Anyone permanently removed Quietech skid plate / shield?
 

Just purchased a 2018 Quietech and found that these have a lower shield as part of the "quiet" package. It has to be removed to change the oil, etc. A lot of work for such a simple task. Would like to know if anyone has removed theirs permanently and what effect did it have on noise as well as operation of the cart. I don't know if this will affect engine cooling, exhaust fumes in the cab, etc.

No, I did not remove the shield. Seems like a LOT of work just to change the oil. I bought an oil extractor on Amazon, for ten or twelve dollars, which works perfectly. Just put the extractor's plastic tube down the dipstick hole to the bottom and suck out the oil with a plunger. Your Yamaha takes 1 quart of 10W30, so it's easy to tell if you got all the old oil. I change my oil annually for less than $10.00.

I've heard about extractors but I've also heard that they don't get out any of the shavings that may be in the pan. What have you noticed?

If the shavings can be stirred up and suspended in the oil then they would be extracted with the oil.

If the shavings are stuck to the bottom and cannot be stirred up then they would be stuck to the bottom and out of any moving parts anyway.

IF any shavings had settled right at the drain plug then they might come out with the plug or with the first bit of oil.

I'm sticking with the extractor rather than jacks and stands and plates and pans.

Which extractor do you have? And how do you keep the hoses from making a mess after using it?

Every airplane I've owned has a magnetic oil plug, which will catch the "shavings" (which are then sent for analysis). Likely available for your oil resevoir.

I'll have to look but came from a local auto store.

I drain the hoses the best that I can then coil them and put them into a ziplock. If I'm careful, I can coil them so the open ends are pointing the same way and I can store the ziplock so the ends are up. Very little mess.

I’d recommend leaving the skid plate on, it covers the low hanging muffler to protect it and dampens the exhaust noise. Taking it on and off adds about 10 minutes to an oil change, which only needs to be done about every 100 hours of driving if you use a quality synthetic oil.

Do you jack the cart up to take it off? How much does the plate weigh? May be too difficult to hold up and put screws back in for 1 person. How bad is it?

Now I’m curious, my owners manual calls for 10-w-30 at temp range of 10-70 degrees F and 10-w-40 for temp range of 10-110 degrees F. I am getting ready to change mine very soon and would like to know what is everyone’s choice of oil and weight?

My Yamaha manual specifies 10W-30.

This is all I’ve ever used

My owner's manual (2014) specifies 10W-30. This means I can use 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30. I am generally running Mobil-1 5W-30.

Doesn’t have to be removed; I found a device on Amazon that removes the old oil from the oil fill tube.

What is the make and year of your cart? I have a 2014 and 2018 Yamaha and both manuals only list 10W30.