From synthetic to regular

[bigredhead]

Ok.. my 250 SX has synthetic in it 10 w 40 ( i beleive.. not 100 % sure, but i do know it's synthetic for sure.. bought it, have not YET changed the oil )

I'd like to put the regular stuff in it. and for winder 5 w instead of 10 w.

How should i go about flushing the synthetic out of it ? I beleive it also has an oil filter that i need to replace as well.

any suggestions or tips ?

The current plan involves draining the oil, topping up with regular, riding around the yard a few times, drain again, and re-fill with fresh oil and filter ! Unless someone can recommend otherwise !

[ClayW]

Dude just change it. The small amount of synthetic left in there isnt going to hurt a thing. At all. Drain it, fill it and go. THe filter is pretty easy to change. take the 3 bolts out and bam there it is. LOL. Dont loose the small spring on the back side. You will need it. Clean it up. I use K&N oil filters, they arent much more expensive, but you can use what ever. The dealers shouldnt be too bady priced. A tip on putting the spring and filter back on. Its can be a pain. I clean the spring, and put a dab of superglue on the spring and set it in the center of the filter. It holds it in place. THen just put it in there and put he cap and bolts back in. Done deal. Dont let people freak you out about the oil. People blow it out of proportion. Synthetic is fully compatible with conventional oils. :beer

[twgranger]

that is what i would do.

[crackshot]

why go from synthetic back to conventional anyway?

[bigredhead]

Cool. thanks.

I don't know how much mileage is on the current oil, but last weekend went riding and when shifting from 3rd to 2nd etc.. it would miss and clatter if the engine was revving any more than idle.. ( when using the engine to slow down, not all out, but normal stopping using the compression.. the gears were slipping and freaking me out !!! )

I plan to check the clutch adjustment, got the manual, but have not read it all yet..

And i like to change my oil often, the price of synth is a bit high.. so regular it is !

hopefully fixes the clatter problem..... crosses fingers.

[MTS]

why go from synthetic back to conventional anyway?
its more expensive for one, and some bikes with worn rings cant run it becuse they burn waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much of it lol,been there done that :rolleyes:

[bigredhead]

oh.. i also had to REMOVE about 100 ml of oil from the case as it was overfilled !!!!

[ClayW]

Yeah, in a lot of atv and dirtbike applications, synthetics will cause the clutch to slip. I experienced it in my XR500R dirtbike. Swithched back to conventional and the slipage stopped. :beer

[jeswinehart]

i would highly recomend to check with sevral folks at ( good ) auto stores that you trust . tell them what you are doing ( before you do it ) and take their suggestion on flushing your motor with the stuff they recomend.
from what i heard you can go regular motor oil to synthetic but can't go back to regular motor oil with out flushing your motor out first.

john

[HRC1]

i have never herd of a motor flush for cleaning oil, synthetic or not, out. I have herd of using tranny fluid as it has detergents in it and cleans the motor somewhat. Usually all the autoparts stores i go to have idiots with the most limited knowledge behind the counter, and i know more than they do. All they seem capable of is looking up parts for me, with noi means of crossreference, if it's not on the computer, they don't know. ALL synthetic motor oil is compatible with conventional motor oil. or there wouldn't be synthetic blends. What is going to happen? the oil mixes and turns to 80 grit liquid abrasive? no, mix em in a cup and heat them if u dont believe me. Drain it and refill it and your fine. I've done it 100 times. Coolant is a different story.

[a-camp]

castro GTX Synthetic 10-40 for me

[BIGCRIP28]

Usually all the autoparts stores i go to have idiots with the most limited knowledge behind the counter, and i know more than they do. All they seem capable of is looking up parts for me, with noi means of crossreference, if it's not on the computer, they don't know.

That right there's funny i dont care who you are.

That is so true, man that p*sses me off. :mad:

[HRC1]

That right there's funny i dont care who you are.

That is so true, man that p*sses me off. :mad:
LOL, when i need advice with a prob, i go to the local parts store where the guy behind the counter works on the stuff in back as well, when i want wax or a alternator, i got to autozone or pepboys. I hate salespeople who know less about the product than i do, wich is usually the case.

[ClayW]

Ok guys I can give you a tip on the flush stuff. It is not recommended. THis comes from a buddy that owns a tranny shop. He said that that stuff will eat all the varnishes off the clutches and make them spic and span. The problem is that often, the varnishes are what keeps the clutches working. If you clean the mess out of them, they will start slipping. This is why they dont recommend powerflushing auto trannys with 80k or more miles on them. It will cause premature failure. Especially in High torque situations. I would not run tranny fluid in your motor either to flush it. Its lubricating properties are no where near those of motor oil. I actually know someone that had their truck oil changed at Wal-mart. They screwed up and accidently put tranny fluid in the motor. THe motor froze up about a mile down the road after he pulled out. The engine proceeded to ignite and burned the truck to the ground. :( I agree with the other guys posting above about mixing synthetic and regular oil. My dad has been selling Amsoil for 15 years. The federal government requires the synthetic oil manufactures to make their oil compatible with conventional oils. Why? Incase you are off in timbuck2 and are low on oil you can pick some up anywhere. Dude just drain it and fill it up with some GN5 honda oil, and run it for a few days then drain it again and refil it if your that concerned. Wont be a problem. :beer

[HRC1]

Just thought i'd clear up my earlier comment to avoid confusion, i would never run straight tranny fluid. But i have herd some friends adding some, maybe a quart to their old cars to clean the motor out some, presumably because when u take a tranny apart is is always clean inside. I have added some to old cars myself, but not for any kind of mielage, just before a change. Did it help? i really cant say, i never pulled the pan for a before and after check. But that was years ago. now adays i just empty and refill. I just acquired a 85 350x for a buildup, and the oil was scummy, i added 1/2 quart tranny fluid, idled for 5 min and drained, then refilled with cheap walmart oil, and repeated the idle-drain till it was clean oil coming out, just pulled the head last night, and it is clean inside, but i can't say it wsnt before either, but hothing was harmed in the process. I'm not recomending tranny fluid to flush, just use regular oil. It takes all the guessing out.

[ClayW]

Well its a good thing HRC1. LOL Im just messing with ya. I agree with you mostly. I just wouldnt do it in a wet clutch application. What part of MI are you from. My buddy lives up in white Pigeion.

Clay

[jeswinehart]

timmSr. ,,, what's the verdict here ???

i need to stop by a old style ( great beer by the way ) parts store for stuff ,,,, i'll post what they say about it.

i run synthetic in my bigred ,,,, for no more then i can save on oil changes ,,, well it ain't worth going back to regular oil for me.



john

[TimSr]

Ive run both interchangeably, back and forth, and sometimes mixed, on everythying with a motor, and never had any problems. I agree with those who say they are 100% compatible. There is no reason to flush to change oil. Flushing is to remove grit and grime caked in there, and its not normally a problem with ATVs. If it is, it means you are seriously neglectful in your oil changes. If you must, you can take the side cover off, and flush it with gas, not running of course, and make sure its completely dry before reassembling, and refilling. On cars, its an old method to add kerosine or tranny fluid to your dirty oil, run it a few minutes, and then drain it, again, to break down sludge caked in there. I wouldnt use tranny fluid on a wet clutch. Kerosine would be fine, but again, rarely necessary. Tranny fuid is more of a hydraulic fuid than it is a lubricant. If you doubt its qualities as an oil/grease cutter, try it as hand cleaner!

The idea behind synthetic is that you can run it longer between oil changes, so it is not more expensive, and in fact, is less expensive on automobiles. Synthetic does not break down, chemically, nearly as fast from combustion by products, so Id recommend synthetic on any 4 stroke. On 2 strokes, you are only lubing the clutch, and using sythetic is kind of a waste of money, but I use it if its what happens to be handy. The oil in a clutch is supposed to make it slip, when you pull it. Its a lubricant. Thats what its there for. Its a myth that synthetics make your clutch slip. Clutch slippage is caused by heat and wear. Oil that maintains its viscosity when hot helps prevent slippage by allowing the clutch to let go better when you pull it, thereby reducing friction and heat. This doesnt necessarily mean synthetics. Their major selling point is they they hold up against chemical breadown from combustion by products, which you dont get in a two stroke gear box, but there are no negatives to synthetic, other than cost. The house brand Dollar General oil works fine in two stroke gearboxes, but dont worry about using synthetics or blends if you want to.

This entire "old wives tale" got started with confusion over the advisory to never use "oil additives" with a wet clutch. An oil additive would be something like Slick 50, Duralube, STP Oil Treatment, Motor Medic, Motor Honey, oil leak stoppage products, or any of the other additives you would find made for a car on your auto parts store shelf. The only one I can actually recommend from personal experience is Rev-Er-Up, made by Blue Marble, which does not affect the clutch, reduces bearing wear and motor noise, and reduces counter balancer noise. (its not a replacement for worn out parts, though!)
None of these products have anything to do with synthetic oil. A little check in any catalog will show that all of your top dollar, motorcycle and ATV specific "high performance" aftermarket "racing oils" specifically made for your motorcycle or ATV gearbox, are synthetic.
In other words, just drain your stupid oil, and refill it, and change the filter if it has one, and stop loosing sleep over it.

[bigredhead]

:cool:

:w00t:

Much apreciated guys ! Thanks again !

[3Razors]

Here is a link comparing oils, it was done by Consumer Reports:

http://www.xs11.com/stories/croil96.htm

[crackshot]

Ok first off, those oils were tested in water cooled engines. Air cooled engines make a big difference on what oil you use.
Second, synthetic has a higher "shear" strength and suspends contaminates, nutralizes acids better in oil to get trapped in filter.
Third, the pumpability is better and flows to top end faster eliminating valve clatter and does not get thick like molasses in winter thus making it a lot easier on the oil pump.
Fourth,I know first hand running synthetic for 2 years now in my Isuzu SUV has made a big difference going from 18 mpg to 20 city and has reduced friction in engine. The engine also has more "pick up".
How do I know this? I have water temp gauge and runs cooler now. My vehicle has 120k on it and starts right up in -0 weather every time without cranking slow.
I also change oil every 3k and synthetic oil is still golden in color.
I will keep using synthetic. It's the old saying, "you get what you pay for".

[RideRed250R]

okay this is my point of veiw
Synthetic is the best to go i use synthetic motor oil in my 185S's i use Purple Marble (I think thats the name i just blanked out) its in a purple Bottle its very nice i run my 185s about 40 hours + a year and change my oil every August be4 the sand season, Its about 8 bucks more then standard but i can tell my 185s run cooler pick up better and I think my clutch grabs better i can wheelie in 3rd gear with out slippin the auto clutch
I also run HP2 honda Cr blend 100% synthetic 2 stroke oil its only 5.95 (any honda dealer) it burns SUPER clean, its a great oil since putting 10 hours on my R i cracked open the head to take a look at how they were sealing and it looks BRAND NEW like its on its first time out, i have used the synthetic/regular (my spelling SUCKS) blend and my R over heated 2 times and was the oil i was runnin be4 it BLEW UP!
if trailprotrailpro going to run a regular run GTX Hi performance or go to GTX off road or GTX Hi mileage
i always ran the high mileage but a freind with a 50 swares by the hi perfromacne oil and runs the off road in his crf230.
hope yah get it all down
adam

[HRC1]

Well its a good thing HRC1. LOL Im just messing with ya. I agree with you mostly. I just wouldnt do it in a wet clutch application. What part of MI are you from. My buddy lives up in white Pigeion.

Clay
I'm around kalamazoo area, where are u from?

[jeswinehart]

allrighty then ,,, now we know . great info timmSr. thanks.

clay is from down in GA. i'm due south of you hrc1 ,,, white pigeon.


john

[ClayW]

Yeah, Im down Atlanta way. Johns in your neck of the woods. :beer


Clay