Black Bart
Well-Known Member
Conventional oil will fail at 225F synthetic will continue to lubricate waay beyond that.
This is the main reason I will not use anything but Synthetic in my air cooled engines.
my fix to overheating tractor
- Thread starter motoman
- Start date
This is the main reason I will not use anything but Synthetic in my air cooled engines.
Like Bart has said... Synthetic motor oil is going to be a superior lubricant ... friction is a big source of heat... a better lube will help control heat by reducing the friction that results from the overheated oil...
Synthetic remains a great lube ... even when very hot...
In an air cooled engine there are places that get extremely hot... Oil is one thing that carries it away.
Oil coolers on air cooled engines are a great help if for no other reason than the increase in oil capacity... same with over sized filters.... more oil and more surface area to dump heat... :smile:KennyV
PS ...as to long posts... remember that a picture is usually worth 1000 words... Put in a few pictures and you could crop out a few thousand words..... :laughing:
Synthetic remains a great lube ... even when very hot...
In an air cooled engine there are places that get extremely hot... Oil is one thing that carries it away.
Oil coolers on air cooled engines are a great help if for no other reason than the increase in oil capacity... same with over sized filters.... more oil and more surface area to dump heat... :smile:KennyV
PS ...as to long posts... remember that a picture is usually worth 1000 words... Put in a few pictures and you could crop out a few thousand words..... :laughing:
Black Bart
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with what Kenny said but I will add that you don't want just any Synthetic oil the EPA made the manufactures of oil for passenger cars to reduce the level of ZDDP because it is hard on catalytic converters.
If you use a heavy duty oil for diesel trucks it is exempt of these rules.
I use Shell T-6 5-40 it is a full synthetic and has a lot of ZDDP.
The point of a cam lobe in a engine with heavy springs will have 220,000 psi on the lobe.
Conventional oil breaks down from heat and will fail at temps about 225F and since it no longer has enough ZDDP to protect while no oil is present it will ruin the cam.
Thousand of old cars has been victim to this.
While a oil cooler is a great idea if you really want to keep the engine going for years do it a favor and put T-6 in it your engine will thank you for it. :thumbsup:
If you use a heavy duty oil for diesel trucks it is exempt of these rules.
I use Shell T-6 5-40 it is a full synthetic and has a lot of ZDDP.
The point of a cam lobe in a engine with heavy springs will have 220,000 psi on the lobe.
Conventional oil breaks down from heat and will fail at temps about 225F and since it no longer has enough ZDDP to protect while no oil is present it will ruin the cam.
Thousand of old cars has been victim to this.
While a oil cooler is a great idea if you really want to keep the engine going for years do it a favor and put T-6 in it your engine will thank you for it. :thumbsup:
Bart and kenny . Thanks for the response, but I am not convinced the synthetic is the solution in my case. I believe the INTEK is marginal as produced. I am not an authority, but seem to have seen a Kohler with an oil cooler and hydraulic lifters. Just seems like this motor feeds repair depots and exchanges for "new" motors. Anyway I continue my fix in installments below. Motoman
Cool the INTEK II
The oil in summer (70 to 80 F typ) runs 230 F to 300F, depending upon load. This fix does not control oil temp to 230F while mowing with full baskets. The temp will climb through 230 to 290F with new fan on. I stop to dump.Tractor hood raised, fan on, idling. In 5 min the oil temp is down to 230F. Cool air accross oil cooler with fan and hood up. Do not run fan when mowing. Unlike cars & bikes there is no air blast in motion, so the cooling is in episodes. The fan blades are shrouded off due to my primitive mount. Clever readers may imrove this.
The installed pkg is compact (4"x11 x12"),but requires minor mods to the Hood. The fan shroud is trimmed. The left side hood louvre is bent up. The spinning fan blade tips pass about 1" above the goose neck of the brake pedal. A guard can be easily added. If you are still interested. I will post the installation order and PL. Just say "rave on Motoman."
The oil in summer (70 to 80 F typ) runs 230 F to 300F, depending upon load. This fix does not control oil temp to 230F while mowing with full baskets. The temp will climb through 230 to 290F with new fan on. I stop to dump.Tractor hood raised, fan on, idling. In 5 min the oil temp is down to 230F. Cool air accross oil cooler with fan and hood up. Do not run fan when mowing. Unlike cars & bikes there is no air blast in motion, so the cooling is in episodes. The fan blades are shrouded off due to my primitive mount. Clever readers may imrove this.
The installed pkg is compact (4"x11 x12"),but requires minor mods to the Hood. The fan shroud is trimmed. The left side hood louvre is bent up. The spinning fan blade tips pass about 1" above the goose neck of the brake pedal. A guard can be easily added. If you are still interested. I will post the installation order and PL. Just say "rave on Motoman."
Black Bart
Well-Known Member
Re: Cool the INTEK II
This post really concerns me I have mowed for the past 30 years with a water cooled engine.
This spring I bought a new JD Z Trak and I have been thinking about installing a oil cooler on it.
I have not checked my oil temp but I have a infra heat gun that I could shoot the filter and get a good idea what it is running at.
From all my years of hot rodding I already have a couple of coolers laying around and I have the fixture that will fit the Briggs and the other end for the remote filter so all I need to do is make up some hoses and custom mounting brackets.
I think I need to get busy and build a cooler for my Briggs.
I do have a HUGE advantage over you in that I use T-6 rather than Dinosaur juice NO WAY that will work at the temps you mention, You are headed for another engine failure.
This post really concerns me I have mowed for the past 30 years with a water cooled engine.
This spring I bought a new JD Z Trak and I have been thinking about installing a oil cooler on it.
I have not checked my oil temp but I have a infra heat gun that I could shoot the filter and get a good idea what it is running at.
From all my years of hot rodding I already have a couple of coolers laying around and I have the fixture that will fit the Briggs and the other end for the remote filter so all I need to do is make up some hoses and custom mounting brackets.
I think I need to get busy and build a cooler for my Briggs.
I do have a HUGE advantage over you in that I use T-6 rather than Dinosaur juice NO WAY that will work at the temps you mention, You are headed for another engine failure.
Re: Cool the INTEK II
Bart, We agree my oil temp is not acceptable. I bet many have similar. Take your temp after a load of about 5 min e.g., full bskts, slight grade, warm day. MotomanThis post really concerns me I have mowed for the past 30 years with a water cooled engine.
This spring I bought a new JD Z Trak and I have been thinking about installing a oil cooler on it.
I have not checked my oil temp but I have a infra heat gun that I could shoot the filter and get a good idea what it is running at.
From all my years of hot rodding I already have a couple of coolers laying around and I have the fixture that will fit the Briggs and the other end for the remote filter so all I need to do is make up some hoses and custom mounting brackets.
I think I need to get busy and build a cooler for my Briggs.
I do have a HUGE advantage over you in that I use T-6 rather than Dinosaur juice NO WAY that will work at the temps you mention, You are headed for another engine failure.