Real life maintenance

Ah, OK. That isn't very wise really, as mowers are quite prone to getting bits of grass in the oil.

Oh well, frequent oil changes it is!
 
How do they get bits of grass in the oil?

The sump should be fully enclosed and only have two openings: one is the fill port and the other is the vent tube (which is vented behind the air cleaner). Unless it happens to fall in when your checking the oil level??

Am I missing something?
 
I'm talking about it falling in via the top-up tube when you check the level.

Although I'm very careful to clean the area before opening the cap/dipstick, a lot of inexperienced owners may just open it unaware of the consequences of grass getting into the oil.
 
Actually grass is relatively soft... It would take a hand full to plug anything up in a small engine... the thing that a filter is good at removing is tiny hard particles, like carbon... but small engines usually do not have a pressurized lube system and there fore can not push oil through a filter.. :smile:KennyV
 
jmurray01 said:
Ah... Does that mean that non-filter engines are more prone to oil related failures ?
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Yes they do and did...
Filters were not common on automobiles prior to the 50's... the unfiltered engines were very rare that got to 100,000 miles without a heavy blue smoke cloud behind them at every stop...
By contrast today it is rare to see an engine puffing out oil smoke... and engines go WAY past 100k miles...

Your earlier statement "Oh well, frequent oil changes it is!" will serve you well... if you can't filter it replace it... but with the number of hours you put on a mower in a season... annual oil changes should still work...
PLUS todays oils are MUCH better than 'good old day' oils... :smile:KennyV
 
jmurray01 said:
Ah... Does that mean that non-filter engines are more prone to oil related failures ?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if this applies to your engine but most of the older Briggs engines had a "splash" system for distributing oil in the crankcase.

Automotive engines (and some small engines -- including the Honda engine I have on my brush mower) have an oil pump (and a filter -- but some have a pump but no filter) which delivers the oil via a system of ducts to the bearings etc.

An engine with a splash system may be prone to problems with not enough oil getting to certain bearings if the mower is being used on a steep grade. There may not be enough oil at the bottom of the crankcase to be splashed where it is needed. So a system with an oil pump would distribute oil better when the engine is tilted.
 
I have a Liquid Cooled B&S Diesel in my Tractor , but it is a 23.6hp unit and a little bigger than what you are talking about :biggrin: Oil and Filter change are first 25 hours then every 100 hours. Oil looks brand new every time I change it, which is how it should be. These engines should last forever if maintained properly.
 
jmurray01 said:
Nope, it says 5 hours for run in, and then 12 hours after that.

Also, would the 10W40 4 Stroke oil I'm using just now be fine ? As I think the manual says to use 10W30...

Does it really make any difference with those B&S engines ?
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You should be fine with changing your oil, spark plug and filter at the start of each mowing season. In very dusty conditions I wash and reoil the foam filter on my B&S engines. BTW, when I use to be a tech, Briggs recommended 30 weight oil, non-detergent. That's been a few years ago so maybe the oil specification has changed. Good luck with your mower.
 
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