45 years without oil failure or related problem in anything

11 years ago

AM I just lucky or did I do things to prevent this????

Many may know me as the oil/air filter servicing changing nerd. Some may say it's waste or overKILL. But, IMO it's is good CHEAP Insurance. Lots of posts deal with engine failures and I feel the servicing may have something to do with it?.

However! IMO there is one Catch 22 in changing the oil too quick and that is new equipment. IMO this is the break in period and some come with break in oil which requires longer first oil change while the engine is seating. so First oil IMO must be left in long enough till the engine is loosen up. this can be 50 hours or 4 to 5 thousand miles depending on what you got.

IMO when the oil turns black and gooey it's overdue servicing. You really have to pay attention to your equipment (car, boat, tractor, scooter, pressure washer ect...) to determine when and how long to go for service.

If you want your equipment to last your going to have to invest something in it like oil, filters, belts, ect... If you only keep anything few of years then it don't matter, just pass the problem or expence onto the next poor chap. Hopefully he can turn around the lack of. In Most cases were the previous owners at least kept the levels full this trend can be reversed.

on this forum it's about lawn tractor. IMO Lawn equipment must be maintains to get your money you invested. This takes several years. For me my minimum oil change schedule is at least twice year (unless I have the equipment in storage and don't use it at all, But I still run it every 6 to 12 weeks)

MY conditions are hot and dusty. I change my oil in my everyday LT about every 6 weeks and clean the air filter every 10 hrs. in prime mowing season and the filter once year requardless of hours. In my situation this is about how long it take the oil to get gritty and turning black gooey. Evey though the level is right on the full mark every time. I still feel that this is when the critical wear will take place so I remove the oil and put fresh in.

Again if you are in moderate climate where you get good rain fall that keeps the dust down, temps rarely go over 100 degrees, and your not mowing in sand. IMO you can get more hours on your oil, but you still have to monitor it to figure how how long intervnals it takes before servicing. IMO you have to monitor the air filter and oil to get long life from your equipment.

rainy day here, can you tell?

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Comments (3)

bob_k
11 years ago
Some info on oil.

http://www.texlube.com/oilmyths.htm
rcmoser
Original Author
11 years ago
yep, read them years ago. More interested in individual opinions and experiences rather that reports. Don't get me wrong I don't like wasting money changing oil all the time, but I'm no CheapA## either. IMO there is black oil (usually still drips off the dip stick or lets big screw driver tip dipped slip through you fingers) and there is dirty baked black oil and has lost it ability to drip or run IMo (which can no longer be filter very good). Hourly intervals could be too late or too early depending on the conditions, equipment, amount of oil in the system, type, and filtering of the oil IMO.

I had friend that never changed his oil only the filter and of course added some to top it off. After about 80K miles he didn't have to change it it changed itself. knowing that would we buy his vehicle??? NOT Me! Course that was years ago, oil and engine design has come alone way since then..

I also knew a guy that drove 1K week or so with dually BBC, but highway conditons. he usually had 8K or more on oil changes. He also when on condition of the oil, which his change intervals were every 2 to 3 months depending on his driving conditions. Course could get the oil analized by lab (cost effective for big rigs, but not for home owner use IMO) which in most cost more than the oil change???

When I say oil related problems that also means no smoke, no knock, no useage.
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1saxman
11 years ago
I'm with you, remoser. I bought a new 1989 lawn mower in 1990, a Homelite/Jacobsen with premium Briggs 3.5 HP (elec. ign, compression release, extra-quiet muffler). Today my brother is using it. The only engine repair has been a new diaphragm for the carb. While I had it, I used only Opti-4 SAE 30 oil. I now use that oil in a Lawn-Boy 10684 (Tecumseh), going on about eight years now. I have a small lot and two mowers, so they actually get light use. I change the oil every few years just because, and it looks like it could go back in. Hardly discolored and fully transparent on the dipstick. I've never had an oil-related engine problem in anything, vehicles and all, going back fifty years, which is amazing, because when I was young, I thought everything needed 20w50 racing oil - huge mistake! The best oil to use in an automobile is a high-quality synthetic blend in the recommended viscosity. The best oil to use in a mower is Amsoil small engine 10W30 synthetic, designed for air-cooled service, or Opti-4 10W30 or SAE 30.
BTW, the 'oil guy' on the internet is largely full of crap.