Post your latest small engine oil change

2022 1025R

About 60 hours total on it, about 23 hours on this OCI — kinda early but due for annual. It will be getting a LOT of work this year. Lots of projects and landscaping I need to do.

About 2.9 - 3 quarts.

OUT: Rotella T4 HDEO 15W-40, WIX 51356
IN: Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40, MicroGuard Select MSL57356 (PG made)
 
Astro_Guy said:
Why not RT6? In your opinion, is there no benefit to the slightly higher price?

FWIIW - I stopped using conventional oils in OPE after having a 190cc B&S flathead go boom for no obvious reason.
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I go through a lot of oil, mainly HDEO for small engine customers, so I usually just use what I can find on sale. This time it happened to be T5 15w40, but I also have a few jugs of Delvac 15w40 I'm using too. This mower is serviced every year, stored indoors, and sees a max of 50 hours of use a season, so should be fine.

Did the Briggs break a connecting rod? I have seen that a few times on those flatheads, mainly the newer ones before they switched to OHV. They all put a rod through the side with no real reason, oil was full, governor wasn't over-speeding. I think it was a materials failure, and a run of bad connecting rods or improperly torqued bolts. Conventional oils are perfectly fine to use, keep in mind some people NEVER change the engine oil their mower comes with, and it still lasts 15+ years.
 
jeepman3071 said:
Did the Briggs break a connecting rod?
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Yes.

IMG_4637[1].JPG


IMG_4638[1].JPG
 
jeepman3071 said:
Yeah looks like a materials failure to me. Looks almost identical to the sudden failures I saw. Usually you can tell when they have been run low on oil or over-revved, there will be discoloration from getting hot.
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Plus wouldn't you expect more scoring to the journal if it ran with no oil, it doesn't really look scored, looks like all the damage happened when it suddenly broke.
 
Old john deere 314/Kohler engine. Running valvoline premium blue 10w 30 this cycle, I was wondering if I should go to a 15w 40 possibly 50? She smokes bad when starting up. I know these engines are prone to get oblonged and not seal good. I just figured I'd clean the rings or what's left of them and change to something heavy just to get a couple more years. Runs good and does what I want it to. It does burn oil pretty bad. Maybe one day I'll think about a predator upgrade but for now I'm just trying to prolong the enevitable. What yall think?
 
GaryPoe said:
Old john deere 314/Kohler engine. Running valvoline premium blue 10w 30 this cycle, I was wondering if I should go to a 15w 40 possibly 50? She smokes bad when starting up. I know these engines are prone to get oblonged and not seal good. I just figured I'd clean the rings or what's left of them and change to something heavy just to get a couple more years. Runs good and does what I want it to. It does burn oil pretty bad. Maybe one day I'll think about a predator upgrade but for now I'm just trying to prolong the enevitable. What yall think?
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15w40 or 15w50 may help a little, have you used straight 30 ever previously.
 
I've always ran 10w30 in it. Whatever was left over from changing our car/trucks oil I used. The last change was mostly john deere oil, I think I topped it off a couple times with Mobil 1 and valvolone but it came out real thin which was probobly not good. I didn't think about smelling it to see if it was fuel but I wouldn't doubt it. I'll keep a closer eye on the thing and throw in some heavier oil eventually.
 
GaryPoe said:
Old john deere 314/Kohler engine. Running valvoline premium blue 10w 30 this cycle, I was wondering if I should go to a 15w 40 possibly 50? She smokes bad when starting up. I know these engines are prone to get oblonged and not seal good. I just figured I'd clean the rings or what's left of them and change to something heavy just to get a couple more years. Runs good and does what I want it to. It does burn oil pretty bad. Maybe one day I'll think about a predator upgrade but for now I'm just trying to prolong the enevitable. What yall think?
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If it smokes on start up it’s likely piston rings and or valve seals. I’d consider 15w40 if you can get it to start up when it’s cold. It should start in warmer weather just fine.

FWIW you could rebuild the engine. If you check the John Deere parts catalog you find parts for it.

Just my $0.02
 
@GaryPoe
Tried AT-205? I put that in a craftsman lawn mower with a Briggs & Stratton that burned oil non stop, about a quart just to mow 1 acre. AT-205 fixed it nearly completely in one go. 1/4 bottle added with some diesel truck 15w40. After changing that out for straight up 10W30 it only used about a half a cup every season.

My leak issue was coming out the bock and burning on the exhaust. I understand that if your leak is interior and ONLY around rings, AT-205 won’t help.
 
tnt_motorsports said:
If it smokes on start up it’s likely piston rings and or valve seals. I’d consider 15w40 if you can get it to start up when it’s cold. It should start in warmer weather just fine.

FWIW you could rebuild the engine. If you check the John Deere parts catalog you find parts for it.

Just my $0.02
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I've read about these Kohler engines, they wear the cylinders into more of an "oval shape" and eventually with the oblonged walls of the cylinder, the piston rings eventually stop sealing. I reckon a guy could have a machine shop bore out the cylinder and I can slap new pistons and stuff in it. But for what it is and what I use it for I'm really not that invested. The premium blue has almost eliminated the smoke on startup so maybe it's working time will tell. I'm going to spray my yard with 2-4-d soon and then we will investigate how the level of oil burning is going from there. It's just a pull tractor. Trailers and sprayers. I have a jd 445 I mow and plow with. I have a 4 wheeler and an old Bohlens also so when she craps out I'll just yank the battery and use one or the other and think about a predator upgrade for the 314. I'll let yall know what I find out.
 
Changed oil in my John Deere s240 Kawasaki v twin.
Removed supertech filter. Drained out I think cenex maxtron 10w30

New Purolator tech filter and Pennzoil 10w30 full syn

Also changed oil on my parents lawnmower. Same kind of mower. Removed a supertech filter. Can't remember what it had for oil in it.
Purolator tech filter installed. One quart of qstate 10w30 syn and 1 quart Pennzoil 10w30 syn.
 
Someone threw this up free on Marketplace today, there was stale gas in it, but once I got it running it was still running poorly, took the flywheel off and the key was nicely sheared. Bought a replacement from O'Reilly for under $2 (actually it was a 10-pack they gave me, I was expecting one, but now I have extra replacement briggs keys) and in run okay-ish now.

2015 Briggs Professional 175cc on Snapper(MTD) RWD Deck
Out:????
In: Mobil1 15W-50
1715472979453.jpg

1715472518892.jpeg
 
blufeb95 said:
Someone threw this up free on Marketplace today, there was stale gas in it, but once I got it running it was still running poorly, took the flywheel off and the key was nicely sheared. Bought a replacement from O'Reilly for under $2 (actually it was a 10-pack they gave me, I was expecting one, but now I have extra replacement briggs keys) and in run okay-ish now.

2015 Briggs Professional 175cc on Snapper(MTD) RWD Deck
Out:????
In: Mobil1 15W-50
View attachment 218894
View attachment 218888
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Score!
 
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