Can one really overfill the oil in this Honda lawnmower ?

[robert@honda]

Re: Synthetic oil. Spark plug changing.

Pardon my ignorance, but is synthetic not even part petroleum based ?

Not sure about that. I know there are blended oils, which contain both synthetic and petroleum formulas.

Maybe the EPA emissions test would be better with synthetics.

The EPA test is strictly for emissions levels. I would be surprised if the type of oil (synthetic or petroleum) would have any significant impact on the emissions levels.

The gap was at 0.30 right out of the package. I have not used a gap tool before, and the only small issue is that the electrode lateral edges were at 0.28 and 0.30, so it is assumed that one chooses the higher number on this gauge wheel, right ?

That should be fine; the design of the spark plug tip and the geometry of the gap adjustment is inherently imprecise, but get the smallest gap to measure within spec and it will be just fine in this lawn mower engine application.

 

[Ric]

Re: Synthetic oil. Spark plug changing.

Pardon my ignorance, but is synthetic not even part petroleum based ? Maybe the EPA emissions test would be better with synthetics.

I immediately went out to get the spark plug gauge for $1.00 . The gap was at 0.30 right out of the package. I have not used a gap tool before, and the only small issue is that the electrode lateral edges were at 0.28 and 0.30, so it is assumed that one chooses the higher number on this gauge wheel, right ?

The comment I made about not following the manual and using amsoil is because IMO you're wasting money using the artificial stuff, it just not needed and if it was the manual would say so. If you were someone who mowed lawns daily for a living and used and ran your mower 5 or 6 hrs a day like I do maybe but you as a homeowner using your mower to mow your lawn once a week and may put a total of maybe 20 hrs a year on a mower it's over kill.

Your manual tells you the recommended oil to use an SAE 10w30 SJ or later for general use and it says when changing oil fill with the recommended oil and don't overfill and let it stand for a couple of minutes to let the oil settle then measure the level let it sit overnight, you don't have to do. People have different opinions on oil and I prefer the petroleum based. I just figure if the synthetic isn't good enough to break my engine in properly then it isn't good enough to run full time but you can do what you like doesn't make any difference to me.

 

[timc1018]

Well shit. Installed brand new GXV160 Engine on 2000 Snapper. Added oil, approx 12 ounces, and dipstick showed full, as I screwed the dipstick in to ck the oil. Cut my grass. Now, reading this I see you are not supposed to screw the dipstick in when checking, which now allows another 7-8 ounces to go in. So brand new engine, cut grass first time with low oil! Just my luck.