Onan Generator Oil Change

[patsikes]

So today I decided to change the oil on our Onan Marquis Gold 5500 generator in our new to us Damon Challenger. Was pretty easy to do!

I bought oil land of new oil filter at Napa. Went through the process of draining, removing the filter, putting the new filter on adding the oil which took a really long time to add 2 quarts of oil and now it's running great.

Been having issues with surging with even one AC. After warming up for about 10 minutes I turned the first AC on and it was running perfect. 10 minutes later turn the second AC on and it surged ever 20-30 seconds for about five minutes but it's been running for 15 now perfect. I hope that surging issue was fixed otherwise will have to look at fuel filters and lines etc.

Only major issue I saw, with 200 hours on the generator there was only 1 quart of oil left when I drained! Wish I would've done that sooner before I ran about 10 hours over the last couple trips were taken! Yikes!!!

[vsheetz]

Oil and filter change for my Onan Marquis Gold 5500 is on the to-do list for my Sunday. Coach needs a bath too. Also stuff to do if one has a MH...

[Selah]

Wow, only one quart left. My Onan 7k on my previous MH shut down when only 1/4 to 1/3 low. Simply shut down going down the road. Add new oil and was fine after that. I thought they all might be that sensitive, guess not.

[dabrooks]

My 7000 is also sensitive. It shuts down when 1/4 to 1/3 low.

[patsikes]

I had heard that they will shutdown on low oil and heat, should I be worried?

What's funny is I had checked the oil level in the genset when we bought the coach. Oil was on the stick but it was down on the "Add" side so I knew it needed oil but I figured it would be fine until I changed it. However, I don't think I actually wiped the stick and re-tested.

It is weird how the oil moves in the system as well. When I was refilling yesterday, I got the two quarts in, ran the generator for about one minute and then stopped and pulled the dip-stick. You could see no oil in that tiny little reservoir and then the oil started pooling back up in there.

So based on how little oil was left (and how gunky it was because there was so little) do you think I should change it again (maybe after our TN trip in two weeks)?

[Arch Hoagland]

At least once a year I add 5 cans of Seafoam to my gas tank just before a trip and then I make sure to run my Onan 5500 for an hour or so while we're on the road to clean out the fuel system on it.

[patsikes]

Good tip. Thanks.

[ozzy Larsen]

As a brand new owner of an older A class "2000 Coachman" I did change the oil in the Onan 5500 gold today. The owners manual states that it takes 2 quarts of oil, however after a looong time draining itself I was only able to fill it with just over 1 quart of oil before the dip stick indicated full. Is there a "trick" that you have encountered to completely drain the oil? I changed filter as well. Thanks

[charliej]

Originally Posted by ozzy Larsen

As a brand new owner of an older A class "2000 Coachman" I did change the oil in the Onan 5500 gold today. The owners manual states that it takes 2 quarts of oil, however after a looong time draining itself I was only able to fill it with just over 1 quart of oil before the dip stick indicated full. Is there a "trick" that you have encountered to completely drain the oil? I changed filter as well. Thanks

Did you run it a little then turn it off and check it again?

[cc8375]

Originally Posted by patsikes

So today I decided to change the oil on our Onan Marquis Gold 5500 generator in our new to us Damon Challenger. Was pretty easy to do!

I bought oil land of new oil filter at Napa. Went through the process of draining, removing the filter, putting the new filter on adding the oil which took a really long time to add 2 quarts of oil and now it's running great.

Been having issues with surging with even one AC. After warming up for about 10 minutes I turned the first AC on and it was running perfect. 10 minutes later turn the second AC on and it surged ever 20-30 seconds for about five minutes but it's been running for 15 now perfect. I hope that surging issue was fixed otherwise will have to look at fuel filters and lines etc.

Only major issue I saw, with 200 hours on the generator there was only 1 quart of oil left when I drained! Wish I would've done that sooner before I ran about 10 hours over the last couple trips were taken! Yikes!!!

Suggest getting in a habit of checking your ONAN oil level every 8hrs of operation. It appears the low level oil shut down is not working.

[cc8375]

The Onan will Take 2 Quarts..... it is a slow fill. Here is one tip. Fill the filter some with oil.

Onan Marquis Gold 5500 Oil Change | SikesCentral.com

[ozzy Larsen]

Charliej; I did run it for a minute and added a little afterwards. I will run it again for a little longer this week to see if it makes a difference. Thank you for the tip

[patsikes]

Mine took the full 2 quarts. It was just really slow to add. Put in a little then wait for it to flow out of the little tank where the dipstick sits.....

[Fred and Bonnie]

Originally Posted by patsikes

Mine took the full 2 quarts. It was just really slow to add. Put in a little then wait for it to flow out of the little tank where the dipstick sits.....

Yep, Very Slow filling the second quart, kind of "get a chair and wait" slow.

Fred