Fresh Purchase and question about Intek 20hp V-Twin OHV

BAJA_05

BAJA_05

Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
2,900
Location
Berks County/Pa.
Friend of mine from work is downsizing and moving into a development where he no longer needs his John Deere Zero Turn with the Intek 20 horsepower V-Twin OHV with 179 hours on it for $1200.00. Gave him the cash today at work and he is dropping it off at my house tomorrow. Anyways --- I have a full quart of Castrol Syntec 5W50 on a shelf in the garage and wondering if I could use that oil for this motor? What oil would the good BITOG people use/recommend for my new lawn cruiser???

Ps. Hope everybody has a great/safe weekend!!!!

Dale
 
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What size is the deck? My neighbors farm uses the same motor on probably the same model deere zero turn. They have always abused it for its entire 500 hour life. Oil gets changed when someone actually cares to do it (once every three year) and when it was cutting like crap I looked at the blades, they were worn down circular pieces of metal that resembled wooden dowels. Their mower had been abused badly, and it still runs like a top.
 
My Deere takes 10w-30 conventional, and I just run it. Yours is probably spec'd for 5w-30 if its the same as my neighbors. I'd just choose some conventional or semi-synth oil and run it. Just change it every fall and you'll be fine. If you were my friend however, you'd put in M1 10w-30 and change it twice a season. Seriously, he has issues.
 
HankHill said:
What size is the deck? My neighbors farm uses the same motor on probably the same model deere zero turn. They have always abused it for its entire 500 hour life. Oil gets changed when someone actually cares to do it (once every three year) and when it was cutting like crap I looked at the blades, they were worn down circular pieces of metal that resembled wooden dowels. Their mower had been abused badly, and it still runs like a top.
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Its a 42 inch deck. I also have multiple gallons of Rotella T6 Multi Vehicle 5W30 in the garage.
 
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BAJA_05 said:
Its a 42 inch deck. I also have multiple gallons of Rotella T6 Multi Vehicle 5W30 in the garage.
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Run the Rotella! Change the oil filer every year, I just use the OEM filters on mine. 42 inch deck, hell I've a 48" and I still think its too small, always looking for a cheap used 54". Neighbors Deere also has a 48", which is without a doubt smaller for the mowing they do.
If you get the Deere bug, and if you want a bigger deck based on your needs, find out what size decks can be installed on your mower and find a used one to swap. I would recommend rebuilding the used deck before use, the spindle units are relatively cheap and its not that bad to swap them out. My mower with 500 hrs on it has kind of loose spindles. I replaced them while the deck was removed and the vibrations when the mower was engaged was significantly better than before, much better.
I'm not knocking a 42" deck, I'm just saying that it would be very undersized for my mowers use.
 
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B&S still recommends SAE 30 HD for temperatures above 40 degrees. Synthetic 5w-30 is recommended for lower temperatures and is acceptable for higher temperatures, but you need to keep a close eye on the oil level because the engine will use quite a bit more of it. I would NOT recommend using 5w-50 and B&S does not mention it in their oil charts.
 
wag123 said:
B&S still recommends SAE 30 HD for temperatures above 40 degrees. Synthetic 5w-30 is recommended for lower temperatures and is acceptable for higher temperatures, but you need to keep a close eye on the oil level because the engine will use quite a bit more of it. I would NOT recommend using 5w-50 and B&S does not mention it in their oil charts.
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According to the chart on this page: https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/support/faqs/browse/mower-oil-type-and-capacity.html

Briggs recommends synthetic 5W-30 for all temperatures below 100F.

And they say:

  • Synthetic SAE 5W-30- Best protection at all temperatures as well as improved starting with less oil consumption.
I use Mobil 1 5W-30 in my riding mower with a Powerbuilt engine and it uses no oil.
 
Anything that resembles engine oil will work just fine. 5w30, 5w50, etc. I tend to use a HDEO like 15w40, but keeping the oil full and changed at the appropriate interval is more important than the viscosity with these engines.
 
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