Did I screw up?

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Sep 17, 2013 | 10:47 PM

David Pace

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Did I screw up?

So, I was in a rush one day stopped at a gas station and picked up some oil for my ATV. Comes to find out I got the wrong temperature oil(for like -10 to 10 degrees, and its average climate of 60-90 degrees). So I just threw it to the side.. I come home one day and my Mom knew I bought oil, but not the wrong kind, and had my dad install it. My question is did I just screw up big time?

Sep 18, 2013 | 07:21 AM

Raptor450

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No you didn't screw up big time! Any oil is better than no oil. I would just do an oil change and put the right oil in. The differences in oil is just the thickness when cold and the thickness when hot, not a big deal for shorterm use. The biggest mistake I see that you made is possibly putting automotive oil in an ATV with a "wet clutch". This could possibly make your clutches slip prematurely.

I would recommend not buying oil from a gas station, unless they sell oil made specifically for ATV's and wet clutches, which is normally not the case.

Sep 18, 2013 | 07:25 AM

scootergptx

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From: Land of the misfit toys

You'll be fine. Like Rapter450 said, just change it out with what you would normally use. Depending on what model you have, you can use regular automobile oil. If you have a wet clutch system, you would be better using a 4 stroke oil.

Sep 18, 2013 | 08:02 AM

TLC

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What oil weight did you buy?
That's why I like 0w-40 it does it all, starts up in the very cold and runs in the very hot climate.

Quote:

VISCOSITY

Most oils on the shelves today are "Multigrades", which simply means that the oil falls into 2 viscosity grades (i.e. 10w-40 etc)

Multigrades were first developed some 50 years ago to avoid the old routine of using a thinner oil in winter and a thicker oil in summer.

In a 10w-40 for example the 10w bit (W = winter, not weight or watt or anything else for that matter) simply means that the oil must have a certain maximum viscosity/flow at low temperature. The lower the "W" number the better the oil's cold temperature/cold start performance.

The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100°C. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits. Once again the lower the number, the thinner the oil: a 30 oil is thinner than a 40 oil at 100°C etc. Your handbook will specify whether a 30, 40 or 50 etc is required.