Pressure washer pump oil

[92saturnsl2]

I recently purchased a cheapo pressure washer that has a 3400 PSI 2.6gpm axial cam pump. Pump has an oil fill plug at the top, so after a few running hours, I decided to change the oil by turning the pump upside down and refilling.

I used an old oil bottle to catch the oil so I could get a halfway precise measurement of what came out. Looks like a few ounces, if that.

What stumps me is that manual says it takes 85W-90 pressure washer pump oil. So I went on Amazon and bought a pint of Briggs and Stratton Synthetic 75w-90 pressure washer pump oil. When I went to change it, what came out had a neutral odor, almost like air compressor oil or a non-detergent. When I opened the bottle of B&S pump oil, the smell about knocked me over. It's akin to the most rank gear oil I've ever encountered. I got some on my fingertip pulling the foil seal off and I can still smell it on my fingers a couple hours later despite many attempts at washing the oil off.

Something seems wrong here. Is this the right oil, or should I go with a regular 30 weight non-detergent or similar?

 

[totegoat]

I use Stihl ND 30wt pump oil in mine, no odor.

 

[Rand]

I used cat pump oil from home depot IIRC. no odor such as you mention although it smelled like normal oil.

maybe you got fake pump oil? Its amazon
I'd probably use it.. not really a demanding application.

Cat Pumps 21 oz. Pressure Washer Pump Oil AP31045 - The Home Depot

Cat Pumps Premium Grade High Pressure Pump Oil uses a custom blend to keep your pump running like new for years to come. Combining advanced anti-wear stabilizers and anti-corrosion technology, this oil

www.homedepot.com

 

[92saturnsl2]

What I find odd is the manual specifically says 85w-90 which is a gear oil grade, but what came out didn't smell anything like gear oil.

ISO 68 (from the Cat Pumps product shown above) would equate to a 20 weight oil if I'm not mistaken, so that's definitely not correct product. But who knows how much these Chinese manufacturers bungle their product manuals... The oil that came out was rather syrupy, almost consistent with a SAE50 or 85w-90 gear oil grade.

I have no reason to think it's fake oil (sold/shipped by Amazon) and I can't imagine that'd be a hot commodity for counterfeiters to make money from.

 

[Whimsey]

I recently purchased a cheapo pressure washer that has a 3400 PSI 2.6gpm axial cam pump. Pump has an oil fill plug at the top, so after a few running hours, I decided to change the oil by turning the pump upside down and refilling.

I used an old oil bottle to catch the oil so I could get a halfway precise measurement of what came out. Looks like a few ounces, if that.

What stumps me is that manual says it takes 85W-90 pressure washer pump oil. So I went on Amazon and bought a pint of Briggs and Stratton Synthetic 75w-90 pressure washer pump oil. When I went to change it, what came out had a neutral odor, almost like air compressor oil or a non-detergent. When I opened the bottle of B&S pump oil, the smell about knocked me over. It's akin to the most rank gear oil I've ever encountered. I got some on my fingertip pulling the foil seal off and I can still smell it on my fingers a couple hours later despite many attempts at washing the oil off.

Something seems wrong here. Is this the right oil, or should I go with a regular 30 weight non-detergent or similar?

Is it Briggs & Stratton part # 6033? I got that one but never opened it up. The Briggs pump died before I could use it. I got an AR replacement pump but it doesn't appear that replacing the pump oil is an easy to do maintenance item like on the Briggs pump.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Is it Briggs & Stratton part # 6033? I got that one but never opened it up. The Briggs pump died before I could use it. I got an AR replacement pump but it doesn't appear that replacing the pump oil is an easy to do maintenance item like on the Briggs pump.

Yep, B&S #6033.

 

[nate379]

Most pumps I've worked on spec a 30wt non detergent.

 

[ripcord]

85w gear oil is equivalent in viscosity to a heavy 30w SAE motor oil, so that does not seem out of place. It's about the same as a 100 ISO hydraulic oil.

 

[dlundblad]

Perhaps the original stuff actually was gear oil and you were smelling the sulfur?

 

[johnD2]

I run cat pump oil , and change it about every 100 hours or so. That's what the manual calls for.

 

[Cujet]

I’ve used M1, 15w-50 in my Cat pump. 20+ years with no issues