Ugly rumor.

[Ted Schefelbein]

It seems to me I was just poking around here, and it was mentioned that the Vance and Hines exhaust had to be removed from an FJ to change the oil.

WTF? You have got to be kidding me.

If it is true, what is the drill? New exhaust gaskets on hand, never-seize on the bolts, is it a couple beers job or, a six pack? This is starting to sound like a great place for full synthetic 10W40 oil, and a once a year oil change.


While it is fresh on my mind, do you guys put never seize on the spark plugs?

Thanks in advance.

Ted

[FJ_Hooligan]

While it is fresh on my mind, do you guys put never seize on the spark plugs?

Uh oh ....... wait for it .....

[CutterBill]

Here we go again....

[PaulG]

Ssshhhhhh..... now back away slowly.... 

[Ted Schefelbein]

And, just like that, it appears I have once again walked on my dick.....




Ted

[Pat Conlon]

Oh come on guys...Ted's a FNG, let's help him out....

1) Not needed on the anti seize...(see #3)
2) Only use m/c oil that is safe for your wet clutch. What ever flavor you like.
3) When you can't get access to the oil drain bolt,  drain your oil by removing the left side oil cooler line from the oil pan. Buy a handful of o rings and replace the o ring on the pan fitting every other or every 3rd drain.

Done, done and done...

Next.....

[racerrad8]

Pat, I think you missed what everyone else saw...

While it is fresh on my mind, do you guys put never seize on the spark plugs?

Ted

Here we go again....

Bill, I don't recall, is this the one we agree to disagree?

God damn, can you believe it was almost two years to the day of Ted's question...

Randy - RPM

[Ted Schefelbein]

Thank you, Pat. Now, of late, I haven't had a motorcycle, and my preference is to semi synthetic motor oils, related to tests done by Ford Motor Company, that revealed combustion deposits do not de solve in full synthetic motor oil, and semi synthetic is recommended in newer F series trucks with the Ecoboost engine, for that reason.

So, that is what I use, there. The Wife's Malibu gets whatever is on sale, usually Super-Tech conventional, and the 1967 442 gets a conventional 10W-40 with a shot of Zinc additive. That car sits about half the year, and I'm not interested in a synthetic oil finding all my leaks for me in that motor.

Are one of the house brand synthetics recommended for wet clutches? I probably should find a Kevlar helmet for this next question, but do you guys remember a product called Ring Free, that was sold by Yamaha dealers? I used to follow the "Shock" directions on the bottle in the last tank of fuel before an oil change.

It was good stuff.


Ted

[Pat Conlon]

All I will say is use a m/c oil that is safe for wet clutches.
I use a 15w-50 ester base stock full synthetic oil (Red Line) because I live in the desert and on a toasty summer day, my oil can get 280-300*F. Over the years I have used other oils and over the course of a long ride or a multi state tour, I have found them to burn off, but not so with the Red Line oil.

Everyone has their favorite flavor.
Most all of us agree to beware of automotive oils that has friction modifiers which do not play well with wet clutches.

[racerrad8]

Everyone has their favorite flavor.
Most all of us agree to beware of automotive oils that has friction modifiers which do not play well with wet clutches.

Ted, you can leave me out of the "most" for which Pat refers...

Also, for the record, Pat's clutch never slipped using automotive oil even when we went up to 1400cc...

Randy - RPM

[Millietant]

LOL.....great thread starter Ted 

Back in the early days of my FJ ownership, I had access to free Silkolene Pro 4 synthetic motorcycle oils and I used them in my bikes with no noticeable effects. When I joined the UK FJOC, they recommended Morris Oils Ring Free 20w50 (mineral, not synthetic) and that's what I've been using for about 25 years now. No reason to want to change type or brand.

When I had my Eagle/Cobra exhaust (I think it may have been a brand engineering thing with V & H when they weren't well known in Europe), I had the same problem as you and did what Pat suggested earlier, pretty straightforward.

Re the plugs - never have, and never will, use anti seize on a spark plug. Just don't leave them in unchecked long enough for them to seize in place. One of mine did come loose on my 1TX after a Yamaha "dealer" service - I could hear a strange "chuffing"/"phutting" noise at tickover when I got the bike home after picking it up from the dealer (approx 20 miles). I lifted the tank off and it was pretty obvious what had happened, so I tightened the plug up and re-checked the other 3 (they were all good). Never had a problem since but never used that dealer since either !

[red]

It seems to me I was just poking around here, and it was mentioned that the Vance and Hines exhaust had to be removed from an FJ to change the oil.  WTF? You have got to be kidding me.
If it is true, what is the drill? New exhaust gaskets on hand, never-seize on the bolts, is it a couple beers job or, a six pack? This is starting to sound like a great place for full synthetic 10W40 oil, and a once a year oil change.
Thanks in advance.
Ted

Ted,

Yep, it's true; you can't access the oil drain plug, with the V&H headers in place.  I slide the muffler off, loosen the headers at the head studs as much as possible, and gently lower the pipes to a solid support, so as not to damage the brittle pipe-gaskets.  My pipes are black anyway, so I just remove the drain plug and let the old oil drain over the pipes.  I wipe the pipes clean with paper towels, and install everything again.  There will be some oil smoke for a short while after the job, but nothing terrible.  RPM has better headers (see/click the top banner here), which do allow an oil change without removing the headers.  An oil change with V&H headers is certainly not a six-pack job.  I could remove the headers entirely first, sure, but it's a bear to get them installed again, after the oil change.  I could also protect the pipes from the drain oil using aluminum foil, bent to cover the pipes and channel the oil to each side of the assembly, but to me, a little oil smoke is not very important.

It's a good idea to install a new crush washer, when needed.  I think VWs use the same size, so you can match them up with an old one at the local parts store.

Friction-modified ("fuel efficient") oils can cause your clutch to slip, so read the labels first.  I use full synthetic motorcycle oil, for the longer change intervals.
.

[TexasDave]

I use full synthetic motorcycle oil, for the longer change intervals.

I also use synthetic oil. Why? It supposedly far exceeds the performance properties of regular oils.
BUT........
Why do we change our oil? And why do we do it (hopefully) at regular service intervals? BECAUSE what ever oil you are using gets DIRTY! So changing it regularly helps keep clean oil in your engine and thus less wear.

What ever oil you are using the longer the interval the more dirt it collects.

One of the major selling points for buying synthetics by the manufacturers was synthetics had a longer interval between oil changes. Our oil lasts longer so you don't have to change it as often. A myth that has been repeated for decades. Synthetic gets dirty at the same rate as regular oil.

I think any of todays oils are pretty good. As long as you change the oil and filter regularly.

[JPaganel]

I use Shell Rotella 15W40 diesel oil.  Every Walmart has it, and it's JASO-MA certified, meaning it's correct for wet clutches and gearboxes.

The chart in the manual says you can use 20W50 or 10W30 between 40F and 60F, and stick to heavier oil over 60. 15W40 is pretty much splitting the difference.

[FJ Flyer]

Wasn't the old story that Yamaha's Ring-Free was just Techron relabeled?