5 Hour first change?

[92saturnsl2]

My new Troy-Bilt push power with the Honda GCV160 recommends the first change at 5 hours. I'm probably near that mark or slightly past, but the oil looks new still-- A light amber color.

I used Havoline Deposit Shield 10w30 instead of the bundled 20 oz. generic oil. How necessary is it to change the oil this soon?

 

[ThirdeYe]

Probably not necessary... we have the same motor in our TroyBilt and I don't think we changed it the first time until an entire season of use. It does stay a very golden color in that motor I've noticed.

 

[boraticus]

The reason for the five hour change is to remove any machining particulate that might be suspended in the oil. I recommend that you do so despite the fact that the oil looks new. Chances are that the oil presently in the machine will not be as good a quality with what you will put in.

 

[kcfx4]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
The reason for the five hour change is to remove any machining particulate that might be suspended in the oil. I recommend that you do so despite the fact that the oil looks new.

holy cow borticus, i agree w/ya (only on this)

 

[jdh]

+1

 

[JTK]

I believe the 5hr first oil change recommendation is pretty much across the board with all air cooled OPE. Not sure about liquid cooled or diesel.

Joel

 

[greenaccord02]

Yeah, change it.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: JTK
I believe the 5hr first oil change recommendation is pretty much across the board with all air cooled OPE. Not sure about liquid cooled or diesel.

Joel


Pretty much every engine I've owned, liquid cooled, diesel, OPE, auto, motorcycle etc. has required a fairly quick first oil change.

 

[kcfx4]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: JTK
I believe the 5hr first oil change recommendation is pretty much across the board with all air cooled OPE. Not sure about liquid cooled or diesel.

Joel


Pretty much every engine I've owned, liquid cooled, diesel, OPE, auto, motorcycle etc. has required a fairly quick first oil change.

+1! 500 miles max on first auto change for me

 

[Virtuoso]

I would change it also.

 

[SuperDave456]

Bought a new Toro last year.

After I mowed the lawn 2x the oil looked new on the dipstick.
I drained it anyway. The first stuff to drain out looked new, then towards the bottom it was a silver slurry. Very fine particles, almost grey paint came out.
A few weeks later after I had mowed the lawn another 2x, while the engine was still hot I drained it again. Same story, but a little better.
Changed it a 3rd time at the end of the season, looked much better, but still some stuff in the oil.

Change it out early if it doesn't have an oil filter. Splash lubricated air cooled engines are very tough, but they can be made to last longer, with more power, if you change the oil regularly.

 

[VNTS]

Change it and throw the generic stuff in to use it up. Change it again in a few more hours.

Better to change it too much when new to get the [censored] out.

 

[demarpaint]

Change it out, I've seen lots of metal come out of new engines, better safe than sorry. In fact I would do two or three 5 hour oil changes, then follow the OM. My small engines hold about 22 ounces of oil, so it is really not a big expense.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: JTK
I believe the 5hr first oil change recommendation is pretty much across the board with all air cooled OPE. Not sure about liquid cooled or diesel.

Joel


Pretty much every engine I've owned, liquid cooled, diesel, OPE, auto, motorcycle etc. has required a fairly quick first oil change.

+1! 500 miles max on first auto change for me


Understood. I was referring to OPE.

 

[punisher]

I changed the oil in my GCV160 at 1 hour. Even Hondas have glitter on those first oil changes.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Bought a new Toro last year.

After I mowed the lawn 2x the oil looked new on the dipstick.
I drained it anyway. The first stuff to drain out looked new, then towards the bottom it was a silver slurry. Very fine particles, almost grey paint came out.


Same with mine.

 

[Bror Jace]

For OPE without an oil filter, I change oil the 1st time at about the 1.5-2.0 hour mark. Like stated previously, the oil comes out looking like silver soup. My 2nd change is at about the 5 hour mark ... with the oil looking better but still showing plenty of visible debris.

3rd change is at about the 10 hour mark. Again, there is usually some visible bits if you look closely enough ... but the oil actually looks like a lubricant and not some horrific abrasive slurry.

All during this time, I am using a top oil of some sort: 2-stroke oil, Lucas UCL, MMO, etc ... in just about every other tank of fuel.

I know these simple OPE engines will give long life without this extra care ... but these efforts are cheap (some time and an extra $3-6 depending, depending ...) and usually produces an exceptionally tight, smooth running engine that will give you maximum service life. My engines do not consume oil ... even when using relatively thin synthetics for extended intervals.

 

[FZ1]

Dump it. I run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10-30 in my Honda lawnmower. Change it 2x per year.

 

[Jaymus]

My John Deere called for 10 hours before the first oil change. I changed it after 5 hours. IT has a filter, but it never mentions when to change it, but I'll probably change it every time to every other time. It was green oil when it came out. Not the green from grass.. but I think it was that green John Deere oil that they use. I run Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 in it now with a Purolator filter someone cross referenced for me. Fits perfectly and is over and is quite a bit longer. I'm happy.

 

[The_Jeff]

Also got the silver soup. Wonder if they bother with break-in "cam lube" paste on important surfaces.

I use the starter 20 oz bottle 1) to get rid of it, 2) if I have to warranty it due to "infant mortality" it will cut down on the questioning, 3) because it would look funny on my shelf and 4) it might have a little "something-something" (lots o' zinc) they don't put in SM auto oils, even 30 weight.