Swapping oils

Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper

Member
Sooo... We've made a little bit of a jump into the 206 world. I was able to pick up a used 206 for us to use at our local sprint track (and maybe road race).

After having a few issues getting the MaX-Torque fun kart clutch off the crank and cleaning up the engine, I have a question for the 206 crowd. Unfortunately, I do not know what oil was used in the motor. I'm planning to run 4T. Is there anything I should do (or an oil I should use) before our first track day to swap / purge what was in the crankcase ?
 
Do not flush with anything.
Put your new oil in, run the motor on the stand until hot and drain. Refill and go race.
I changed oil brands 3 times last year on our clones and FH with zero issues.
 
Personally, I wouldn't take the chance of not flushing it.
We have 7 L206 shortblocks here in the shop currently with holes in the front of the block all due to oil incompatibility issues (some going to 4T and some coming from 4T from another brand.)
Granted, that's over many years and many hundreds if not thousands of L206s, but it IS a reality just the same.

Flushing out the crankcase with mineral spirits (parts cleaner) takes only minutes and won't hurt a thing.
You can use acetone and/or brake clean to get the crankcase to dry quicker if you'd like.
Pour in fresh 4T oil and run til it's hot, then drain.
Pour in fresh 4T and go race.

FWIW, we flush EVERY L206 crankcase that comes through our shop for a rebuild (just in case) and dyno with the oil that the customer will be racing with.

-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
Personally, I wouldn't take the chance of not flushing it.
We have 7 L206 shortblocks here in the shop currently with holes in the front of the block all due to oil incompatibility issues (some going to 4T and some coming from 4T from another brand.)
Granted, that's over many years and many hundreds if not thousands of L206s, but it IS a reality just the same.

Flushing out the crankcase with mineral spirits (parts cleaner) takes only minutes and won't hurt a thing.
You can use acetone and/or brake clean to get the crankcase to dry quicker if you'd like.
Pour in fresh 4T oil and run til it's hot, then drain.
Pour in fresh 4T and go race.

FWIW, we flush EVERY L206 crankcase that comes through our shop for a rebuild (just in case) and dyno with the oil that the customer will be racing with.

-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
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Do you have a certain method to flushing that you use? Is there a certain amount of mineral spirits that you put in or amount of time you leave it in?

When you switch to 4T the first time is it ok to just run it on the stand until it's hot and then drain?
 
flattop1 said:
Good question to ask an amsoil rep .
Will you gaurentee my rod won't seize ?
When i switch oils ?
Click to expand...
The Amsoil tech department has been less than helpful (to say the least.) Even as an Amsoil direct dealer, I have not been impressed one bit with their tech support. They will guarantee nothing (same as any other oil company in that regard.) They make a great product (at least the 4T that we are familiar with) but know less about their oil (and incompatibility issues in our application) than most of us in the field do.
 
CarchidiN06 said:
Do you have a certain method to flushing that you use? Is there a certain amount of mineral spirits that you put in or amount of time you leave it in?

When you switch to 4T the first time is it ok to just run it on the stand until it's hot and then drain?
Click to expand...

Fill the crankcase with 16 ounces of mineral spirits and shake the living snot out of the engine (upside down, up and down, back and forth, whatever it takes.) Then drain.
We use a parts washer and rinse clean mineral spirits through the fill plug and drain plugs before we let it dry.
If you need it to dry quicker, you can use a splash of acetone or brake clean -- just be sure to fill with oil as soon as it's dry (otherwise rust can set in.)

Yes, you can run the engine on a stand. I prefer to have the engine under some load on the dyno, but you can do it on your kart on the ground as well. Get the engine warm, then drain the 4T while it's warm. Refill with fresh 4T and you're ready to race.
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
Fill the crankcase with 16 ounces of mineral spirits and shake the living snot out of the engine (upside down, up and down, back and forth, whatever it takes.) Then drain.
We use a parts washer and rinse clean mineral spirits through the fill plug and drain plugs before we let it dry.
If you need it to dry quicker, you can use a splash of acetone or brake clean -- just be sure to fill with oil as soon as it's dry (otherwise rust can set in.)

Yes, you can run the engine on a stand. I prefer to have the engine under some load on the dyno, but you can do it on your kart on the ground as well. Get the engine warm, then drain the 4T while it's warm. Refill with fresh 4T and you're ready to race.
Click to expand...
Thanks Brian! I will give it a shot.
 
The only time I lost an engine after I changed oils was when I flushed with mineral spirits. Was it related? I really do not know, but any other time I all I did was change the oil, run it for a short time and change again. Lubrication failure most always shows up in the big end of the rod. I would make sure that any oil that was removed from there, by flushing was replaced before starting. Perhaps by letting it soak in the new oil while at BDC and turning the motor by hand before starting.
 
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Even if lack of lubrication happens for only a moment or two, if metal is transferred off of the rod (or bearing) to the crank, catastrophic failure will happen.
 
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