Usermanual & Oil Question

S

sb1

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Good morning Everyone!

First off just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Steve new homeowner in NJ and have few questions regarding a new mower I was given as a house warming gift. (A used mower) haha I want to give it a tune up but cannot retrieve the user manual online and after endless searching I'm hoping you guys can help!

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Q1. Anyone can find a user manual on this model?
Q2. I believe it uses 5w-30 - will this oil suffice? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pennzoil...Synthetic-Motor-Oil-1-qt./14958690#about-item
Q3. How often do you replace the spark plug? Every season or every other season?


Thanks for all your input, i appreciate your help as this is my first mower, first house and first post here on the forum!


Steve
 
TonyPrin

TonyPrin

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sb1 said:
I saw this and was not 100% if this was the manual.



But if i use synthetic is shows 5w-30 or 10w-30 is sufficent.

View attachment 32221
Click to expand...

In terms of viscosity, synthetic 5W-30 or synthetic 10W-30 are virtually equal in a mower under typical Kansas conditions. I'm a big fan of synthetic motor oil and recommend it almost all the time - almost. In your case, I would start with a conventional motor oil (10W-30) until I was satisfied my mower was running well. Then, switch to synthetic when preparing for storage and note the differences, perhaps by starting on the first pull.

In terms of tune-up / maintenance, I'd start off by asking what the previous owner did. Changing the spark plug annually is probably not necessary but I'd clean and gap it at the start of the season.
 
S

sb1

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I know nothing about the prior maintenance of this machine. I checked the oil and believe it contain synthic but not 100% sure.

What i wanted to do this week

1. Clean out the filter with my compressor: (i took it out last night and looked fairly clean).
2. Sharpen blade
3. Change oil --> just need to know exactly which type to buy before i do a drain and fill. I want to just change it and use 5w-30 synthetic as is states is good from -20 to 100 F. So how would using 5w-30 synthetic be a bad idea?
 
cpurvis

cpurvis

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"They" say that the old wives' tale about putting synthetic oil in old engines can cause leaks is baloney.

I am here to say that it was NOT an old wives' tale in my experience. I personally switched a Honda Magna motorcycle from conventional oil to Mobil 1 15w-50 and leaks started almost overnight. One of the worst would have required splitting the crankcase halves on a 750cc V4 engine to replace the seal. That was the end of a perfectly good motorcycle--too expensive to repair, and the thing didn't leak a DROP until the Mobil 1 fiasco.

There is nothing magic about synthetic oil--you're going to change it once per year, just like conventional oil. So why risk it?

Also, don't use compressed air to blow out your air filter. Filters get more efficient as they get dirty. Unless you're doing something like mulching leaves, it won't get dirty enough in a season to mess with.
 
TonyPrin

TonyPrin

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sb1 said:
I know nothing about the prior maintenance of this machine. I checked the oil and believe it contain synthic but not 100% sure.

What i wanted to do this week

1. Clean out the filter with my compressor: (i took it out last night and looked fairly clean).
2. Sharpen blade
3. Change oil --> just need to know exactly which type to buy before i do a drain and fill. I want to just change it and use 5w-30 synthetic as is states is good from -20 to 100 F. So how would using 5w-30 synthetic be a bad idea?
Click to expand...

sb1, you seem to have a mower with an old-ish engine so there's two potential issues to be mindful of with synthetic oil. The first is that engine components may not have been built with the engineering precision found today and engineering tolerances may have been such that leaks or similar problems can be produced by using synthetic oil. In addition, there are substantial differences between synthetic and conventional motor oils that go beyond the base oil. Additives used in synthetic oil can be problematic to older engines. All in, I just think it's prudent to give your mower a season to shake out other issues before going synthetic.

If possible, run the mower for under 1 minute prior to changing the oil. Doing so brings dirt, metal, and other particles into suspension to make draining them out easier. And, of course, synthetic oil has no impact on the change interval.

Also, you mentioned the spark plug in the first email and I'd clean and gap it as I mentioned previously.
 
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B

bertsmobile1

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sb1 said:
I know nothing about the prior maintenance of this machine. I checked the oil and believe it contain synthic but not 100% sure.

What i wanted to do this week

1. Clean out the filter with my compressor: (i took it out last night and looked fairly clean).
2. Sharpen blade
3. Change oil --> just need to know exactly which type to buy before i do a drain and fill. I want to just change it and use 5w-30 synthetic as is states is good from -20 to 100 F. So how would using 5w-30 synthetic be a bad idea?
Click to expand...

Compressors are used for blowing the dirt and dust OFF THE OUTSIDE of your mower and in particular from the outside of the cooling fins after removing the engine cover.
Compressors are used for drying off parts before you refit them
Compressors are used for leak down tests
Compressors are used for pumping up your tyres
Compressors are NEVER USE TO BLOW A FILTER despite what you see shaved monkeys with intillectual difficulties doing on farcebook.
 
R

Rivets

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If it came into our shop I would be putting a good brand of 30W oil and then change it at the beginning of each season. Warm the engine at least 15 minutes to make sure that the detergent in the oil get as much debris as possible in suspension, before draining.
 
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