Lubricants; Engine Oil - Polaris 1999 Sportsman 400 Service Manual

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callcd selective circlips. Circl ips sho uld bc rep laced
during installation. as removal weakens and de-
forms them .
Two basic styles ofcirclips are ava ilable: mac hined
and stamped circlips. Machined circlips (F igure 7)
can be installed in either direction (shaft or housing)
because both faces are machined. thus creating two
sharp edges. Stamped eircl ips (Figure 8 ) are manu-
factured with one sharp edge and one rounded edge.
When installing stamped circlips in a thrust situation
as on transmission shafts. the sharp edge must face
away from the part producing the thrust. When install-
ing circlips, observe the followin g:
I.
Co mpress or expand circli ps only eno ug h to in-
sta ll them .
2. After the circlip is installed, make sure
it
is com-
pletely seated within its groove.
3. Transmission circlips become
W Ont
with lise anti
increase side play. Forthis reason. always install new
circlips
whenever
a transmission is reassembled.
9
L UBRICANTS
Periodi c lub rication assures lon g Iifc for any type
of equipme nt. Th e type of lubricant used is just as
important as the lubrication service itself, although
in an emergency the wrong type of lubricant is
beller than non e at all. The followin g para graphs
describe the type s of lubricants most often used for
ATVs. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's recom-
mendations for lubricant types.
Genera lly a ll liquid lubricants are ca lled oil. Th ey
may be mineral-based (includi ng petroleum bases) ,
natural-based (vege table and animal bas es). syn -
thetic-based or emu lsio ns (mix tures ). G rease is oil
to which a thickening base has been add ed so that
the end prod uct is se mi-solid. Grease is often classi-
fied by the type ofthiekcner added; lithium soa p is
commonly
used ,
Engine Oil
Engi ne oi l is classifi ed by two standards: the
American Petroleum Institute (API) service classi-
fication and the Society of Au tomotive Eng ineers
(SA E) viscos ity rating. Th is informat ion is on the
oil co ntainer label. Two leiters indica te the A PI ser-
vice
c lassification.
The number or sequence of
numbers and leiter ( IOW-4 0 for exa mple} is the oil's
viscosity rating. The API service classification and
the SAE viscosity index are not indications of oil
qu ality.
Th e service classification indicates that the oil
meets specific lubri cation standards. The first leiter
in the c lassification S indicates that the oil is for ga s-
olin e eng ines . The sec o nd leiter indicates the stan -
dard the oil satisfies . Th e classifi cat ion started with
the leite r A a nd is current ly at the lette r 1.
Always lise an oil wit h a classification recom-
mended by the manufacturer. Using an
oil with
a
classification different than that recommended can
cause engine damage.
Viscos ity is an indication of the oil's thickness.
Thin oils ha ve a lower number whil e thick oils have
a higher number. Engine oils fall into the 5-
to
50- we ight range for sing le-g rade oils.
Most manufacturers recommend multigrade oil.
These oils perform efficiently across a wide range
of operating conditions. Multigrade oil s are identi-
fied by a
IV after
the first number, whic h indicates
the
low -temperature
viscosity.