Bolens tiller with b&s engine

[pdxglocker9mm]

I purchased a tiller off craigslist
A older front tine tiller
Bolens 21A-250H765
It has a B&S motor
It was 50 bucks
It works and is not too big so it works in my garden.
My only problems is I cant seem to find what oil is in the lower drive unit.
I looked on MTD's website and it says "filled for life" consult authorized repair agent.
I just want to drain and refill. Anyone actually know what fluid is in there? 80w90?
Its probably 12+ years old and i just wanna change it this one time then for the next ten years it will get 2 hours use per year.
Thanks

 

[gman2304]

For $50 unless it's noisy or leaking I wouldn't worry about it considering the couple of hours each year you'll use it.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Who is your local Bolens dealer?

 

[mattwithcats]

If adding only a few ounces of gear oil,
use API rated GL-4 or GL-5 gear oil
having a viscosity of SAE 140, SAE 85W-140 or SAE 80W-90.

If refilling an empty trans-mission,
use only GL-4 gear oil
having a viscosity of SAE 85W-140 or SAE 140

 

[Lubener]

I have a real old Bolens Mustang tiller which has a slow gear box leak and I have always used 80w90 or 85w-140. Whatever I had on hand.

 

[Linctex]

If it still holds oil, then follow mattwithcats advice.

If it leaks oil pretty bad, add something thick like STP to the mix

 

[mk378]

If it's been stored outside there is likely water in the gearbox, which would warrant changing the oil. Get a sample of what's in there if it's milky that's water contamination.

 

[mk378]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Who is your local Bolens dealer?

Bolens was bought by MTD. They sell basically the same machine under different brands. These were usually sold by big box stores rather than dealers.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by mk378
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Who is your local Bolens dealer?

Bolens was bought by MTD. They sell basically the same machine under different brands. These were usually sold by big box stores rather than dealers.


That's too bad because those people at Big Box store are basically clueless.