oil weight and capacity?

[Suselman92]

Just bought a 85 fj1100 and was wanting to do an oil change..is the engine oil the same as the clutch oil? also it pops out of the carbs when its cold any ideas? thanks

[RichBaker]

10w40 semi-synth Lucas MC oil works good for me, even in 105* summer heat.

Popping is probably partially-clogged choke circuit in carbs...

[Arnie]

The engine and clutch share the same oil.
Be cautious (iow don't use them) with any of the "friction modified" oils.
My choice of oil for all my vehicles is a good diesel 15W40 CH4 oil.

Arnie

[Tor-King]

Being air cooled and prone to running a little hotter with some inconsistencies in temperature, I like running 20W40/ 20W50. Oil capacity is close to 3.4 litres with filter change.  I use Golden Spectro semi syn.

Dean

[movenon]

The engine and clutch share the same oil.
Be cautious (iow don't use them) with any of the "friction modified" oils.
My choice of oil for all my vehicles is a good diesel 15W40 CH4 oil.

Arnie

Same here for the diesel and the FJ
George

[ribbert]

This is in part an old post, I have deleted inflammatory references to specific oil types.


I've read many testimonials here for oil.  Just how you determine one being better than the other I'm not sure.
The most common endorsement seems to be " I've been using brand X for years and haven't had a problem" Ive always been curious how a casual rider can determine oil quality unless it has some obvious shortcoming.

99% of engines that do extraordinary mileage do so on crap oil!  Taxis, buses, trucks, couriers etc.

I have one car I work on regularly ( 4cyl ) that's done 900,000 K's and the best oil it's ever seen is what the garage has in the 44 out the back.

The one thing all the above mentioned vehicles have in common is a low start to mileage ratio.

The wost thing you can do to an engine is start it cold, but this is of course, unavoidable. This is when a substantial amount of the wear occurs.

Oil, like most things, has no doubt benefitted greatly from modern technology and there may be benefits to using expensive, additive laden products but how many 100's of 1000's of Km's do you plan on putting on the old girl anyway?

My own experience and that of many others here is that the clutch is not always happy with these oils.

The FJ's have a pretty basic engine not subject to any extremes and unlike many modern engines does not NEED flash oil, use if you want but it doesn't need it.

Granted, there may be specific applications where fancy oil has an advantage, but I'm talking general engine use.

HOW YOU TREAT YOUR MOTOR COLD, HOW OFTEN YOU CHANGE YOUR OIL AND YOUR RIDING HABITS WILL HAVE A GREATER IMPACT ON ENGINE LIFE THAN OIL CHOICE.


SUMMARY

Run whatever you like, the FJ's hardly likely to fail prematurely in any of our lifetimes because of it.

Noel

[FJSpringy]

oooooooh no only run mineral 20W50 or all your male heirs will have 3 testicles 

Seriously I prefer the mineral based stuff as I personaly and in my humble opion beleive its kinder on the clutch and the old air cooled lumps like the FJ with not so tight tollerances are happier.

I also belive it is a more cost sympatheic solution, paying AUD$120 for a 4l tub of gold blend shit hot oil leaves me cold 

[ribbert]

oooooooh no only run mineral 20W50 or all your male heirs will have 3 testicles 

Seriously I prefer the mineral based stuff as I personaly and in my humble opion beleive its kinder on the clutch and the old air cooled lumps like the FJ with not so tight tollerances are happier.

I also belive it is a more cost sympatheic solution, paying AUD$120 for a 4l tub of gold blend shit hot oil leaves me cold 

OK, I went to a lot of trouble to be diplomatic in my post on this subject, I see you've shown no such restraint.
I agree with you 100% .

[Suselman92]

Thanks guys I ended up going with 10w40 yamalube for now because where i live the weather varies from 50 to 80 so i figured 10w40 would work well. I am having a mechanic look at it for the low rpm popping he thinks it needs re jetted from having pod filters and a pipe on it so we will see where that gets me

[Tor-King]

oooooooh no only run mineral 20W50 or all your male heirs will have 3 testicles 

Seriously I prefer the mineral based stuff as I personaly and in my humble opion beleive its kinder on the clutch and the old air cooled lumps like the FJ with not so tight tollerances are happier.

I also belive it is a more cost sympatheic solution, paying AUD$120 for a 4l tub of gold blend shit hot oil leaves me cold 

HUH? $120 for 4 litres?!  That is criminal. It is at our local shop for $10.00 a litre, (although I still consider this expensive in my books).  If it was that price, I agree, I certainly would not be using it either.  But...I received 2 cases of the stuff when I bought my bike so I will re-evaluate once my stock is gone.  And yea, I agree, I usually only run regular, clutch friendly fossil oil 20W40.

Have a good one,
Dean

[crzyjarmans]

I like using a synthetic oil especially on an older motor weather motorcycle or car/truck, I seem to get better fuel millage

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

I use Castrol 4T 10-40w with great results, and I also use Morey's oil stabilser, with amazing results.  No clutch slip, reduced vibration, very happy.



cheers, Gareth

[X-Ray]

I use Castrol 4T as well Gareth, although I'd be interested to find out more about the oil stabiliser you use. I've known about Moreys for years, but always thought, why?

Thanks

Ray


Edit: went and did some research on this, seems to have a lot of recommendations, how much do you use per oil change?

[baldy3853]

I use Castrol 4T as well Gareth, although I'd be interested to find out more about the oil stabiliser you use. I've known about Moreys for years, but always thought, why?

Thanks

Ray


Edit: went and did some research on this, seems to have a lot of recommendations, how much do you use per oil change?

Hey Ray Bertie and I have been using Penrite 10-50 gas for last couple of yrs comes in a 5 litre container and runs out at about $40, we've been using it in all the bikes seems to do the job well enough 
Baldy

[mr blackstock]

G'day X-ray,

I never used to use additives, but I had an old XJ650 that vibrated as per age, she was tuned right, just getting on.  Anyway, an old bike mechanic said give it a go, of which I did.  The result was almost immediate, vibration down, bike seemed "perkier" and rode sweet!  The clutch was not affected despite all the doom sayers.

I have used it constantly for the past 3 years or so in the XJ and the FJ.  The FJ recently underwent a headjob and the mechanic reported nill issues concerning bad wear patterns caused by oil starvation or quality.  Incidentally I noticed he also had a bottle of Morey's under his bench!

I use a 25% mix, or 1 litre morey's to 3 litre oil.  It is not for everyone, but bear in mind many products we use now started out as "niche" products, before being adopted by larger companies.  Lucas also sell a Morey type product, virtually the same product.

Anyone heard of "Magnatech"?

anyway, each to their own.

cheers, Gareth