What small engine mechanic told me about oil.

[Islandvic]

I bought a new pressure washer w/ Honda OHC 5.5hp engine. After using it twice, the pistol grip wand refused to shoot out H2O.

I took it in to a local reputable small engine/lawnequipment sales/repair shop to have it repaired under warranty.

After a month it's ready. I get a new imported from ITALY pistol grip wand assembly.

I was going to dump the OEM Honda 10-30 SJ oil when I got home since I had used it for about 4hours, and refill again with same oil for another 4-5 hours to fully break the engine in with clean oil.

I asked the mechanic "what do these engines like as far a oil goes?"

He said "just use the same oil you put in your car. Any automotive oil will work. Just stay away from Pennzoil and Golden State. Any name brand will do, just stay away from those two. Just change it out every 25 hours and it will run like a champ".

Your thoughts on the "no Pennzoil and GlodenState oil" please.

 

[mechtech]

How about our thoughts on the mechanic?
That would be more beneficial.

 

[Quest]

He needs to be introduced to BITOG.

 

[Slick17601]

I think you need a new mechanic. He is delusional

 

[DaveJ]

Well if he ment that "AFTER" the engine is broke in to do the 25 hour and change it, hes not too far off base. I do a 3 to 5 hour run, dump it, 5 more hours, dump and then a fill of 15W40 of Delo or Delvac to 25 hours. I will be tring ether GM EOS or that Valvoline Syner(something) oil additive with 15W40 in my new Kawasaki powered Cub Cadet mower. I will be tring to get 15+ years out of it. It has a pressurized oiling system and I will be adding the optional oil filter kit for $39. I have always used 20 to 25 hours on a air-cooled, "splash" lub'ed engine, AFTER brake in. DaveJ

 

[blano]

I thinnk your mechanic is \nt the sharpest tool in the shed. Those honda engines could be run on Mazolla and last a long time.

 

[tom slick]

just because the mechanic doesn't like pennsoil doesn't make him bad mechanic. we know from semi-scientific proof that pennsoil is good stuff but many old time mechanics still believe that pennsoil is junk. it's just an old wives tale that hasn't died.

 

[04SpecV]

I put Mobil1 10W30 in my 5.5 honda pressure washer. I don't think it really matters what you use. It just happened to be what I had.

 

[Propflux01]

I have used Pennzoil 15w40 in my 17HP Tecumseh-equipped lawn killer for 5 years now. Not a single problem, and no smoke.

 

[blano]

Mechanics that base their reccomendations on old wives tales will not gte my $$$,

 

[Bror Jace]

This is typical ... and has been discussed on this forum before. Maybe try a search going back 2 years using the word 'mechanic' in the subject line?

Just because someone is good at replacing hard parts and understanding how a car/engine works, doesn't make them a chemist, tribologist or CLE - certified Lubrication expert (engineer?).

The fact that he is passing along the infamous Pennzoil warning proves he's talking well outside his area(s) of expertise and this piece of advice should be completely thrown away.

--- Bror Jace

 

[obbop]

Out yonder in Californy I met more than a few amateur racers (drag type) and mechanics who swore they have seen engines torn down that had been run exclusively on Pennzoil that had oodles of crud built up in the oil passages etc.

Reckon their opinion is neither better nor worse than anyone elses.

Yep.

 

[Missouri Tim]

Interesting, I've never used other than Penzoil 30w in my mowers. I have a big yard and use 'em a lot. No problems. The Farmall has Pen 30w in it and has since it was restored 10 years ago. They all get fresh oil at the beginning of the season. The oil is checked before starting, and it gets swapped during the season if it begins to look dirty. My mowers generally last 10 or more years and the reason they get replaced is usually due to something other than the engine.

In fact, all of my vehicles had Penzoil in 'em, too, until just recently. I switched to Mobile 1 for the first time just this past week. My wife's Jeep and the Miata both got a new Wix filter and M1 10W30. It felt weird pouring something other than the familiar yellow jug.

I can't recall having any oil related problem with any of our vehicles or mowers, ever. That's about 30+ years of Penzoil usage. My grandad's '72 Ford F250 has had Pen 20W in all it's life. Grandpa felt that multi-vis oils were a gimmick and a waste of money. It'll probably get M1 10W30 from now on - mostly since it doesn't move very much any more.

I almost switched to Pen. Platinum but haven't been able to find enough info on it. The reason for the switch to M1 was driven by the Miata - it was purchased used, and I discovered a lot of things about what works for them while researching the car before buying.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I used to be a fan of Valvoline oil -- only because they're who used to sponsor my favorite NASCAR driver from way back when (Mark Martin). After buying a Nissan truck with 17x,000 miles, I found that it would tick and clatter quite a bit after its first oil change (with Valvoline) and I couldn't figure out why. Bror Jace convinced me to look at a different brand, and I haven't used anything BUT Pennzoil since. It quieted my truck down, and runs great in my two current vehicles, a Cadillac with the Northstar at almost 150k miles, and a Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3.3 V6 and almost 50k miles. (I use the High Mileage in the vehicles.) Both my Honda-powered lawm machines run great on regular Pennzoil 10w30, though I might put 30W in them if I can find it.

 

[Doug]

My mech. told me the other day when he was rejetting the carb on my dune buggy that I shouldn't use full syn. in a 4 stroke? He said to only use syn. blend. Why? It's a brand new motor with 2 hours on it. I bought Amsoil 10w30 just for it.... Shouldn't it be ok to run full syn? It's a 21hp made in china jobber.

 

[tmorris1]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jason Adcock:
I used to be a fan of Valvoline oil -- only because they're who used to sponsor my favorite NASCAR driver from way back when (Mark Martin). After buying a Nissan truck with 17x,000 miles, I found that it would tick and clatter quite a bit after its first oil change (with Valvoline) and I couldn't figure out why. Bror Jace convinced me to look at a different brand, and I haven't used anything BUT Pennzoil since. It quieted my truck down, and runs great in my two current vehicles, a Cadillac with the Northstar at almost 150k miles, and a Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3.3 V6 and almost 50k miles. (I use the High Mileage in the vehicles.) Both my Honda-powered lawm machines run great on regular Pennzoil 10w30, though I might put 30W in them if I can find it.

---

Maybe that is why Mark Martin now drives the Pennzoil car in the Busch series now.

 

[Hokiefyd]

quote:

---

Originally posted by tmorris1:
Maybe that is why Mark Martin now drives the Pennzoil car in the Busch series now.

---

Not to turn this into a Mark Martin thread, but I did notice that ever since he changed sponsors (I'm not sure who jumped ship, Valvoline or Martin), all of the Jack Roush cars have Pennzoil as the oil sponsor on their cars. It's not a major sponsor (not in the Cup series anyway), but it's the one oil logo on their suits and paint jobs. I wasn't aware that he drove the Pennzoil car in Busch. I guess it was fate that I chose to move to the Pennzoil brand.

 

[dkryan]

Nah, don't do that, Johnny! Just wait until they quit and take them to Islandvic's small engine mechanic.

 

[Johnny]

Let's see:

21 year old Lawy Boy - Pennzoil 2-cycle oil
18 year old TORO/Briggs - Pennzoil 10W30
33 year old John Deere Edger/Briggs - Pennzoil 30W

I guess I better run down and buy replacements before they blow up.

 

[Islandvic]

The mechanic seemed very old school.

I had dealt with the company before a few years ago, and he was working back then too. They have a high volume of business (commercial and private) so he probably knows what he is doing or they would have fired him.

I just guessed that he had some issues with Pennzoil back in the day and just did not like it.