Category: Maintenance

Ride Hard, Run Cool

Air cooled engines on motorcycles can really get hot when you’re stuck in traffic and the ambient temperature is already up near 30°C.

Synthetic motorcycle oils have a lower sump temperature than mineral oils due to their consistent oil particle sizes. AMSOILs oils are reported to run even cooler than the HD Screamin’ Eagle SYN3 oils. The reason for this is pretty simple.

AMSOIL makes oil, Harley-Davidson makes motorcycles.

Plan ahead for your bikes maintenance this fall with an AMSOIL dealer and save money compared to buying products off the shelf of your local retail stores.

You can shop online for AMSOIL motorcycle products for any make and model. You can look up the recommendations for your bike using the Motorcycle Products Look-up Tool. Harley owners can check out the suggested oils and cross references.

AMSOIL Expands Motor Oil Offerings

Good news for both lube shops and those with newer Ford, Toyota or Honda’s. AMSOIL has brought on board offerings for 0W-20 oils with the standard pricing for each respective line. OEZ should do quite well in the OE line of oils as your best value to maintain your new car warranty.

If your vehicle takes a 0W-20 oil you don’t have the opportunity to use a basic mineral oil. You’ll have to purchase at least a blended or semi-synthetic oil to get down to the 0 weight at start-up. Some car manufacturers allow a 5W-20 to be used but suggest going back to a 0W-20 as soon as possible.

I’d suggest stepping up to a quality synthetic oil like AMSOIL. Here is what the press release had to say about the new offerings:

With the continuing trend toward lighter viscosity motor oils, AMSOIL has expanded the Signature Series, XL and OE lines. The Signature Series line now includes a 5W-20 oil (ALM), while the XL and OE lines now each include a 0W-20 oil (XLZ, OEZ). Like the other oils in their respective lines, each new oil is formulated to provide outstanding protection and performance and meet the latest API SN/ILSAC GF-5 specifications. XL and OE 0W-20 are API licensed.

Fuel Economy and Friction Losses

A great article was published in the July Preferred Customers edition of AMSOIL Magazine titled “Frictional losses account for big part of fuel energy inputs“.

The article shows where most of the energy associated with a unit of fuel is consumed or wasted by a vehicle. The spoiler is that only about 12.6% of the fuel energy is passed through the system to drive the wheels of the vehicle. Think how your fuel economy could improve if you could decrease wasted energy by friction – even small gains in reducing friction will add up at the pump.

Some of the AMSOIL fluids you can install in your vehicle to reduce friction include: Continue reading Fuel Economy and Friction Losses

2009 Mitsubishi Outlander Differental & Transfer Case

I took my 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander to Erin Mills Master Mechanic to get the transfer case and rear diff fluids changed out. Replacing the OEM fluid with AMSOIL Severe Gear® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Gear Lube 75W-90 (SVG).

I wasn’t confident about my plan to use wheel ramps on the down slope of my driveway to get an almost level vehicle. What I really needed was a lift so I reached out for some help to the local mechanic shops in my area. Master Mechanic Erin Mills was happy to install my own fluids for reasonable labour rates. An average oil and filter change would run abut $20 – call ahead to make sure the bays aren’t filled.

Back to the rear diff. The drain plug has a 10mm hex head which is near the bottom, not sure of the size of the fill plug above it to the right.

It is a really simple drain and fill – make sure you get the fill bolt cracked before you try the drain. Once you get the drain out, open the fill completely and make sure your catch basin is in a good spot for full flow – it’s only ~0.5L so there isn’t as much head pressure as the crankcase oil. You require a level vehicle to fill the diff/transfer case. Pump in the new fluid until it overflows then insert the fill plug and you’re done.
Continue reading 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander Differental & Transfer Case

Mobil 1 On Sale @ Canadian Tire This Week

Mobil 1 SuperSyn and Extended Performance are on sale this week at my local Canadian Tire. Sale prices are $35.99 (Reg $47.99) for SuperSyn or $41.99 (Reg $55.99) for the EP – both in 4.4L jugs. AMSOIL pricing is easily competitive and the products are even better.

The best part about AMSOIL is the fact you don’t have to wait for a sale, then go to the store only to find out the 7 bottles they had in stock sold out on the first morning of the sale. This used to happen to me. AMSOIL is available to you with 2 days notice any time you need it – no need to stockpile oil or filters.

I’d put the AMSOIL XL line of oils against the Mobil 1 SuperSyn and the Signature Series with the Extended Performance. They don’t quite match up “apples to apples”, but they are close.

Before you spend $36 on 4.4L of SuperSyn ask me how you can get AMSOIL Extended Life (XL) oil for around $33 – any time you need it.

Pontiac Vibe AMSOIL Conversion

Our Pontiac Vibe came due for her 160,000 oil change this weekend. I switched this older vehicle to AMSOIL Extended Life 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. In the three tiers of motor oil at AMSOIL this is the mid-range product that is capable of 16,000km or 6 months.

Since I’m switching over a vehicle that already seen quite a few miles and has been run on oils ranging from bulk tank specials at the local lube shop to whatever was on sale at Canadian Tire. I decided to run some AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush though the engine.
Continue reading Pontiac Vibe AMSOIL Conversion

Transfer Case

I attempted to replace the fluid in my Mitsubishi Outlanders transfer case tonight with AMSOIL Severe Gear® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Gear Lube 75W-90 (SVG).

Ran into a bit of a problem once I realized the drain bolt was a hex head and I don’t have the correct socket. The 3/8″ hex from my old Chevy Cavaliers brake calipers fit but was a little loose. Just looked up SAE to metric conversions and 3/8″ is 9.525mm so it looks like a 10mm hex head for the drain bolt.

I didn’t want to strip out the hex plug with the wrong sized socket so I packed it in for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll call the dealership get the fastener sizes. I was able to get a 17mm socket over the standard bolt head of the fill plug.

Power Steering Fluid

I replaced the power steering fluid in my Mitsubishi Outlander over the past two weeks with Synthetic Universal Power Steering Fluid (PSF).

Be sure to check the application guide for your vehicle as some use ATF – like the 2006 Pontiac Vibe – instead of PSF.

Using a hand pump I was able to remove about 150ml of fluid from the reservoir at a time. Then I drove the vehicle for a day to work the new fluid into the system. I did this for 3 bottles of PSF which is ~1.5L since the power steering system capacity is 1L on my Outlander.
Continue reading Power Steering Fluid

Spring Motorcycle Maintenance

The number of motorcycles on the road these past two weekends when it hasn’t rained in southern Ontario has jumped significantly. I even saw someone on a cruiser flip open his cell phone on the 401 to take a call – during a heavily publicized OPP distracted driving blitz!
Maybe some day I’ll see about getting a bike. It sure does look like fun.

If your rig isn’t on the road yet and you need some high quality powersport products to get it there send me an email. Be sure to include your rides year, make, model and engine details. Leave your phone number if you want a call back in the evening.
Continue reading Spring Motorcycle Maintenance

Ariens Leaking Fuel

The second time I went to mow the lawn with our Ariens mower it had a hard time starting and sputtered to a stop shortly after starting. When I opened the fuel tank to take a look it was empty. That was unexpected since I filled it a week earlier and barely use any fuel to cut my lawn.

So I got a carburetor rebuild kit and two feet of fuel hose from Cliffs to rebuild the carb and replace the fuel line. There was a few rough spots in the fuel line when I inspected it – a nick or two near the finned combustion chamber. I did notice the oil level seemed to be creeping up slowly. I had a feeling the oil was being contaminated with fuel so that had to be changed.

This was a great time to put in some AMSOIL 10W-30/SAE 30 Synthetic Small Engine Oil.
Continue reading Ariens Leaking Fuel