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Synthetic Oil experience


Boney

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I have been using regular oil in a mower that is about 5 years old with a Kohler 16 hp in it. Recently a friend convinced me to try Mobil 1 in it. It use to blow smoke when starting it. I have started the mower several times since changing the oil. One time there was a small poof of smoke. Other than that none. I am sure there are several reason that could account for this, but so far things seem to somehow improved.
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Boney, I have the same experience. I use nothing but synthetic (5W-30 Rotella) in all my tractors year around (including the pulling tractors) for at least the last 6 years. I change oil once a year never have to add oil between changes. With SAE30 I did.
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All I use is synthetic also. Motorcycle,minivan,three garden tractors, and my Dakota pickup. After the factory oil, all the truck has ever seen, is Mobile 1, and it now has 247,000 miles, and does not use oil. Oz
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AMSOIL has a special oil fabricated for small air cooled engines which is vastly better than any other brand. Check it out we use it in all our machines and there's nothing better. Air cooled engines run hotter than water cooled automotive types so one oil doesn't fit all applications. I don't know of any other brand tailored to our type of machines than this one
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I found an internet link but what weight do you use for summer and winter? A little pricey but you don't need much per tractor. Here is the link I found. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/mcv.aspx larry
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I use synthetic in my wife's cadillac and my nissan and love it. I tried synthetic for the trans in my scout II and it ran by the seals and ruined a brand new clutch job (clutch chatters like crazy), also the synthetic I tried in the scout engine leaked out everywhere. Many new cars dont recomend syntheic either, my buddy just bought a mazda speed 3 turbo and it says NO synthetic ever....seems to me synthetic is good for some things but not for others and there is no way of telling unless you try. i will stick with 30W for the tractors
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Any time you venture away from a manufacturers recommendations there are opportunities for disappointment. Sometimes you will be happy and other times not. Most companies can be contacted to see if their service manuals have been updated. One thing for sure is that no manufacturer would recommend something that would knowingly give his product a bad reputation. If you try a different lubricant and your not happy with the results it's probably not the fault of the lubricant or the equipment. More than likely it's just an improper application issue. Chris
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My Jeep liberty says "Use only Mobil 1 Synthetic oil". So do most mercedes and volkswagens. Many brands see a benefit from an apropriate synthetic lubricant, but some do not meet the critera. Not all synthetics are alike either.
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I have been using Royal Purple 10-30w synthetic in both my gas tractors, however now i'm thinking of consolidating my stock even more by using Rotella 5-40w synthetic in my diesel and in everything else including my cars Cherokee jeep calls for 10-30w Grand Cherokee jeep 5-30w GMC Denali 5-30w D/A 5215HST diesel 10-30w Onan diesel genset 5-30w Kohler magnums 30w Generac 18hp Vanguard 30w? Whaddaya think?
quote:
Originally posted by MikeES
Boney, I have the same experience. I use nothing but synthetic (5W-30 Rotella) in all my tractors year around (including the pulling tractors) for at least the last 6 years. I change oil once a year never have to add oil between changes. With SAE30 I did.
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Oil Recommendations for Briggs To optimize engine performance, (Disclaimer)(use Warranty Certified Briggs & Stratton Small Engine Oil). Briggs & Stratton offers a Synthetic 5W-30 oil that provides the best protection at all temperatures as well as improved starting with less oil consumption. For optimum performance, you should change the oil in your small engine after the first five hours of use and then annually, or every 50 hours of use (whichever comes first). Use Briggs & Stratton SAE 30W Oil above 40°F (4°C) for all of our engines. Check oil level regularly. Air-cooled engines burn about an ounce of oil per cylinder, per hour. Fill to mark on dipstick. DO NOT OVERFILL.


Oil Recommendation SAE 30 40°F and higher (5°C and higher) is good for all purpose use above 40°F, use below 40°F will cause hard starting. 10W-30 0 to 100 °F (-18 to 38 °C) is better for varying temperature conditions. This grade of oil improves cold weather starting, but may increase oil consumption at 80°F(27°C) or higher. Synthetic 5W-30 -20 to 120 °F (-30 to 40 °C) provides the best protection at all temperatures as well as improved starting with less oil consumption. 5W-30 40 °F and below (5 °C and below) is recommended for winter use, and works best in cold conditions. Type of oil to use Use a high quality detergent oil classified "For Service SF, SG, SH, SJ" or higher. Do not use special additives. Choose a viscosity according to the table above. Oil Recommendations For Kohler 10W-30 (Command Oil)(Disclaimer) is recommended for Command, Courage, Command PRO, Command PRO CS, Triad OHC, and Aegis engines for temperatures above freezing (32°F, 0°C). SAE-30 is an acceptable substitute if temperatures are above 50°F, 10°C. K-Series and Magnum engines should use SAE 30 (Magnum Oil) above freezing. 5W-20 or 5W-30 can be used in all engines when temperatures are below freezing. For more complete oil specifications refer to your owner's manual. For optimum performance, Kohler's special blend oils are available from your KOHLER dealer. Synthetic oils meeting the classifications listed in the owner's manual may be used, however oil changes still need to be performed at the recommended intervals. To allow the piston rings to seat properly, Kohler recommends operating a new or rebuilt engine for at least 50 hours on standard oil before switching to the synthetic oil.


REGARDLESS OF OIL BRAND ALWAYS READ THE DONUT !
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I have a 7016 with the 16 hp Briggs that I overhauled several years ago. Spent about $700 and I did the work. Anyway, I figure that the engine is worth the cost of two quarts of synthetic oil so that I may delay the next overhaul! Like others, I have found that with synthetic oil I never need to add oil in the 25 hour oil change interval. My tractor has always gotten either 5W40 Mobil 1 which is a diesel oil or Amsoil small engine oil. Here is a link to the amsoil. It is great stuff, too. ALso, with the older engines with no oil filters, even Amsoil says to not extend the suggested oil drain interval. [url][/url]http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/ase.aspx
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quote:
Originally posted by Nubian
I have been using Royal Purple 10-30w synthetic in both my gas tractors, however now i'm thinking of consolidating my stock even more by using Rotella 5-40w synthetic in my diesel and in everything else including my cars Cherokee jeep calls for 10-30w Grand Cherokee jeep 5-30w GMC Denali 5-30w D/A 5215HST diesel 10-30w Onan diesel genset 5-30w Kohler magnums 30w Generac 18hp Vanguard 30w? Whaddaya think?
To change the oil grade in a car engine can have adverse effects due to requirements. Mileage can be lessened by changing from 5-30 to 10-30 (or vice versa if I recall), not an exact quote, but you get the idea. Tractors have widely varied thermal profiles and demands in a given cycle. A car is a cooler engine and more stable, thus a different oil range is reccomended.
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One older small engine might love it, another won't. It seems newer small engines pretty much like it. I tried Amsoil 15w40 in a '90s 5hp Techumseh on a roto tiler. Ran fine cold, but the engine began to rev up and down when normal operating temperature was reached. After running out of ideas, 30w was put back in. Ran fine. Amsoil wasn't to blame, as I probably should have used their 30w oil. Synthetic in the 2000+ snow blower and chipper is working great. Now if you are thinking of putting synthetic in a slightly neglected automobile engine, consider some frequent oil changes to clean the internals a bit before switching to the higher detergent synthetic.
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My kt gets the oil changed 3 times a year so it usually only starts to change color when done. The multi weight that I use in the winter gets the darkest...
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If an engine has seals and/or gaskets that weep/leak synthetic oil will make the leaks worse because it has better capillary action. In my experience the oil consumption will be the the same or less. Of all my vehicles and tractors the only problem I had was with a 1990 Mazda B-2200. The valve stem seals leaked more and the ring gaps on one cylinder aligned themselves. Made a great mosquito fogger. Had to rebuild the engine to find and correct the problem. Went back to dino oil without problems.
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