Oil for snow plowing and low speed towing with ATV

[IndyIan]

Hi Everyone,
I was wondering what would be the best oil or oil additive for my 300 Suzuki Kingquad. It has a common sump with the gear box, final drive, and engine. It also has a wet plate automatic clutch.
I use this machine primarily for low speed towing and snowplowing and I am worried about transmission gear lubrication at such low speeds. In 1st gear in superlow the clutch fully engages at ~2 mph and in some cases I'll do 1 or 2 minutes of 1/2 throttle pulling at this speed. I assume its splash lubrication in the final drive but I don't think theres much splashing going on with the tires doing 60 rpm...
It sounds like lots of moly would be a good thing for the final drive but not for the wet clutch. To add to the fun I need it to start in -25F too for plowing my driveway.
Any ideas for keeping my quad happy for years to come?
Thanks,
Ian

 

[ccdhowell]

Are you sure the final drive (differential) is a shared sump with the engine and gear box? Is this a newer CVT transmission or does it have gears and a semi-automatic clutch?

Either way, I would say the Amsoil 0w40 powersports oil would be just aobut perfect for your application. And maybe some Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90 in the differential.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

+1 to the Amsoil 0w-40 powersports oil. Used it in 95F down to 0F in my four wheeler on very hard and abusive outings. One of the best, if not the best, ATV oil on the market right now.

 

[IndyIan]

Hmmm, well I will price it out here, I imagine it will be over $40 for a gallon up here in Canada... Any other cheaper suggestions? I guess I would like something to help that crawling final drive, as sometimes it moving almost a ton of ATV, trailer and firewood. Is adding some differential oil possible for the high pressure capability?
I've only got stock tires so there's some limit for how much load I can put on the transmission but I do hear some noises I don't really like sometimes when I'm pulling alot.
Ian

 

[sweezy722]

I would only use engine oil. The gear oil is not what you want in the engine. I would use JASO MA approved oil for wet clutch and shared sump applications. I use Valvoline 10-40 ATV oil. It is about 1/3 price of the synthetics. My ATV weighs 800 lbs - I weigh 250 lbs - my bushog weighs about 625 lbs. That is a total of close to 1700 lbs working at a crawl for 4-5 hours at a time in 80-100 degree temps. For just hard riding a lot of oils will do fine. When pulling this weight for this long - my cycle works better with JASO MA oil or 15-40 HDEO. I do not use HDEO much because my gear shift is hydraulic pressure operated and HDEO slows the shift.

 

[sunruh]

Castrol Syntec 0w30
Shell Rotella T 5w40 synthetic (blue jug down here)

those are 2 i've tested and would consider at the temps you are dealing with AND are known to be safe in a bike.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: sunruh
Castrol Syntec 0w30
Shell Rotella T 5w40 synthetic (blue jug down here)

those are 2 i've tested and would consider at the temps you are dealing with AND are known to be safe in a bike.


Thanks for the reply, I could only find shell rotella T 0w40 here but its full synthetic and was on sale so I picked it up along with a new filter. I'm no oil expert but here's the specs from the shell site, looked good to me!
Doesn't the castrol have a poor additive package as its got the fuel efficiency rating in the round label? I got that impression from a few posters(not expert opinion but sounded plausible)

 

[addyguy]

The Rotella SB 0W-40 does have good specs, and is reasonably priced at C-T.....I wish you could still get MM 'Formula 1 0w30 Synthetic Blend' on the shelf at C-T, I'm pretty sure it WAS the 0w30 you see in the chart above...now you can only get 5w30 and 10w30...

 

[IndyIan]

addyguy,
So you think the C-T formula 1 5W30 is actually shell Rotella t 5W30 too? For my atv I like 40 wieght with its common lubed final drive but for my car engines 5W30 is good in the winter. I've been getting the 5W30 Castrol Syntec on sale which is still more than the formula 1.
Ian

 

[addyguy]

No, the CT Forumla 1 dino is regular Shell PCMO dino.

What is a 'mystery' is what CT Formula 1 'Synthetic Blend' is - is it Shell's PCMO 'syn blend' oil; OR is is 'Rotella SB' oil?

One thing that points to it being the 'Rotella' oil is that CT USED to sell a 0w30 Formula 1 syn-blend, which would be the one you see above. They discontinued it a couple of years ago.

One thing that point to it being regular Shell PCMO syn blend is they only offer it (now) in 5w30 and 10w30 grade; and THAT is the grade the Shell PCMO syn blend is availiable in...

Confusing, eh?

 

[Steve S]

I would run a proper viscosity heavy duty engine oil for that application without question.

 

[Steve S]

I would run a proper viscosity heavy duty engine oil for that application without question Car oils can be weak in the additive department.. The trans probably shares oil the rearends ? look up the info in the owners manual. Syn oil is great for freezing cold temps.

 

[IndyIan]

Yep, it does share the engine oil with the final drive. I'm actually putting in the 0W40 rotella tonight, doesn't sound like I should have any wet clutch issues but that's about the only thing I'm worried about. In the summer I think I'll do some 15W40 rotella.
Especially for this application, I think heavier is better. This little ATV is a hard worker and I would like to keep it for a long time.
Ian

 

[IndyIan]

Well the 0W40 flows pretty well, I did the change in -10C last night and while its not like water, it did go down the funnel fast enough. I had 10W40 conventional in before and this morning I could hear that the oil did get up to pressure faster. Normally at -5 it sounds a bit rough for 10 revolutions, today it quietened up in maybe 5 or 6. Plowed for 45 minutes this morning and no clutch slippage so I'm saying the 0W40 Rotella is a success.
Ian