Bought a Wheel Horse 312-8 speed off of my local craigslist this afternoon for $400. The 12 hp kohler starts and runs very nice. It will need a new seat and gas cap/gauge this spring. Just out of curiosity, what brand/weight oil do you like to use in your splash lubed cast iron kohler's? I thought this tractor would be a good garage buddy for my B-80.
Wheel Horse garden tractor on C/L
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Originally Posted By: HM12460
..Just out of curiosity, what brand/weight oil do you like to use in your splash lubed cast iron kohler's?
Oh boy, here we go. Colonel? (kcfx)
Kohler K-series manuals will specify SAE30. I've run 15w40 for the last 10yrs or so in the ones I had and had excellent results.
Awesome tractor BTW! I'd love one myself. You're becoming quite the GT addict. They are fun to tinker with and have around.
Joel
..Just out of curiosity, what brand/weight oil do you like to use in your splash lubed cast iron kohler's?
Oh boy, here we go. Colonel? (kcfx)
Kohler K-series manuals will specify SAE30. I've run 15w40 for the last 10yrs or so in the ones I had and had excellent results.
Awesome tractor BTW! I'd love one myself. You're becoming quite the GT addict. They are fun to tinker with and have around.
Joel
I have a 312-8 too. Incredible machine. I wouldn't trade it for ANY other tractor. I used to run SAE 30 for most of its life and when I took the oil pan off to fix the level sensor it was SPOTLESS inside. Literally like brand new. I recently switched to Rotella 5w40 synthetic though and I plan to stick with it.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I have a 312-8 too. Incredible machine. I wouldn't trade it for ANY other tractor. I used to run SAE 30 for most of its life and when I took the oil pan off to fix the level sensor it was SPOTLESS inside. Literally like brand new. I recently switched to Rotella 5w40 synthetic though and I plan to stick with it.
im very confused with that post of why youd change a thing? on a side note i would not run syn
I have a 312-8 too. Incredible machine. I wouldn't trade it for ANY other tractor. I used to run SAE 30 for most of its life and when I took the oil pan off to fix the level sensor it was SPOTLESS inside. Literally like brand new. I recently switched to Rotella 5w40 synthetic though and I plan to stick with it.
im very confused with that post of why youd change a thing? on a side note i would not run syn
Originally Posted By: kcfx4
im very confused with that post of why youd change a thing? on a side note i would not run syn
I thought the Rotella would do well because the engine gets HOT running full throttle for over 2 hours in 90+ degrees in the summer. I like something just slightly thicker than a 30 weight for that. A synthetic handles the high heat better too. But it also doesn't thicken up as much in the cold, which is great when I use the tractor till the end of November for leaf clean-up. I also extended my drain intervals to once per year. I used to change every 25 hours, which is what Toro says to do. That always put me at an awkward interval of changing 3/4 through the season, and putting the tractor away for the winter with 8 or so hours on the oil. Now I just change it before putting it away for the winter.
Why wouldn't you use synthetic??
im very confused with that post of why youd change a thing? on a side note i would not run syn
I thought the Rotella would do well because the engine gets HOT running full throttle for over 2 hours in 90+ degrees in the summer. I like something just slightly thicker than a 30 weight for that. A synthetic handles the high heat better too. But it also doesn't thicken up as much in the cold, which is great when I use the tractor till the end of November for leaf clean-up. I also extended my drain intervals to once per year. I used to change every 25 hours, which is what Toro says to do. That always put me at an awkward interval of changing 3/4 through the season, and putting the tractor away for the winter with 8 or so hours on the oil. Now I just change it before putting it away for the winter.
Why wouldn't you use synthetic??
Originally Posted By: exranger06
Why wouldn't you use synthetic??
one word WA$TE!! not to mention can cause consumption in many engines as reported on here, even bortacius has mentioned it and believe it or not agreed with me about it. your original post stated you ran sae30 for years and upon teardown for non oil related isuue engine was extremely clean! ill say no more
Why wouldn't you use synthetic??
one word WA$TE!! not to mention can cause consumption in many engines as reported on here, even bortacius has mentioned it and believe it or not agreed with me about it. your original post stated you ran sae30 for years and upon teardown for non oil related isuue engine was extremely clean! ill say no more
I've been running the Rotella for the past 2 years and have had NO consumption issues. Waste of money? By extending the drain intervals I'm actually SAVING money. I plan on keeping this machine for literally the next 50 years and I want to use the best oil for the application. The advantages I listed above have me sold on the Rotella. SAE 30 works fine but the 5w40 is better.
well im glad you feel so, to me your first post was silly, here it is in a nut shell.........ive ran sae30 for years, upon non oil related teardown it was spotless so i switched to syn, not to be a smart arse but basically its no where near broke so im gonna fix it? and i buy Valvoline SAE 30 conventional for $2/qt, so you buying syn is saving? and no doubt the sae30 oci can keep up w your syn, again a WA$TE, read my signature, im not a syn hater by anymeans
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Cleanliness isn't everything. I'm hoping to minimize wear. Will I achieve it with 5w40? That's debatable, but I think so. I feel this is the best choice for my application, so I will continue to use it. I don't care if it's a "waste." I can afford to spend an extra $10 per year on syn. I've seen your arguments with other members on here about this very subject, so I'm not going to "WA$TE" my time about this anymore. I know I'm not going to change your opinion, and you're not going to change mine. I say we should agree to disagree.
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