late 80s/early 90s Sears/Tecumseh Eager-1 w/ M1 5W-30?

[metroplex]

The manual calls for SAE 30 or 10W-30, but I've got some M1 5W-30 left over and decided to use that... now that I have to mow a MUCH larger property.. that push mower has to take all that abuse.

Would m1 5w-30 be too thin for this engine? I'm not too familiar with its design/construction.

 

[matthewd]

I wouldn't use 5W-30, but I'm pretty much of a by-the-book type guy. I have one of these mowers and it gets a lot of use. I change the oil twice a year using automotive 30W oil - whatever brand is cheapest. 14 years and never any problems with the engine. If you want to use synthetic, I would go with a 30W or 10W-30.

 

[SteveD2]

Just for one oil change I wouldn't worry about it. Don't make a habbit of using 5w30. I think that's too much of a spread for an air cooled engine, but again, for one oil change, you should be fine.

 

[james1]

I have this engine on a craftsman mulching mower. I used to put regular Pennzoil 5W-30 in it, then upgraded to Pennzoil Synthetic 5W-30, then used Mobil 1 5W-30 (all pre-BITOG days). It's probably not too hard to figure out what I was running in my cars.

Anyway, that mower just received its first straight 30wt. oil, but it is still kicking after 12 years of 5W-30.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

My mower has been getting a circus blend of whatever synthetics I have lying around.

Right now it is a 50-50 blend of mobil 1 5w30 and 10w30. It doesn't seem to consume any oil, so I imagine that the 5w30 doesn't hurt anything. It's a B&S engine though.......not that it probably matters.

 

[Jelly]

Since coming to this board and reading a few books on the subject, I've now converted all our (my families) lawn care equipment and four-stroke small engines over to Pennzoil Long-Life 15w-40 (any top quality mineral HDEO 15w-40 would work, but Long-Life has the great ability to significantly reduce consumption). Most of these call for a straight 30 or 5w/10w-30.

I couldn't be more happy with the decision I made! Got rid of all the various oil we had lyin' around and made maintenance/top-off much easier.

Engines run smoother, quieter, with less consumption.
They'll also stay much cleaner as well in comparison to a mineral PCMO.
Higher viscosity and high HT/HS (4.3) provide great anti-wear protection.
High TBN enables long drain intervals and no worries of corrosion over storage period.

 

[metroplex]

My dad had a lawn mower in the early 80s - he used 10W-40 and eventually it died.

He stuck to 10W-30 dino up to recently when we had to mow a much larger lawn. I switched it over to M1 5W-30 for better protection.

 

[FowVay]

I have one of those Tecumseh engines on a Sears mower also. At one time it was used as my tribology test engine and has been operated on Mazola cooking oil, Jet turbine oil, 80W-90 gear oil, and at one point it ran straight waste vegetable oil. I actually tried to burn this engine up but after all of my nonsense it just kept on running.

Now it has been returned to service as my trim mower and is fed a diet of straight 30 wt. diesel oil. I used to mic the cylinder and check the valve stems for wear in my quest for knowledge but that silly little 3.5 hp Tecumseh never missed a beat.

So I can personally attest that Mobil-1 5W-30 will not harm your engine.

 

[porterdog]

quote:

---

Originally posted by FowVay:
at one point it ran straight waste vegetable oil

---

!?

Wow; guess I got a good mower from the old lady across the street, and I guess it won't matter much what oil I use in it

Great to know, thanks for posting. Did you come up with any conclusions based on this extensive test? (Note: if your conclusion was that the Jet turbine oil was best please just tell me that you reached no conclusion

)

Robert

 

[metroplex]

How often should I change the M1 5W-30 in the motor?

 

[FowVay]

The only conclusion that I came up with was that this is one tough little lawnmower engine. The cylinder is scored and worn, the carburetor leaks and the muffle sucks on this thing.

To be quite honest the turbine oil was one of the worst things that I put in it. It caused oil burning and leakage at the case halves. I must say that it smelled good though.

I also got my mower from a guy that lived down the street. He bought a new one and I gave him $10 for this one. I replaced the blade, welded the cracked deck, and still use that old thing to this day.