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Oil for gearbox and forks


fawzi963
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I recently checked the oil level and condition in my gearbox on my '80 DT175, luckily the level perfectly fine which seems like there is no leak neither any blow by, right? But the colour of that oil looked disgusting, it looked hot chocolate brown and quite runny, so I bought some 10w/40 oil since its the closest to what the manuals suggests which is 10w30. Since I couldn't find the oil to spec, is it still ok to use this same oil for the fork also? Is it difficult changing the oil in the fork? The service manual suggests the same oil for both the gearbox and fork.

Thanks in advance

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Are you sure about this? Most forks have a 10 weight oil, very light and not 40 weigh as it will give you a VERY rough ride in the cold weather. But if that's what it says in the manual then you might be ok I suppose.

Just as an aside Fork oil IS NOT engine oil it's really specific stuff for your forks, if in doubt ask your local Yammie dealer.

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Dear slice,

Thanks for your reply.

I checked my manual again and here are the screen shots:

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uquva7yg.jpg

Bare with me buddy since this is my first bike. So even though the oil that I got is 10w, the 40 will bring me a tough ride correct? So for now I shall just use the 10w/40 for the gearbox only? If yes, what type should I get for the front fork's legs?

Last question: if you double check you would realize that there is a 0.5 m-kg pinch bolt difference, which should I go for if I decide to change the in the fork, the 2.5 or 3.0?

Your help is very appreciated so thanks in advance

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sae 20 will be fine fawz I'm sure

why are you messing with the pinch bolts then...isnt there an oil drain bolt on your forks?

@airhead, after you drain the oil from the forks, don't you add the oil from the top by removing the pinch bolts?

And for the gearbox fluid, will the 10w-40 work just fine?

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yeah I'm sure 10w40 will be just fine for the gearbox

no...the pinch bolts are the ones that clamp the forks in the yokes...the clue is in the name. You fill through the fork cap bolts. Take care when removing them, they are under a little spring tension

Get a friend to hold a container close to the drain holes, pull on the front brake and pump the forks up and down until no more oil squirts out, thats the best and easiest way to drain them, just do one at a time and then replace the drain bolt ;)

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yeah I'm sure 10w40 will be just fine for the gearbox

no...the pinch bolts are the ones that clamp the forks in the yokes...the clue is in the name. You fill through the fork cap bolts. Take care when removing them, they are under a little spring tension

Get a friend to hold a container close to the drain holes, pull on the front brake and pump the forks up and down until no more oil squirts out, thats the best and easiest way to drain them, just do one at a time and then replace the drain bolt ;)

Looking at the diagrams in my service manual, it makes much more sense. I was looking at the correct place where the oil should be poured, its just that I mixed up the names for some reason! Thanks for your help Airhead, much appreciated. It some times upsets me that I don't know these things when in a year or 2 I will be studying engineering :icon_sad:

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Ohh one more thing, dont remove the fork cap bolts unless you have the bike on a stand under the engine, dont try this with the bike on it's side stand, or the front end will dive down and it will topple over!!

A bottle crate and some wood will do if you dont have a proper bike stand, try to have it so the front wheel is off the ground, maybe put a bag of sand (for example) on the back of the seat to lift the front

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Ohh one more thing, dont remove the fork cap bolts unless you have the bike on a stand under the engine, dont try this with the bike on it's side stand, or the front end will dive down and it will topple over!!

A bottle crate and some wood will do if you dont have a proper bike stand, try to have it so the front wheel is off the ground, maybe put a bag of sand (for example) on the back of the seat to lift the front

Thanks for the advice! Didn't know the either :eusa_doh: but after thinking about it, it seems obvious. Thanks airhead.

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And oh btw, I would like to know what you think about me not knowing what I should for being in this hobby, and is it cause I'm lacking something or cause I don't have the experience since its my first bike? I would like to know your opinion if possible :)

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we all have to learn stuff fawz, dont worry fella. Think about it...you said 'it seemed obvious' after what I had said. You just need to do some thinking for yourself, think about 'what might happen' if you dismantle things and that way you wont have any nasty surprises :thumb:

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we all have to learn stuff fawz, dont worry fella. Think about it...you said 'it seemed obvious' after what I had said. You just need to do some thinking for yourself, think about 'what might happen' if you dismantle things and that way you wont have any nasty surprises :thumb:

Hahah loved your description, just wanted to say, that one learns from his older brother ;)

Thanks for your help!

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I recently checked the oil level and condition in my gearbox on my '80 DT175, luckily the level perfectly fine which seems like there is no leak neither any blow by, right?

Now fawzie" since your gonna be an engineer, study the 2 stroke engine, the crankcase is separate from gearbox. the lubrication is done by oil/fuel mix for the crankbearings etc, and the gear oil, does gears and clutch, :rolleyes:

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@blackhat thanks for the explanation. So what I mentioned about blow by is irrelevant when speaking about gearbox leak for example? I'm asking because I read a question about a leaky gearbox and one of the answers mentioned a relationship to blow by.

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Holy shit, when i started with my first bike (remember that Dt50, anyone?) i had absolutely no idea!, took me a while to properly work the lcutch and gears!...

Now look at me 5 years later, i have more bikes than i care to count and a problem with dirnking and eBay :rolleyes:

Also, i feel it fair to mention, motorcycle engine oil is not the same as car oil!:

Car oil contains mobylene, this helps all the engine parts to slip and reduces friction which is good in a car engine wihhch has a dry clutch (i.e. there is no oil around the clutch mechanism)

but a bike such as yours will have a wet clutch, meaning that your clutch is constantly bathed in oil, if you use a car oil which has mobylene in it, this mobylene will get into your clutch plates and cause it to slip (because that is what the oil is designed to do in a car, reduce friction by making things slip), make sure you buy an oil that specifically says its 'motorbike use'

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Holy shit, when i started with my first bike (remember that Dt50, anyone?) i had absolutely no idea!, took me a while to properly work the lcutch and gears!...

Now look at me 5 years later, i have more bikes than i care to count and a problem with dirnking and eBay :rolleyes:

Also, i feel it fair to mention, motorcycle engine oil is not the same as car oil!:

Car oil contains mobylene, this helps all the engine parts to slip and reduces friction which is good in a car engine wihhch has a dry clutch (i.e. there is no oil around the clutch mechanism)

but a bike such as yours will have a wet clutch, meaning that your clutch is constantly bathed in oil, if you use a car oil which has mobylene in it, this mobylene will get into your clutch plates and cause it to slip (because that is what the oil is designed to do in a car, reduce friction by making things slip), make sure you buy an oil that specifically says its 'motorbike use'

@wildfoamy thanks for mentioning that, especially when on the front of oil bottle, it shows a piston and valves. I will try going to the gas station tomorrow and see if I can replace it with one for motorbike use. I wouldn't like the clutch slipping and stalling at unwanted times. I opened the bottle so I'm not sure if they would allow me to replace it

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