Briggs & Stratton 17 1/2 HP, Can I save this engine?

[reynoldston]

We run the Walmart 10w 30 in all,of our mowers and have had no,problems with it. I think you will find that it is brand name oil anyway in their bottle.

Myself I use Amsoil synthetic, best oil out there. Its a little pricey at 12 dollars a quart but well worth the money. Now for my shop customer's mowers I agree with you on the Walmart (Supertech) oil, been using it for years now and never had a problem with it. I also use the Supertech oil in my camp mower.

 

[bertsmobile1]

What makes you think that you need to run non-detergent oil in mowers engines? The only place I use non-detergent oil is in hydraulic systems like in a wood splitters. You should use SAE30 in engines, which I have never seen any shortage buying. Not that the non-detergent oil will do any damage in your engine but it should be changed more often. It seems that back in my earlier years at a young age when I was still living on the farm that non-detergent oil 30 was used in a lot of the farm equipment engines, and don't recall any oil problems back in them years. My father would buy oil by the barrel and it had pump that you pumped into a special oil can with a spout that folded up or down and a valve you pushed to let the oil flow.

Non detergent oils are usually put into dry sump engines with external oil tanks that rely on sludging ( setteling ) impurities out of the oil.
A lolt of anchient motorcycles run non detergent oils unless we have secreted a filter into the system.