just changed the oil

[fordboy]

Hi everybody! Just changed the oil on our 1 year old craftsman pushmower. It took 20 oz. We put Rotella 30 weight oil in it (because we got it on sale). The oil we drained was the factory origional, dirty as heck.

Take a guess where the drain plug is..... It's under the mower by the blades!

Was that a good oil choice, or should I use something else next time?

Although the owners manuel says change it every year, should I change It twice because it only takes 20 oz?

 

[greenaccord02]

It was a fine choice for your climate. And you're right - that's where B&S puts their plugs. Remember to disconnect that spark plug wire if you like having fingers.

 

[fordboy]

Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
It was a fine choice for your climate. And you're right - that's where B&S puts their plugs. Remember to disconnect that spark plug wire if you like having fingers.


yes, we disconnected the spark plug.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: fordboy
Take a guess where the drain plug is..... It's under the mower by the blades!

Where the heck else would it be?? Actually it's rare to even have one on a pushmower. My older Honda doesn't have a drain plug. You tip it over on it's side and dump from the fill tube.

Joel

 

[fordboy]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: fordboy
Take a guess where the drain plug is..... It's under the mower by the blades!

Where the heck else would it be?? Actually it's rare to even have one on a pushmower. My older Honda doesn't have a drain plug. You tip it over on it's side and dump from the fill tube.

Joel


I figured it might be on the side at an angle, like my riding mower.

 

[hooligan24]

my craftsman mower manual says nothing about having a drain plug on it(even though it has one), it just says to tip the mower over on its side to drain the oil.

 

[fordboy]

Ours was in the manuel. Very easy to do. 20oz sure don't sound like enough to keep it running, but I guess it is!

 

[gd9704]

You done good. And you're right, they don't hold much oil. So your choice of a Heavy Duty oil was a good one!

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: fordboy
Hi everybody! Just changed the oil on our 1 year old craftsman pushmower. It took 20 oz. We put Rotella 30 weight oil in it (because we got it on sale). The oil we drained was the factory origional, dirty as heck.

Take a guess where the drain plug is..... It's under the mower by the blades!

Was that a good oil choice, or should I use something else next time?

Although the owners manuel says change it every year, should I change It twice because it only takes 20 oz?


Once a year is fine and you are using a great oil. My dads old B&S was used 4 hours a week for 10 years without changing the oil and it survived. It burns oil and has lower compression now but it still runs great so no worries...

 

[bretfraz]

Most B&S and Tecumseh engines have an 18-20 oz sump, so you dumped in the correct amount of oil. Rotella T is fine; I run their 5W-40 in my mower. Change it every 25 hours of use and you'll be good to go.

The Briggs and Tecumseh's I've worked on all had drain plugs in the bottom of their engines. I use a 3/8" socket extension to remove the plug. My current Toro has a belt driven rear wheel drive mechanism, and the belt guard needs to be removed before draining the oil. Not a big deal but more work involved. I've never seen a drain plug on a Honda mower engine; always need to tip them over to drain.

 

[saskman]

Im running amsoil in my lawn mower. I changed it last year and checked it this spring and was pretty much still clear as new oil. Mind you i use the lawn mower once a week in the summer months. Thinking about changing the oil this week.

 

[FZ1]

Yes,I change mine 2x per year in July and November after last mow.

 

[GMFan]

I change the oil once a year on our 12yr old B&S engine Lawnboy.

It gets ~30hrs a year on it, and I change the oil with Castrol HD 30W. It takes 1/2 quart.

 

[CharlieJ]

I bought this http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95468 a couple weeks ago to change the oil in my B&S engined mower. It works great, made changing the oil quick and easy.

 

[lars11]

What is the expected, engineering, life for a consumer B&S? Just figured out that we run ours for only like 12-15 hours a year. Can I expect to use it for 50 years?

 

[ARB1977]

Ive been using Amsoil Small Engine 10W30/30W for the last 1.5 years...great stuff.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: CharlieJ
I bought this http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95468 a couple weeks ago to change the oil in my B&S engined mower. It works great, made changing the oil quick and easy.

Hmm... I wonder if I could use the big MityVac I use for my car.

As for oil, I just picked up some Pennzoil HD30... planning to use that after I dump the factory oil in the mower.

 

[MI_Roger]

Originally Posted By: lars11
What is the expected, engineering, life for a consumer B&S? Just figured out that we run ours for only like 12-15 hours a year. Can I expect to use it for 50 years?

Don't plan on the engine lasting that long. I bought a Bolens mulching mower years ago, back when they were a premium grade mower, with a B&S vertical shaft engine that had a horizontal PTO shaft for the front-wheel-drive.

After about 10 years the engine ate a piston ring. This was with annual oil changes too. A new short block was not available for that syle of engine, and a conversion kit to add the PTO shaft to the standard service part short block would have cost more than the original mower. Just for the parts!

I learned my lesson. I only buy cheap mowers now. Take reasonable care of them and they will last 10 years or so, as long as the premium Bolens with the special B&S engine did.

 

[sparkplug]

I change the oil in our mowers twice a year. 20w50 in our old JD and 10w40 in everything else.

 

[ZJohnson]

Of course it was a great choice - i told you to use it !