New Riding Mower - Questions

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kballowe

kballowe

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East Central Missouri
My son got my 13 year-old Honda Harmony riding mower and I got a new Husqvarna.

I ran that Honda for 5 years on SAE 30 Castrol and then Rotella 15W-40 for the next 8 years. I changed the oil twice a year and it doesn't burn any.

The only grease fittings were on the front wheels and steering knuckles.

This new mower is much larger than I need, but what the heck. Most of the smaller mowers were sorta "tinny" Got hydrostat drive, 54" cut, and 24hp Kawasaki motor. There are grease fittings all over this thing, including the blade spindles.
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Click here for mower specifications
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So I have TWO questions
1. The owners manual specs 10W-30 from 32 degrees to 100+ degrees. Why wouldn't it be OK to continue to use the Rotella or maybe Delo or Delvac 15W-40? (my previous mower also spec'd a 10W-30)
2. What is a decent grease that I can use for everything? I typically use the Mystik JT-6 multi-purpose high temp stuff for what little bit that I need. Am asking this because a couple folks told me that I should use a heavy moly synthetic grease for the bearings on the blade spindles.

Thanks

Kevin
 
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The products you suggested will work fine. There is no need for moly on the deck spindles, but it won't hurt anything.
 
Originally Posted By: Rob_Roy
The products you suggested will work fine. There is no need for moly on the deck spindles, but it won't hurt anything.


That Mystik grease I'm using says "moly" but I'm guessing it isn't much in there.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
rotella t5 10w 30 would work well to, but so will what you are using.


Yeah and you are probably right on the money but I have a hard time using a multi-vis 30 wt in an air cooled motor.

I should probably just move into the 21st century. Also, I change the oil often enough that it probably doesn't matter what goes in there.

The other part of my problem is that I'm cheap.... And I run that Rotella or Delvac 15W-40 in all of my water cooled motorcycles and other power equipment. I always catch it on sale and have a pretty good stash. AND it's convenient to just use the same stuff in everything.

21.gif
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: kballowe
Originally Posted By: spasm3
rotella t5 10w 30 would work well to, but so will what you are using.


Yeah and you are probably right on the money but I have a hard time using a multi-vis 30 wt in an air cooled motor.

I should probably just move into the 21st century. Also, I change the oil often enough that it probably doesn't matter what goes in there.

The other part of my problem is that I'm cheap.... And I run that Rotella or Delvac 15W-40 in all of my water cooled motorcycles and other power equipment. I always catch it on sale and have a pretty good stash. AND it's convenient to just use the same stuff in everything.

21.gif




Rotella is good stuff, but careful with the 15W-40. Some of my recent (last 5 years) OPE states in the manual NOT to use any xW-40 weight oils. I would check with Kawasaki or Husky dealer.
 
I have run 15w-40 in my Deere with Kawasaki and found that over the season it was a bit sluggish during the cooler spells. I went back to 10W30, Rotella T5 for year round use. If I ran all day long at 90 degrees plus I'd reconsider, but mine only gets a 90 minute workout every couple days.

The problem I have with moly is that it will attach itself to everything around the tractor including your clothing, though any 3% moly is overkill for a mower. I'm going back to regular grease on my next tube. I doubt in the next 20 years I will ever know the difference and I'll have T-shirts without black smudges all over them.
55.gif
 
I use 10w-30 in all my OHV power equipment - it should work for you, especially since you change it often enough. 15W-40 should be fine in warmer weather if that is what you have on hand, but definitely check with the manufacturer to be sure it won't void a warranty or anything dumb like that.

As for grease, I have been using Kendall L427 Super Blue. JT-6 will work for anything on your mower requiring grease. I also like Lucas Red n Tacky.
 
Yeah the owner's manual shows 5W-30 under 32 degrees F and 10W-30 above 32 and plus 100 degrees. We should all listen to the manufacturer, shouldn't we? HA!

It also says "SJ thru SL". Probably was written before "SM" came along.

Which makes me wonder if half the people go to the nearest chain store and get a jug of 10W-30 auto oil.

Rotella in the 10W-30 variety started showing up on the shelves about a year ago. Never used any but might have to try it.

Thanks for all of the replies.


Kevin
 
Originally Posted By: WagonBoss
I have run 15w-40 in my Deere with Kawasaki and found that over the season it was a bit sluggish during the cooler spells. I went back to 10W30, Rotella T5 for year round use. If I ran all day long at 90 degrees plus I'd reconsider, but mine only gets a 90 minute workout every couple days.

The problem I have with moly is that it will attach itself to everything around the tractor including your clothing, though any 3% moly is overkill for a mower. I'm going back to regular grease on my next tube. I doubt in the next 20 years I will ever know the difference and I'll have T-shirts without black smudges all over them.
55.gif



You're right about the moly. That stuff gets all over EVERYTHING. I have some Genuine Honda Moly 60. Use it on the shaft drive splines. NOW I always wear rubber gloves and am VERY careful..... not like before....
 
Nice looking mower! Husqvarna has been doing some great things to their lawn/garden tractor line. Fabricated decks, high-end engines to name a few.

That engine would run happily on anything between a 20 and 50wt as long as you kept it topped up and reasonably maintained. No doubt Kawasaki will spec something right in the middle @ 10w30 just like 99% of manufacturers will. It's just a plain old lock-nut valve lash adjustment, no magical science engine.

If you're running it for hours in extreme heat, I know I'd want a HDEO or motorcycle oil in the 30 to 40wt range to deal with the heat. The Kawasaki power products website is ridiculously light on useful info unfortunately.

I know you didn't ask about it, but almost more importantly than the engine on your new rider, is the hydrostatic transaxle. It's a got a Tufftorq which is great. You'll want to make sure you keep it clean so the fan can keep it cool, and consider doing an oil change on the trans a cpl years down the road. Replacement costs for the trans and engine would exceed what you paid for the whole machine.

Joel
 
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Originally Posted By: WagonBoss
I have run 15w-40 in my Deere with Kawasaki and found that over the season it was a bit sluggish during the cooler spells. I went back to 10W30, Rotella T5 for year round use. If I ran all day long at 90 degrees plus I'd reconsider, but mine only gets a 90 minute workout every couple days.




I run Schaeffers 5w40 in my recently-acquired JD Gator with the 19HP Kawi. The engine seems to work very well on that oil.
 
Originally Posted By: ffracer
Originally Posted By: kballowe
Originally Posted By: spasm3
rotella t5 10w 30 would work well to, but so will what you are using.


Yeah and you are probably right on the money but I have a hard time using a multi-vis 30 wt in an air cooled motor.

I should probably just move into the 21st century. Also, I change the oil often enough that it probably doesn't matter what goes in there.

The other part of my problem is that I'm cheap.... And I run that Rotella or Delvac 15W-40 in all of my water cooled motorcycles and other power equipment. I always catch it on sale and have a pretty good stash. AND it's convenient to just use the same stuff in everything.

21.gif




Rotella is good stuff, but careful with the 15W-40. Some of my recent (last 5 years) OPE states in the manual NOT to use any xW-40 weight oils. I would check with Kawasaki or Husky dealer.
What exactly is the xW?
 
Fill in the "x" with the first number...5, 10, 15, etc. Its a way to specify a range of 40Ws...
 
Last edited:
Well I bought a lot more mower than I needed... to mow 3/4 of an acre and relatively flat.

All of the smaller mowers just looked cheap.

Severe service this is not.

48.gif
 
Originally Posted By: kballowe
Well I bought a lot more mower than I needed...


And you'll be happy you did. Another important factor is; Try to set your gauge wheel height on the deck so it doesn't continuously ride on the ground. You'll beat the heck out of the deck, deck suspension and drive belt if you let it beat around on the ground.

Joel
 
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