This engine is on my Craftsman 2800 PSI pressure washer. Being somewhat skeptical of "never change oil engines" this is my 2nd oil change. It is mainly used to clean my gutters twice a year, not a lot of use. The Briggs factory oil came out rather silvery with swirls of silver matter after around 5 hours of use. I refilled with STP SAE 30 HD from Autozone. This time it didn't didn't have swirls of silvery matter, same 5 hours of use, BUT there are lots of tiny specs of silver in the oil. And it looks opaque grey/green. I tried attaching the picture of the oil but "Bob" is not allowing it, keep getting a sorry message. I've attached previously from my Dropbox without issues. I like a lot of life out of my equipment so I'll continue to change the oil.
163 cc Briggs never change oil engine.
- Thread starter Whimsey
- Start date
Scares me I had a mower with this engine I always placed a plastic bag under the fuel cap and poured the oil out. Just seen this oil last night at Lowe’s.
To be fair, most people never change the oil on those things anyway, even before they said no oil changes required 
I wouldn't worry. I have a Honda i changed at 30 minutes and then 5 hours. The last change I did was at 28 hours. It still had a slight slight amount of metal in it. Not enough to see on camera but enough to see in person.
I turned it over and got all 16 oz of oil out and no fuel spilled. It was easy to do but at 72 it's becoming more challenging though. Maybe next time I'll suck the oil out and measure how much comes out that way.
16 oz may be a completely empty sump but a drain & refill may be closer to 12 oz. I just did seasonally before switching over to the volt world
same engine on a mower purchased last year...did a few early changes and the silvery, sparkly mess that more closely resembled silver paint than oil made me glad for the oil changes. Easy tip and drain, just like my last Toro with a Tecumseh.
My younger sister lives alone in my first house on 1/3 acre and has a Cub Cadet mower with a 160cc Honda engine. I changed out the oil to SuperTech 10W30 20,000 mile oil. I cleaned the deck and sharpened the blade. The mower starts, cuts the grass and that's all she cares. The mower deck will probably rot around the engine. I'm done working on it.
That's from mowing wet grass. you can chisel off a regular mower in 5min with a grassbuster.
its a rounded edge flexible scraper about $10
That deck is hideous so maybe 10min.
Takes somewhat longer on 50"or larger tractor decks.
But back on the subject I'd do one or 2 early changes then yearly assuming you dont mow a huge yard with it.
its a rounded edge flexible scraper about $10
That deck is hideous so maybe 10min.
Takes somewhat longer on 50"or larger tractor decks.
But back on the subject I'd do one or 2 early changes then yearly assuming you dont mow a huge yard with it.
Change it anyway. Run it out of fuel, turn it on its side on a ramp, or something higher that the oil pan. Let it run out of the filler tube.
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2023
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- 331
that's what I did when I had a mower with no drain plug. Tip me over and pour me out.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
I get the push mower or pressure washer hot. Raise one side on a piece of 2x6 with the dipstick downhill. Suck it out with my oil extractor. No spills, no mess, no gas leaks, no lifting.
Mine has looked like that for 20 years and it still runs and the deck rotted yetMy younger sister lives alone in my first house on 1/3 acre and has a Cub Cadet mower with a 160cc Honda engine. I changed out the oil to SuperTech 10W30 20,000 mile oil. I cleaned the deck and sharpened the blade. The mower starts, cuts the grass and that's all she cares. The mower deck will probably rot around the engine. I'm done working on it.
It's just more marketing. "Look, our mower needs less maintenance than the one on the shelf next to it" is all it is. Ironically people who don't want to maintain small engines are buying battery equipment. Those who want gas are buying gas.
My Honda GCV160 motor had a bunch of silver glitter in it after the first hour. I did a few more oil changes every 5 hours or so until the glitter stopped later that first summer, then went to annual changes for a few years. For the past 16 years I've changed it every couple of years and it still drains pretty clean. 22 years and still running strong.
To change, I just tip the mower on its side and let it drain into an oil pan.
