99trxdw

I was hauling out some wood through the swamp yesterday and after I got back up to the shop I noticed(not sure why I even looked but glad I did!) that the dipstick was loose, sure enough water had gotten into the crankcase. I immediately drained the oil and took the oil filter out and left both out overnight. I had synthetic 10w30 in it and was going to fill it up with some synthetic 5w30 I had on hand but then my father in law said that I might not want to do that because of the clutch if the oil isn't rated for wet clutches. So what is the verdict on this? There is no Honda dealer withing about 120 miles roundtrip of my house so the honda oil is out. I looked at the book and saw that 10-w40 is recommended weight. Is there a special designation I should be looking for on the oil bottle, or is any 10w40 ok? This is probably the only 4wheeler I will ever own so its gotta last!

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99 foreman 450 s.

action450s

You need atv specific oil. The friction modifiers in regular motor oil reduce friction inside the engine, since wet clutches need friction the 2 work against each other. You may beable to get atv/motorcycle/wet clutch safe oil from a gas station, walmart or other parts supply store.

Quackiller08

AMSOIL 10W40 SYNTHETIC is compatible with all wet clutches

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99trxdw

I'm not really too keen on paying $10 /quart if I don't have too..
I'll stop at napa and see what they have on the way home. The guys in there are pretty knowledgeable, I'm sure they'll have something. I've been running the regular motor oils in it for the last couple years, hope I didn't do any damage to the clutch. I'm sure I would have noticed by now if I had though.

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99 foreman 450 s.

Sooner

Unless your owner's manual calls for some special oil, your clutch is fine. You don't need ATV specific oil. Just follow the owner's manual for the correct API rating and weight. I run Castrol 10w-40 in all my ATVs.

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2007 Suzuki King Quad 450 4x4 - 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns, Xtreme 3" lift, RT2500 Winch, Twin Air filter, RAM GPS mount, Lowrance GPS, Plano ATV storage box, 2 - Playmate coolers and a RAM self-leveling beer holder
2010 Can Am Outlander 650 Max - 26" Bighorns, 200 watt audio tube by Sooner, BRP rear storage box
2007 Honda Rancher 420 4x4 ES (red), 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns (Sold)
2007 Honda Rancher 420 4x4 ES (yellow), 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns (Sold)

Relheok

Wet clutches REQUIRE motorcycle/ATV specific oils. Do the research, don't listen to people's advice and risk your machine over cheaper oils.

Helmut

I agree, ATVs do require a certain oil for wet clutches. I learned this the hard way. I changed my oil and used Pennzoil and my clutch started slipping the next day. I replaced my clutch discs and put Pennzoil back in the engine and a couple days later, the clutch started slipping again. When I went back to the Honda dealer to buy more discs, I mentioned my problem and before I even finished telling my story, the guy said, "it will happen every time if you use the wrong oil." He told me to use Honda oil or if I couldn't get Honda oil for some reason, to use Castrol. So, I replaced the discs again and then put Honda oil in the engine and I've never had a problem since. I have used regular Castrol 10W-40 since, when the Honda dealer was closed and I needed oil and I didn't have any problems. Because the clutches need friction to operate correctly and because they are submerged in engine oil, if the oil has friction modifiers, the clutch will slip.

action450s

You dont necesssarilly need Honda oil, as long as its marked safe for wet clutches. NAPA should have something there that will work.

Sooner

I'm curious why the Honda owner's manuals make no mention of any ATV specific engine oil? This is the first I've heard of this. I've just been using the oil recommended in the manual.

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2007 Suzuki King Quad 450 4x4 - 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns, Xtreme 3" lift, RT2500 Winch, Twin Air filter, RAM GPS mount, Lowrance GPS, Plano ATV storage box, 2 - Playmate coolers and a RAM self-leveling beer holder
2010 Can Am Outlander 650 Max - 26" Bighorns, 200 watt audio tube by Sooner, BRP rear storage box
2007 Honda Rancher 420 4x4 ES (red), 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns (Sold)
2007 Honda Rancher 420 4x4 ES (yellow), 14" ITP SS112 wheels, 26" Bighorns (Sold)

99trxdw

Well in the manual it specifies oil with API spec SF or SG. Most regular motor oil does not meet that spec, I checked several brands and weights while at napa. The only synthetic they had was amsoil, which I did not want to pay $9 /quart for so I opted for the valvolene stuff they had for bikes which meets that specification at a steal of a price for $7.50/ quart. Looks like I'm going to have to change the oil in my honda motorcycle too...

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99 foreman 450 s.