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Posted by: DaveB
Check owners manual.....some dipsticks are calibrated to be checked without threading back into the motor....in which case, you'd be right on, or even a hair low.
Posted by: Mudpuppy193
just to warn you- the 400 air cooled motor should be checked with the dipstick screwed all the way in. Some of the owners manuals were printed wrong. They also do not like to be over filled as they tend to run a little funky after they warm up- actually I usually see 1 or 2 of them a year come in with "performance issues" and its due to them being over filled with oil. I do remember cat telling me about this at service school but I don't think they ever issued a serivce bulletin. The best thing you can do when you change the oil is fill it half way up the hash mark on the dipstick and then it will leave some room for error or fuel contamination if you trailer it for a long distance with the gas on. The 650 is that way also but it will blow oil through the breather into the air box and then the oil drains back in the carb causing it to spudder and smoke. I wouldn't go to any extremes trying to get the oil out but if you run into it being sluggish or acting funny chances are it's because there is too much oil in it.....
Posted by: Mudpuppy193
Yeah, I checked that out and so do the ones at the shop- but there was a service bulletin put out in 02 saying not to overfill the 375 (now 400 motor) and to check the oil with the dipstick all the way in. I also talked to our tech at cat today and he said to do it screwed in, so I don't know who to believe at this point. One thing that I have noticed is that all the 400s come from the factory filled to the top of the hatch marks with the cap screwed all the way in. Its not like its a huge amount of oil between it being unscrewed and screwed so I guess its not that big of a deal. I guess check it the way you think it should be checked
Posted by: Bear4570
The thing most people don't realize is how much oil is up circulating around the engine when it running and not in the crankcase. I had a race car back in the dark ages and with a 9 quart pan and a windage tray I wasn't worried about oil supply. On the chassie dyno one day I did get to wondering how much oil was up in the engine when running. So I installed a 1/2" diameter clear hose site tube on the side of the oil pan and when I filled it I mark for each quart. At idle the was 1 1/2 quarts up in the engine. At 2000 there was 3 1/4 quarts and at 6000 there was 6 quarts in the engine, all this was with a high volume oil pump. So a little extra won't hurt anything.
Posted by: Bear4570
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Originally posted by: Mudpuppy193
Yeah, I checked that out and so do the ones at the shop- but there was a service bulletin put out in 02 saying not to overfill the 375 (now 400 motor) and to check the oil with the dipstick all the way in. I also talked to our tech at cat today and he said to do it screwed in, so I don't know who to believe at this point. One thing that I have noticed is that all the 400s come from the factory filled to the top of the hatch marks with the cap screwed all the way in. Its not like its a huge amount of oil between it being unscrewed and screwed so I guess its not that big of a deal. I guess check it the way you think it should be checked hr>
Then why does my 2005 owners manual say "Note; On the 400/500/650, the oil level stick should NOT be threaded in for checking purposes." It goes on to say in the next note that the V-2 should be threaded in. I can't believe that the owners manual would not be corrected in all this time.
Posted by: Bear4570
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Originally posted by: 04bowtie
The owners manual to my 2003 honda 300ex and my dads 05 Honda Rancher ES it says not to screw it in. I would assume it is the same for the AC's.
Why would you assume it is the same for the Cat as a Honda? The Cat has a Suzuki engine and has nothing to do with Honda.
Posted by: Bear4570
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Originally posted by: 04bowtie
I was just confirming MrTommy's post on all small engines have a similar method for checking the oil
Not true. Even between the Suzuki engines and the Kawasaki engines that Arctic Cat uses there are two methods listed in the owners manual. On the 400 and 500 motors the manual states the dipstick should "not" be threaded, but on the 650 V2 it is to be threaded in. It states this in big heavy black letters on the top for page 111 of the 2005 owners manual.
Posted by: Catterman
Just because I like to beat a dead horse, on my old 2004 400 I just put in the full gallon in that oil change kit. Dealer told me it was fine to do, as others have said, a little more oil won't hurt anything.
Posted by: MrTommy
Hey Mudpuppy... I just checked in my "official" AC service manual (not to be confused with "owner's manual") and they specify in there too, that the dipstick should not be screwed in to check oil level. Since this agrees with my owner's manual, I've been doing it this way since I bought them. Can AC really be wrong in both places?
Posted by: MrTommy
Uh oh, sounds like the proverbial "can of worms" developing here. But it seems like all 'small engines' have the same rule for checking oil. I know my Honda lawn mower manual says to check the oil with the dip stick NOT screwed in. So, if I had to error one way or the other, I think I'd rather error on being a bit low on oil than bit over. So, I'll just keep doing what my owner's manual, and my Service Manual say, and count on the motors not blowing up.
Posted by: limrok
well.let see.....probly wont hurt to bea litle over.........but u can use a turkey baster..i am sure your wife has one...asuming u r married......and if not go to the hardware store and buy one........or u could ruin an antifreeze test and suck it out that way
Posted by: limrok
I dont think a little over will hurt......it will probly spash up on the botom of the piston and get used till it is the right amout,and a little more is better than not enough
Posted by: limrok
Bingo......my service manual also says to check the oil with the plug not screwd in.......
Posted by: bkcntyxplr
So I changed my oil for the first time today. Not the first time it's been changed, just the first time I did it myself. I got the change kit with the filter and gallon of synthetic oil... Everything went hunky dory until I went to put in the fresh oil. Looked all over the manual for how much to put in. Finaly found in the specifications that it says "Oil capacity: 3.07 liters". Does this include the filter? And if I have a galloin jug of oil...how in the heck do I know how much 3.07 liters is? So I guessed. Since a gallon is about 3.7 liters I figured if I left about a half a liter in the bottle Id be good. But of course I put more in than Id planned. The dip stick shows oil about 1/4 inch over the hash mark. So NOW the question....anyone know any tricks to getting a little oil out? I sure dont want to play the "unscrew the plug/splash oil everywhere..measure and repeat" game.
Alas...I think Im stuck playing the silly game. Suggestions?
Thanks.
Posted by: bkcntyxplr
Just rechecked....
I did it exactly as the manual describes...let it run for a few minutes on a level surface and then checked it via the dipstick exactly one mintue later. It was right at the top of the hash mark. I waited a couple of minutes the first time. I guess this lets to much oil drain back down? Is a LITTLE to much oil a bad thing, or will it be ok?
Thanks
Posted by: bkcntyxplr
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Originally posted by: DaveB
Check owners manual.....some dipsticks are calibrated to be checked without threading back into the motor....in which case, you'd be right on, or even a hair low.
Mine says not to thread it in, so I didnt.
Posted by: bkcntyxplr
Good... My better half tried to take off my head with the knife she was holding (my first mistake) when I attempted to liberate the turkey baster from the confines of the kitchen. I tried to explain how much more useful the baster would be in the garage (my second mistake), and she told me to stop whining. A man can't even mak a valid argument anymore without being accused of whining. Sheeesh!
Posted by: bluenuts
Can someone please tell me how to check the oil in my WEEDEATER!!! LMAO!!
Posted by: 04bowtie
The owners manual to my 2003 honda 300ex and my dads 05 Honda Rancher ES it says not to screw it in. I would assume it is the same for the AC's.
Posted by: 04bowtie
I was just confirming MrTommy's post on all small engines have a similar method for checking the oil
