Engine Oil

[Les]

Now that spring is here and the snow plows are being exchanged for mowers don't forget to change that oil too. 5W20, 5W30 & 10W30 work good in the winter when its cold out but be sure to switch to 30HD (High-Detergent) for summer use (above 32°). One exception being the newer Kohler OHV where the hydraulic lifters require 10W30. Anyone prefer Mobile-1 or Slick 50 or Marvel? I always enjoy a good "rebuild in the can" story!

[StanS]

Jeff, that raises a question for me. I was told years ago that in an engine without an oil filter, you should not use detergent oil. Detergent oil was made to carry the crud to the filter so it could be filtered out. Was I misled?

[Guest]

HOW long ago did you here that Chuck? :) I beleive they started switching over to detergent in the 60s. Most small engine tractors did not even have oil filters until recently. I have one customer that traded in his original aluminum B&S after 23 yrs and it is still running well. One thing why this was - he was in the habit of checking the oil level and topping it off when needed and we changed it once a year. But I don't think you were misled - it was probably the current thinking at the time.

[Guest]

Well I heard many years ago that detergent oil would foam in engines with splash oiling also that it would foam in a hydraulic systems. That may have been true with the first detergent oils but with todays oils I have had no problems using it in either. Tim

[Del]

Jeff, I guess somebody heard it from somebody who heard it from an oldtimer. I've been thinking for years that if you don't have a filter, non-detergent oil leaves impurities laying on the bottom of the crankcase where they can be drained out, while detergent oil carries them to the filter. Thanks for straightening me out. :-)