As humans, We need good caring and proper maintenance for a healthy life. Do you know ATVs can use for around 20 years or 10000 miles? Like this, your ATV needs good care and maintenance to run and perform smoothly. The engine is an essential part of your ATV. So do you know why the ATV engine needs Oil? Let’s start to drive passing today’s story with it.
Why does your ATV needs engine oil?
ATV engines are made with compact and complex moving gears and parts. So these parts need to lubricate with Oil to reduce friction. Reducing friction will prevent heating and abrasion on the engine parts. Engine oil keeps the moving metal parts surviving long. If you run an engine without Oil, the engine’s metal components will destroy within a few minutes of working.
So engine oil is necessary to run your ATV, and you need to change it when needed. If you think, can I use car engine oil for ATV? the simple answer is NO Because ATVs come with wet clutch and transmission gears. Car oil is not working with ATV engines, and you need to get your ATV’s recommended engine oil.
In this article, I will guide you about how to change the Oil on your ATV in easy steps and essential things you should know about oil changes on Your ATV. Changing oil ATV is more convenient than your car or truck oil-changing process. So, keep reading manual riders.
When does ATV need to change engine oil?
Every ATV has a period that decides by the manufacturer to change the engine oil. When your ATV reaches the hours of use, it needs to change the Oil. This period will depend on your ATV type and riding style. You can check your ATV owner’s manual to find it.
Generally, brand-new ATVs require changing the engine oil for its first 25 running hours or in one month. After Frist oil change, you can change the engine oil every 100 hours of running or after 1000 miles or after 20000km, or once per year if you are not riding it every day.
If you ride your ATV every day and use poor-quality engine oil, you need to change the Oil every week. If you are using high-quality Oil, you can change the Oil at least once per season or year. Also, I listed a few scenarios from my experience where you need to change your ATV engine oil.
- You Need to change the Oil when you ride and immersion in water, sand, dust, or especially on mud for reasonably long times.
- The engine sound is changed and makes a more disturbing noise.
- The engine oil level is going down fast.
- Ride in max RPM for a long time duration
- Drag a heavy load in a low-speed gear
- Keep idle for a long time.
- The oil color goes dark.
- riding on Short weather changes trails
- The engine makes a ticking sound.
While winter, the oil level can rise when you run the ATV. If the oil level rise continuously, you should change the Oil ASAP and need to investigate the problem and fix it. I recommend getting expert advice in this case. You can check the dipstick and see the engine oil color. If it is going too brown or black and make a crash smell, you should probably want to change the Oil.
How much Oil needs to refill the ATV engine?
ATVs have different engine sizes and require different oil capacities to refill. Most ATVs require around 1.5 qt – 2.5 qt, but the best option is to check your ATV’s owner manual for how much ATV oil your ATV wants.
What type of engine oil can you use for your ATV need?
ATV manufacturers recommend the perfect engine oil type and oil filter on your ATV’s manual. You should read it and search for the type of Oil your ATV requires and what type of oil filter you will need. Also, read your ATV manual once after you buy it. It will give you more specific information about your ATV. Commonly ATV engines work fine with 10W-30 or 5W-20 viscosity engine oil, and on some special occasions, polarise ATVs use 5w-50 viscosity engine oil.
Do you need your ATV owner’s manual?
You can quickly go to your ATV brand website and download your ATV’s owner’s manual. I will list some ATV brand links here. Feel free to check and select your ATV model.
Arctic Cat ATV Owner’s manuals
Polaris Sportsman ATV Owner’s manuals
How much will it cost for an oil change on ATV?
In my experience, you will cost around $30-50 for a gallon of Oil and an oil filter for around $7-10. So, you will cost around $60-70 for an oil change on your ATV.
Before starting your ATV oil change, read the owner’s manual.
As I mentioned above, you need to find the type of oil filter and Oil you will need for the replacement. After finding it, you need to find the oil filter on your ATV. This location depends on your ATV model, and you can easily find it in the ATV’s manual. Search for which panel you need to remove on the ATV. After it, you also need to find where the drain plug is located on your ATV.
List of items you are going to need for the ATV oil change
I listed all you are going to need in this process. Check it out below.
- Fresh Oil, according to your ATV manufacture
- Fresh oil filter according to your ATV manufacture
- Drain or oil pan
- Funnel
- Filter wrench
- Screwdriver and ratchet with suitable sockets
- Rags for cleaning
I hope you will collect them and need to park your ATV on the balanced foundation. Keep this in mind. Some ATV models can quickly access the drain plug and oil filter. Some ATVs have only limited space, which makes this process difficult.
Follow these steps
- Put on neutral gear and start the engine.
- Keep atv on idle for 8-12 minutes.(after engine get heat up, oil will come out easily)
- Remove the rear seat and pull a latch to remove the front seat.
- Remove the right side panel.
- There is a cover below the side panel on both sides. Remove both side covers win seven bolts to make the process easy.
- Now you will see the dipstick and oil filter location.
- Take out the dipstick carefully and check the oil color.
- Clean the dipstick to avoid dirt going into the engine.
- Keep the dipstick safe place, and after the dipstick is removed, Oil will drain fast.
- Look for the drain plug on the skid plate. (bottom side of the engine cover)
- Place the drain or oil pan under the drain plug.
- Clean the area around the drain plug.
- Remove the drain plug with the socket. Use your hand to remove it. You can quickly get your hand out with a drain plug before Oil gets onto your hand.
- Wait for all the Oil comes out to the drain pan.
- After the oil drain out, remove the oil filter with a filter wrench.
- Wait for a few minutes again to ensure all the Oil drains out.
- Put the drain plug back and ensure you want to keep it tight enough. Make sure to tighten around 25-30 foot pounds.
- Unpack the new oil filter and O-ring.
- Put some oil to lubricate the O-ring to seal it better, which will help the next oil change.
- Now, place the oil filter by hand and use the filter wrench to tighten it.
- Place a funnel and pour the new 2 quarts of Oil into the engine.
- After the pour, start the engine for 5-10 seconds to spread it all over.
- Check the dipstick to measure the oil level. Keep in mind to add Oil to the recommended level.
- Last, reattach the cover and panel and sear back. Job done.
How to change the Oil on 2-stroke ATV?
Two-stroke ATV engine oil will mix with the fuel, and the Oil will drain when you run the ATV. So, you only want to check the ATV oil level and refill it when it goes below the required level. You can check the fuel level with a dipstick. Make sure to get engine oil for made for 2-stroke engines. Never use 4-stroke engine Oil for 2-stroke engines. It can be a cause of engine performance loss.
Common mistakes can happen when you change ATV oil.
- Not cleaning your ATV before the oil change – It would be best if you cleaned it before changing the Oil. While changing, sand, dust, or mud particles can go inside the engine if it is not cleaned. If sand or mud particles go inside the engine, they damage the components. Especially as I mention in the steps, clean the dipstick and funnel before use. I recommend washing and cleaning up your ATV before the oil change.
- Not using manufacturer-recommended oil and oil filters – As mentioned, ATV manufacturers are recommending the best oil type and grease for their ATVs. This Oil will give the best performance to the engine. If you select poor-quality Oil, it can be a reason for low affection and performance.
- Overtight drain plug – Every ATV drainplug will come bottom of the engine to make it easy to drain Oil. So the drain plug will have nuts that can loosen with a wrench or socket. Some ATVs come with a nut that wants to use an Allen wrench. Also, there is an O-ring around the plug. This plug can be tight enough. If you check your ATV manual, you can find how much torque need to tighten it. Mostly, it till tight between 14 – 18 foot-pounds. So the plug can crack or break if you over-tighten it.
- Placing oil filter backward – When you replace the new oil filter, place it correctly. If you install it backward, Oil will not go through it, and it will damage the engine. Also, Most oil filters come with a spring, and this spring needs to place correctly on the filter or filter hole. Make sure to place this spring correctly before you close the filter case.
What happens if you don’t change the ATV engine oil?
If you don’t change the engine oil, ATV will not be efficient and will be unable to perform as it can go. When you keep the old Oil on your ATV engine, it will be thicker and damage the engine components.
The bottom line
Your ATV needs good maintenance to give the best performance and make your daily work easy. Every vehicle’s heart is the engine. If your engine fails, it will be the worse case you can ever imagine. So your ATV engine is made with complex gears, and it needs engine oils to lubricate that high-speed moving parts.
I hope you now learn everything about Oil changing on your ATV and how to do it correctly without any problems. Follow the steps mentioned in the article, and read your ATV manual before starting the process. Thanks for the reading, and keep your machine always clean. Happy riding, Manual riders!
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