Engine oil change on Apex/Kohler

I wouldn't go over 10 hours on 1st oil & filter change. That is when all the internals are making friends w/each other & lots of scrubbing in.

handtools said:

I did my first oil change around 10 hours. The Ariens owners manual says to do the first oil change at 25 hrs. then every 100 hrs.

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I was skeptical but you apparently read more thoroughly than I did. Yes, it's right there on page 22 (EN-20) of the Apex Owners manual and, FWIW, on the same page in the Gravely ZT HD manual as well

25 hours and a first engine oil change it is. Then every 100 hours thereafter. (... or sooner)

*** There's air filter change and hydraulic oil change recommendations on that page also for anyone getting here via search engine. ***

Thank you very much.

Bruce

7394 said:

I wouldn't go over 10 hours on 1st oil & filter change. That is when all the internals are making friends w/each other & lots of scrubbing in.

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Manufacturing tolerances and materials on all engines have been getting better every decade and lubricant protection is that much more robust with synthetics. I suspect that a decent garden variety engine today is manufactured ‘better’ than blue-printed engines of bygone years (fill in an appropriate number of years for ‘bygone’). These new oil change recommendations don’t really surprise me and I don’t doubt they must have some validity. But I still questions the specifics. For example, with the last generation of BMW autos, their engine oil change regimes make me cringe. I can’t help but feel that some bean counter looked at failure statistics and felt that their engines were going to statistically last x number of miles no matter the poor maintenance and that number was so far removed from their warranty... why should they care other than use it as a marketing ‘gimmick’. They can afford to give a free oil change once in a blue moon as a perk. As an example, if a 750K engine lasted only 125K, it (mostly) only mattered to second or third hand buyers and wouldn’t affect new car sales. This is just a gut feeling and my inner cynic would love to be proven wrong.

In the meantime, I look at these small engine recommendations as absolute worst case scenarios and I intend to significantly reduce those stated hour numbers. Its cheap insurance.

Bruce

I hear ya, I know what I read in his Kohler powered Toro manual.

And I know what I read in my Kawasaki powered Toro manual. So mine was changed just under 8 hours w/filter back in 2014 when I got it new, as per Kawasaki's maintenance chart.

Oil & a Filter are the cheapest thing on a mower.