Grease fitting...what's that???

[deeter16317]

I was at a friend's place over the weekend...he gave me a non-running Craftsman LT1000 with an 18HP B&S. He stated it just wouldn't start (although it "tried")...but that's another story.

Meanwhile he has a new Husquvarna sitting there...25HP, nice looking machine for the toys they call lawn tractors today (my main mower is a 1967 Gravely C10a). He told me the steering was "tight" and his son hated to mow with it because of that...I looked at it and asked him if he had greased it lately, noting several grease fitting on the steering and mower deck. He looked puzzled and said "grease, the oil looks fine?" And don't get me wrong, he's not a mechanical-minded person like some...he didn't even know what the grease fittings were for (none of the salesmen or techs ever mentioned it). So I took my standby grease gun and pumped some some Lucas into things (its all I could find at the time, I never use this gun).

It loosened things up considerably...I would hazard a guess that those steering components weren't even greased at the factory and were intended to be greased at the point of sale by the service tech...it obviously never happened, the zerks were actually painted shut.

Forward to this LT1000 he gave me...it had been "serviced" several times by Sears, and it was quite obvious it had never had a grease gun placed on its zerk fittings either (and that is a "qualified" person doing the maintenance!!!).

So I'm going to show him where/how to grease it, and how to change the oil/filter this week...so he can avoid paying a service fee for a (non) broken mower. I assume 15w40 Rotella will work in one of these pressurized Kohlers???

 

[TLAR640]

Originally Posted By: deeter16317
So I'm going to show him where/how to grease it, and how to change the oil/filter this week...so he can avoid paying a service fee for a (non) broken mower. I assume 15w40 Rotella will work in one of these pressurized Kohlers???

As I recall, Kohlers specifically recommend 10w30, something about the valves, I think.

 

[deeter16317]

Yep...10w30 is spec'd because of hydraulic lifters.

Did a little research after posting this...got to find some 10w30 Rotella.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: deeter16317
Yep...10w30 is spec'd because of hydraulic lifters.

Did a little research after posting this...got to find some 10w30 Rotella.


To add to this, many of the Zerks on lower end OPE are press-in style as well. You need to be careful when pulling off the grease gun that you don't pull out the zerk. Not a huge deal if you do. Clean the area, apply some Loctite to the zerk, tap it in with a socket and peen the base if you wish. Lots of lawn/garden tractors have 'hidden' zerks around the steering gear area as well. Look carefully for those if no manual is handy.

5w or 15w40 work perfectly in Kohler Command series. I've used it for years now on mine. Yes they have hydraulic lash adjusters like a Chevy small block, but there's nothing magical about them that makes 10w30 a necessity.

Joel

 

[deeter16317]

Hmmm, that's what I suspected...they probably have a range and weight of oil now because they need to satisfy emissions??

I have two choices then (of what I have on hand): 15w40 Rotella or 5w40 Schaeffers Series 9000. Which do you think I should use? I'm thinking for the relatively short changes and hot-weather use; either should work, but Rotella would be more cost effective? He only uses it in Summer.

 

[deeter16317]

I'm glad to report that his son is now very happy to mow the yard!

I will hazard a guess that these newer tractors destined for the big retailers are shipped "dry" to prevent leaking/dripping/puking lubricants on the showroom floor?? Every fitting on that tractor was dry and painted over, and there was absolutely no lube (even white grease) on any moving part.

If you buy a new tractor, make sure its been lubricated before the first use...

 

[jdh]

i would use the rotella and save the shaeffers for the cummins as it would be able to do a longer interval in the truck vs the rotella. i switched all my ope over to 10-30 rotella and couldnt be happier much quieter and does not burn off as much as pcmo.

 

[motorcity]

I run Mobil 15w40 in my 27hp Kohler. Those bigger Kohlers tend to have alot of valvetrain clatter, with 10w30. Was was running Rotella 5w-40, and switched to the Delvac and my engine clatter was reduced quite a bit.