pulled the filter.

I think many people cross thread them in or are ham fisted and crank it down with 50+ lbs of force.

It's not remaining oil, I'm pretty sure about that. I'm concerned more about stripping it, although I can't believe it'd be so delicate and still be a crankcase. I think I'd rather get the crush washer as suggested and retorque it.

Thanks though. I feel better about the solution.

Carl

I would just snug the bolt down with a wrench and be done with it.That oil pan is aluminum and VERY delicate, meaning I would not use a torque wrench. I know from experience, I striped my bolt and it cost me $300 for a new pan and ect. I just snug the bolt down now and she's fine.

URBAN COWBOY

 

[AZTECWARRIOR]

How level does the bike gotta be? I have a rear bit bull stand for a vertical plumb, should I get a stand for the front one too? BTW, how much fairing do I really need to remove? Does it depend if I'm changing the filter too?