Toro Push Lawn Mower Briggs & Stratton No Oil Change!

Andya said:
Hi,

Just serviced a friends lawnmower. Replaced the standard stuff, air filter, spark plug, sharpened blade etc.

Interesting, these particularly Series 80000 Briggs & Stratton engine don't require a oil change for the life of the engine!! Just top up as needed.

Well this is the lawn mowers 3rd season. On inspecting the oil, it was extremely dark. So I edged on the side of caution and changed the oil. It had done around 75 hours and the original factory oil.

I used Supertech 5w30 fully synthetic. Ambient temperatures in the area doesn't go above 90 Fahrenheit. Briggs and Stratton have this particular oil weight as acceptable on their website. Just worried when I saw the state of the original oil. I just had to change it for her!!! Also it had been 3 years on the Champion Spark Plug and original air filter. Both were in desperate need of replacing.

So my question is would you run the same oil for the lifetime of the engine and top up as necessary? Or would you still change the oil at the end of the season?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I would change it every 20 hours of operation and first time after winter. Time how long it takes to use a tank of fuel and factor that into 20 hours.

My Poulan push mower came with a Kohler XT675 3 years ago. Manual said change oil every 20 hours. On the first oil change I discovered there was no drain plug. Last year they proclaimed the new ones do not need to have the oil changed. A tank of fuel lasts 1hr 15 minutes. I change the oil every 16 tank fulls.

This engine is great. Always starts. Unlike all the B&S motors I have had before it never refuses to start if you stop it in the Texas summer heat.

Unless they started building these engines with some super duper metals, this is just another exercise in planned obsolescence.
 
I would change it every year if it was mine, I don't buy into the "lifetime oil" marketing. With that said, I've had customers bring me very old mowers that have never had an oil change, ever. They just topped off the oil when it needed it. The engines might burn a bit more oil than if it was changed regularly, but they still run. Maybe encouraging people to top it off will actually make the engines last longer. :ROFLMAO:
 
I am conducting an experiment myself with a small Briggs 125cc on an MTD pusher that was given to me. It had just been tuned up and had the oil changed before it was given to me about 6 years ago (Pretty sure the small engine shop filled it with straight 30w). I have never changed the oil on it, and have no intentions of doing so. I also used a digital tach to raise to RPM up to 3400rpm from about 2800rpm. I really want to replace it with a self propelled model, but as long as this one is running well I can't justify replacing it, and the darn thing runs like a top and cuts strong for its size with the extra rpm.

I had been using it as a trim mower for the first 5 years, about 10hrs a year. It is now being used to mow 3/4 of an acre and see's about 2.5 to 3hrs per mow, so about 50 to 60hrs a year. I will probably add oil if it ever uses any, which it hasn't yet, just to keep it full. I have a feeling it is going to be a long experiment that likely ends with a broken wheel or something other than the engine doing it in.
 
An old B&S motor might have better materials in it that what they produce today. I have an old Monkey Wards (B&S) motor on a rototiller. Burns oil fast. Add oil every fuel fill up. Has had a bad knock for the past 10 years. Surprised it has not chunked metal yet.
 
Sounds like the engineers said it was a huge oil burner and that they may need to scrap it and the marketing department turned it into a feature instead.
 
Poulan push mower came with a Kohler XT675 3 years ago. Manual said change oil every 20 hours. On the first oil change, I discovered there was no drain plug in my self-propelled lawnmower. Last year they proclaimed the new ones do not need to have the oil changed. A tank of fuel lasts 1hr 15 minutes. I change the oil every 16 tank fulls.
 
Andya said:
Hi,

Just serviced a friends lawnmower. Replaced the standard stuff, air filter, spark plug, sharpened blade etc.

Interesting, these particularly Series 80000 Briggs & Stratton engine don't require a oil change for the life of the engine!! Just top up as needed.

Well this is the lawn mowers 3rd season. On inspecting the oil, it was extremely dark. So I edged on the side of caution and changed the oil. It had done around 75 hours and the original factory oil.

I used Supertech 5w30 fully synthetic. Ambient temperatures in the area doesn't go above 90 Fahrenheit. Briggs and Stratton have this particular oil weight as acceptable on their website. Just worried when I saw the state of the original oil. I just had to change it for her!!! Also it had been 3 years on the Champion Spark Plug and original air filter. Both were in desperate need of replacing.

So my question is would you run the same oil for the lifetime of the engine and top up as necessary? Or would you still change the oil at the end of the season?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
No oil change for the life of the engine. Does B&S state how long that is? This looks like another exercise in planned obsolescence. I change the oil on my lawnmower every 20 hours. That's cheap insurance. Air cooled engines are really hard on the oil. I timed how long it takes to use up a tank of fuel (1hr 15min). 16 tanks = 20 hours. YMMV.
 
I couldn't leave the same motor oil in a small engine for the life of the engine. But I don't adhere to the common oil change every year. I change oil in my snow blower and mower every other year. Even after two years, the oil comes out somewhat clear, much cleaner that motor oil comes out of a car engine at a normal oil change interval.
 
Chris, you are spot! Most people think the silica bores of the Vega wore prematurely. That is not the case. What caused the problem was the premature failure of the headgasket letting coolant into the hot bores and causing them to get scored or warp. Also many Vega's burned oil due to faulty stem seals on the valves. Once GM went to a Vitron material that problem too was solved.....but alas too late to change the Vega's reputation in the competitive market place.
 
I call BS on B&S.

Look at it this way:

If there is a plug. If there is an assembly or component with said plug and - that plug can be removed?

Claims of lifetime fluid are completely false.

Deere says the Tough Torque hydro drive on my mower is a lifetime fill. Tough Torque says; "Oops, we really fudged up the factory fill on that model year span. Here's how to drain and refill it with the real stuff(tm)."

Nissan said, "Your 2003 Murano ECVT is a lifetime sealed unit. No service necessary." Yet I pulled the plug and yanked the hidden, child's locked dipstick and behold. Fluid gushes out - NS-2 spec fluid spills from my hands directly back inside.

In both cases, both units immediately silenced. They ran cooler, and they're still running to this day. I have the Deere 15 years and going. I see the Nissan I traded off is still scooting in town.

If you can unplug or turn it over and watch it bleed oil... you can service it.
 
I usually use the new self propelled Honda - it gets fresh oil every 6 months - which is about 25 hours

My old push mower just gets used on the backyard (no hills) - it get changed once a year which is maybe 20 hours.

It take me about 5 minutes to change oil - 12.5 ounces is all t takes - I also do the air filter clean once a year - and sharpen the blades. Spark plug pull it check it re-gap it and replace plug and air filter every few years -

BTW my new mower is 10 years old - and my old mower is almost 15 - they both still run like new.
 
I would change the oil, something about never change the oil just top it off don't sit well with me, I think it would be in the customers best interest to change their oil, it would be in those who sell mowers best interest if you don't.
 
Andya said:
Hi,

Just serviced a friends lawnmower. Replaced the standard stuff, air filter, spark plug, sharpened blade etc.

Interesting, these particularly Series 80000 Briggs & Stratton engine don't require a oil change for the life of the engine!! Just top up as needed.

Well this is the lawn mowers 3rd season. On inspecting the oil, it was extremely dark. So I edged on the side of caution and changed the oil. It had done around 75 hours and the original factory oil.

I used Supertech 5w30 fully synthetic. Ambient temperatures in the area doesn't go above 90 Fahrenheit. Briggs and Stratton have this particular oil weight as acceptable on their website. Just worried when I saw the state of the original oil. I just had to change it for her!!! Also it had been 3 years on the Champion Spark Plug and original air filter. Both were in desperate need of replacing.

So my question is would you run the same oil for the lifetime of the engine and top up as necessary? Or would you still change the oil at the end of the season?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I no longer use B&S motors anymore. Never seemed to last more that 2 or 3 years in Texas heat. My push mower has a Kohler. I change oil every 20 hours with what ever Kohler specified. Runs 1hr 15 min on a tank of fuel. 16 tank fulls = 20 Hours. Now has 130+ hours on it. Never have to add oil between changes. Always starts hot or cold with 1 pull.

Wonder what kind of summer conditions you guys have. I know it gets just about as hot a lot of places and August is pretty hot in Ohio but sometimes summer here lasts forever.
 
Every time I used it I would be horrified by the thought of all the break in junk floating around in the sump. It would probably keep me up at night. Even one oil change after 5-10 hours would probably put me at ease.
 
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