Tried the search and couldn't find much. Anyways, last Wednesday I bought a new 04 Kodiak 450. Yesterday, with 2.5 hrs on it I checked the oil and found a couple metal shavings on the dip stick. I assume this is normal with new metal surfaces (although I've never noticed it on new bikes/atv's in the past), but I'm still going to change the oil before starting it again. So my questions are: Anything special I should know about changing the oil & filter on the particular machine or is it pretty standard - and also, the owners manual calls for either 20W40 or 10W30, which is better for a new engine?

 

the engine oil wieght should be determined by the temperature your running at.

 

I wouldnt be concerned about the metal shavings on a new motor. You are doing the right thing by changing the oil and filter. As Zilla said, the type of oil you should use is dependent on the ambient temperature you will be riding your quad in. You should have the recommended oil relative to temperature in your owners manual. Good luck with the new quad.

 

Thanks guys. I should have mentioned that I was aware about temperature dictating what weight to use, I just wasn't sure if one or the other was better for a new engine. Going by the owners manual, it appears that either will work for our current weather.

 

unless youre gonna encounter some really hot temps, they want 10w 30 in there. Its a water cooled motor, and doesnt need the really thick stuff.
Be careful, reinstalling the drain plug, lots of people have crossthreaded them, or cracked them by installing them wrong. Its not the easiest plug to reinstall, because of the strong spring pressure, behind the plug, and because of the big diameter, its easy to get it going crooked.
Check out this site for info on oil filters and oil, it has a large listing of filters, other than the stock yami filter, which work as good or beter, at much less cost.
oil filters
I disagree, with the shavings being normal. Even Briggs and Straton, wash out the motor casting after machining, and deburring, they are spotless when they are assembled. If you still have the shavings, id bring it to the attention of the dealer and Yamaha. They may also want to see the old oil filter, so they can disassemble it and look for other stuff. You may want to bring it to the dealer for the first change, and dicuss this with them.

 

on the new engine you will see metal shavings, due to the fact that we have engine and trans sharing the same oil. specially on a new engine/trans you will have new gears chains and other moving parts, which have never seen each other prior to being installed in the same case [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] so they will do some grinding and bumping which will produce metal shavings.
the metal mesh screen will catch the bigger particals and the paper oil filter will catch the smaller ones. after a few oil changes you wil not see as much of it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks for the info. I changed the oil and filter @ 2.5hrs (saved the oil filter just in case) and probably will again @ 5hrs before starting the regular maintenence schedule. Zsebi, where is the metal mesh screen?
Also, it appears to have two drain plugs, one located towards the rear of the engine and one more towards the front??? I used the rear as directed in the owners manual, but it didn't seem to have a large diameter and definately didn't have any spring pressure as Hondabuster and others have said???????
My only problem was trying to get the bigger black plastic piece back on. Ended up having to shave a small piece off the front edge to get it to fit under the gear shift mechanism. It still doesn't look completely right.

 

I am not sure as to the 04 kodiak but on the 05 kodiak 450 when you drain the oil you have the black screen and a spring in there and my first oil change had a flake or two of metal but nothing out of the ordinary. I Live in east tennessee I have used yamalube in every atv I have ever owned and I change the oil every 10 hours.

 

kodiak
This is a 2003 kodiak, but 04 is the same, and i gotta believe an 05 is the same too.
#15, is the drain plug, #13 is the strainer, and #14 is the spring.
Now im curious, if you took out something else...what was it, and what came out, and did it get refilled , or is it still dry.
Those side panels, can be a fight getting on and off sometimes, youll get the hang of it. Just remember, they bend, so you dont really want to shave any thing off.

 

I found the diagram you're talking about which resembles mine exactly except that in that particular diagram, it doesn't show the smaller drain bolt at the rear.
In the owners manual there's one bigger drain plug more centered under the machine, which they make no mention of, other than having it in the picture. Then there's a smaller regular looking drain bolt at the rear of the engine. They point to this one and call it "Engine oil drain bolt". I did check the dipstick throughout the oil/filter changing process to make sure it was showing correctly. Now I'm confused, do I have a European model? lol