Oil Change 2015 RT-S - should I use ALL the kit oil?

[Fjrwillie]

The Oil Change Kit from Can AM comes with 4 regular quartz size and then a small one 16oz. My last oil change same kit when I filled it the Spyder only took half of this smaller bottle. So on the this change I used only 1/2 of the little container.

Checked the oil doing the 9 mile trip and 10 minute idle warm. The oil is so clean and these dipsticks are hard to read for me. What ever happened to the old style stick that was just a flat piece of metal. To me with the 4 qts and half of the little one it looks adequately full.

Should the all 5 containers have been added and then do the check ?

 

[Little Blue]

Oil Check

...If you use a clean paper towel that will make it easier to see. Your post seems to be right about what to do.
How much oil did you get out?
How much oil do you usually put in for your oil change?
What is BRP spec for oil change capacity??

Over to you. .......opcorn:

 

[Peter Aawen]

The Oil Change Kit from Can AM comes with 4 regular quart size containers and then a small 16oz container. My last oil change had the same kit, & when I filled it the Spyder only took half of this smaller bottle. So on this change I used only 1/2 of the little container.

Checked the oil doing the 9 mile trip and 10 minute idle warm. The oil is so clean and these dipsticks are hard to read for me. What ever happened to the old style stick that was just a flat piece of metal. To me with the 4 qts and half of the little one it looks adequately full.

Should the all 5 containers have been added and then do the check?

NO!

DO NOT ADD ALL THE OIL THEN DO THE CHECK! :gaah:

It's MUCH better to be a little bit less than absobloodylutely FULL than it is to be even just a little little OVER-full!! :lecturef_smilie: . Any 'over-full' qty of oil you put in will probably end up clogging your air filter with oil; blowing a seal somewhere; or maybe doing something worse!! :shocked:

So you should always put in a little bit LESS oil than what you expect to need, then top up only if necessary! :lecturef_smilie:

Besides, the marks on the dipstick are generally FULL up the top, with ADD down the bottom, not EMPTY or 'Danger Will Robinson, Danger!' . Any time you can see the oil level between ADD & FULL after using the correct checking process, then you'll know that your engine's got enough oil in there to do the necessary job - even if it's right down the bottom of the dipstick just skimming the ADD mark, that's still OK - Sure, it's probably not smart to leave on a long, hot, high speed trip with it down that low, but if it's between those 2 markers then your engine has adequate oil in it for it to safely run, altho if it's right down low you should probably ADD some more oil fairly soon, especially if you're gonna work the engine hard! That applies doubly so for the high revving V-twins that use some oil between scheduled changes; not so much to the 1330's that rarely use a much oil at all if any between scheduled changes! :lecturef_smilie:

So if you've got a little oil left over from the scheduled change, THAT'S GOOD! There should be enough oil left over to top the reservoir up up if necessary. :thumbup: . And if instead, you've dumped it all into the engine in one hit, then you'd better keep a watch for oil spots developing on the floor underneath wherever you park it - it's probably at least a touch over-full & the spots might be from a leak that could be just an over-flow, or it might be from a blown seal somewhere - or it might be a sign of something worse!! :dontknow:

 

[JayBros]

SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT! When you drained the oil did you drain both the crankcase AND the clutch cover, aka transmission plug, the 6mm Allen plug on right side? READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL! Pg 123 - 126 tells you exactly how to change the oil. Pg 125 and 165 both say the capacity of the engine with the SE transmission is 5.6 qt. You say the oil change kit came with 4 1/2 qt total. If you put only 4 1/2 qt in the engine you are going to be 1/2 qt below the Min line on the dipstick.

 

[Fjrwillie]

SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT! When you drained the oil did you drain both the crankcase AND the clutch cover, aka transmission plug, the 6mm Allen plug on right side? READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL! Pg 123 - 126 tells you exactly how to change the oil. Pg 125 and 165 both say the capacity of the engine with the SE transmission is 5.6 qt. You say the oil change kit came with 4 1/2 qt total. If you put only 4 1/2 qt in the engine you are going to be 1/2 qt below the Min line on the dipstick.

When you drained the oil did you drain both the crankcase AND the clutch cover Yes drained both plugs

going to be 1/2 qt below the Min line on the dipstick why I am asking the question

SE transmission is 5.6 qt. I believe that is the capacity if you change the HCM transmission filter. however I think it 5.2qt in that instance

Going to do the 9 mile 10 min wait again, recheck and maybe add more oil since 4 1/2 quart is less than the stated capacity of 5Q. This was a packaged Can AM XPS box that included 4 1/2 quarts, oil filter and seals. Why Can Am would provide less than the 5qt capacity is beyond me.


Thank you for your reponse
Willie

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Going to do the 9 mile 10 min wait again,

Don't wait 10 minutes after shutting off the engine, although it probably won't make a big difference. Oil starts draining from the tank as soon as you shut off the engine, and that's where the dipstick is. You'll get the most accurate reading by checking within a couple of minutes of shutting off the engine.

 

[Fjrwillie]

Don't wait 10 minutes after shutting off the engine, although it probably won't make a big difference. Oil starts draining from the tank as soon as you shut off the engine, and that's where the dipstick is. You'll get the most accurate reading by checking within a couple of minutes of shutting off the engine.

Don't wait 10 minutes after shutting off the engine That should say after doing the 9 miles, let the engine idle for 10 minutes before checking oil

my bad:banghead:

willie

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Don't wait 10 minutes after shutting off the engine That should say after doing the 9 miles, let the engine idle for 10 minutes before checking oil

my bad:banghead:

willie

I don't see any advantage to letting the engine idle after a 9 mile run. The oil is well stirred up by then and the full amount that is going to be in the tank will be in there.

 

[JayBros]

LOOK at pg 165 of you owner's manual. The capacity of the engine when you change just the oil and oil filter is 5.6 qt. If you change the oil, oil filter and HCM filter it is 5.9 qt. If you change the oil ant oil filter and put 5 qt in the engine run the engine until it comes to normal operating temperature and check the oil level within TWO minutes of turning off the engine as it says on pg 123 of the owners manual the oil level will be right at the min level on the dipstick. IF you want to add additional oil to the 5 qt I strongly advise to add 2 oz increments so you don't overfill the engine.

 

[Fjrwillie]

LOOK at pg 165 of you owner's manual. The capacity of the engine when you change just the oil and oil filter is 5.6 qt. If you change the oil, oil filter and HCM filter it is 5.9 qt. If you change the oil ant oil filter and put 5 qt in the engine run the engine until it comes to normal operating temperature and check the oil level within TWO minutes of turning off the engine as it says on pg 123 of the owners manual the oil level will be right at the min level on the dipstick. IF you want to add additional oil to the 5 qt I strongly advise to add 2 oz increments so you don't overfill the engine.

Can Am must have multiple sources of manuals. This comes from the Shop Manual

This instructs go at least 9 miles then let it idle for 10 minutes



From the shop manual



Who knows which one is right, maybe Can Am knows


Willie

 

[JayBros]

You have discovered that BRP does a miserable. absolutely miserable job of editing and proofing their manuals. The original 2014 owner's manual had a picture of a V-twin dipstick and had the engine capacities all bollixed up. I used the online 2015 RT owner's manual as the reference in my above posts. The capacity of the 1330 ACE engine has not changed since it was introduced. When I change my oil and filter I routinely put in the 5 qt bringing the dipstick level to the min line and then add 10-12 oz more which brings the level up to about 3/4 of the way to the max line and leave it that way until the next change. When I change the HCM filter too I follow the same procedure. I do not fill the engine to its max mark on the dipstick. Any point past the half way point is fine for me.

 

[cravenfun]

Oil level between min and max lines is normal. Manual states to only add oil if level is below min. line. The amount of oil from min. to max. is 17 US oz. per the shop manual.
Doing the 5.6 fill after an oil, filter and draining both drains put my '15 F3S right in the middle of the min. and max lines.
My 1200 Ski Doo Rotax motors which are dry sump motors are the same way when it comes to checking levels.
That's why dipstick says minimum and maximum not add or full. Midpoint is just fine.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Can Am must have multiple sources of manuals. This comes from the Shop Manual

This instructs go at least 9 miles then let it idle for 10 minutes

Not multiple sources, but multiple tech writers who do not follow a prescribed set of guidelines or rules. One of my main criticisms has been the quality control program for documentation. There are examples where a component has one name in the service text and another name in the parts diagrams.

Here is the oil level verification instruction in the 2014 manual. It makes the most sense to me. The 9 mile instruction is simply to make sure the engine is at full operating temperature.

 

[NuttyBuckeye]

Not multiple sources, but multiple tech writers who do not follow a prescribed set of guidelines or rules. One of my main criticisms has been the quality control program for documentation. There are examples where a component has one name in the service text and another name in the parts diagrams.

Here is the oil level verification instruction in the 2014 manual. It makes the most sense to me. The 9 mile instruction is simply to make sure the engine is at full operating temperature.

View attachment 197901

Tech writing is an under valued segment of industry. I was a designer/drafter and the lone tech writer for the company I retired from. Before me, the engineers were tasked with writing the maintenance/installation manuals. I pushed for and created the writing standards. I also hounded engineers to specify torque ranges vs “tighten snug”. What the heck does that mean to an A&P?

Reading thru the BRP manual is sometimes cringe worthy to me as a former writer. It wouldn’t surprise me if they outsourced their tech writing.

As for oil change capacity, I fill with 5 qt, then idle for awhile, then check and adjust.

When releasing or revising a manual, it should be routed to all departments for sign off. I know from experience no one would read the complete manual except a few of our engineers who were good proof readers.

 

[JayBros]

The reason for letting the engine idle for ten min. Before turning it off is because there are several scavenge pumps, I think three, that collect oil from various areas inside the engine and pump it back into the dry sump oil tank where the dipstick measures oil level. If you turn off the engine early and try to check the oil level the scavenge pumps may not have finished their work and you may not have all the oil back in the oil tank so you are beginning with an inaccurate level but you don’t know how inaccurate. The reverse of the accuracy problem occurs if you wait more than two min to check the oil level as IMS said above.