10W40 oil?

[fastpakr]

I haven't used any of their other products. The t6 has worked well for me on motorcycles and cars for quite a while though.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

TBH, I have yet to find a single go-to for motor oil.

Except Certified brand in Diesel Trucks. Neon blue-green, and must be made from liquefied deities. Stuff gets changed at 10k and dumps out in better shape than Mobil pours in.

 

[8thTon]

Have you tried rotella t6? Comes in that weight, synthetic, and with the occasional rebate I pay something like $12 a gallon.

I got a 5qt jug of Castrol Edge for a decent price for the first change.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I got a 5qt jug of Castrol Edge for a decent price for the first change.

IIRC, Liqui Moly makes their Molygen and a few other flavors in 5w-40 for something like $38 on Prime. Been meaning to order a jug for the 2011, but caught the T6 on sale for under 20 a jug. Two more jugs to go...

 

[sgtsandman]

@PetroleumJunkie412, I’ll try to remember that for the weekend trip. I only have 5 quarts at the moment. 10 more when the clown car and the FX4 get done.

 

[8thTon]

IIRC, Liqui Moly makes their Molygen and a few other flavors in 5w-40 for something like $38 on Prime. Been meaning to order a jug for the 2011, but caught the T6 on sale for under 20 a jug. Two more jugs to go...

To me $38 is lot to pay for oil! I could care less about brand - all that matters to me are the ratings on the jug and price. I sort-of pay attention to synthetic, although much of that is marketing hype too, like "natural" on food labels (I prefer supernatural flavors).

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

What makes Liqui worth it to me (THIS IS JUST MY OPINION AND NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS FACTS. I AM NOT A MECHANIC.) is the additive pack. Their use of boron nitrite (nitrate? cant be f***ed to google it), and molybdenum seems to make everything Ive tried it on run a little smoother. Their higher line oils come with a lot of "extras" added that are unavailable from US manufacturers due to emissions, and one of them still has pre-epa levels of ZDDP in it for flat tappet engines. Dont ask which, would have to look it back up.



Anecdote: So, had a kohler 14hp OHV given to me over the weekend. Motor was run without oil, and locked up.

Dumped half a can of MOS2 into it, worked at the flywheel with a ratchet while bumping the starter. As soon as the MOS2 got into the bearings, fired immediately. Literally felt it 'hit' in the ratchet (it went flying, and i went into the 'firewall').

Pulled the head to port and polish, checked the cylinder, was acceptable. Mowed the lawn.


Another anecdote: Been running the DuperDoody 6.2 with a can and a half of Ceratec in it. After 1000 miles or so, fuel economy began to creep up. Truck was getting 13.5 mpg highway before Ceratec. Ran the same part of the test road today at 16.8 mpg average. Not too bad. The ceratec was the only variable I changed (same fuel, etc) since last round of experiments. Can hardly hear/feel the thing run at idle now as well. Cool stuff.

Just anecdotes. Not facts. YMM(literally)V






Lawn looks satisfactory if anyone is interested.

 

[8thTon]

Anecdote: So, had a kohler 14hp OHV given to me over the weekend. Motor was run without oil, and locked up.

Dumped half a can of MOS2 into it, worked at the flywheel with a ratchet while bumping the starter. As soon as the MOS2 got into the bearings, fired immediately. Literally felt it 'hit' in the ratchet (it went flying, and i went into the 'firewall').

Pulled the head to port and polish, checked the cylinder, was acceptable. Mowed the lawn.

It's a Kohler! You could put chowda in there and it would run!

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

It's a Honda! You could put chowda in there and it would run!

FIFY

 

[rusty ol ranger]

It's a Kohler! You could put chowda in there and it would run!

Its been my findings over the years the kohlers are the least hardy of semi modern-modern lawn equipment.

Kohlers run forever untill they are shut off, abandoned for years, then forced to resurect.

Now briggs on the other hand...you can take an ol blacktop L head and park it in a field, wait 15 years, drag it out of the weeds, hook a battery to it and dump a few cups of gas in it, and chances are itll fire.

That never works on a kohler, onan, or anything else ive found.

Now, when it comes to lasting through abuse, neglect, or just general stupidity you cant beat a tecumseh.

So, IMO...
Kohler-Good for something youre likely to use regularly and take care of (a expensive rider, etc)

Briggs- Good for things you will probably dont really care that much about, that will end up abandoned out back untill 20 years later when you need it again.

Tecumseh- Good for things you just use like a hammer...as in...beat the shit out of, and toss it away till next time its needed.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

FIFY

Honda?

Cmon man. I thought you were cool.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Honda?

Cmon man. I thought you were cool.

Yeah.... Sorry about that one. Doesn't come up much on here, but my love of honda and BMW come from their bikes... Just try to stop a C90 or CT90. I dare you.

My first 1969 Trail 90 had not run since 1982. Filled the tank, shoved a battery in it, kicked it twice, and off I went.

Can't kill their one lung motors no matter how hard I try.

Their cars on the other hand?

 

[8thTon]

Its been my findings over the years the kohlers are the least hardy of semi modern-modern lawn equipment.

Kohlers run forever untill they are shut off, abandoned for years, then forced to resurect.

Now briggs on the other hand...you can take an ol blacktop L head and park it in a field, wait 15 years, drag it out of the weeds, hook a battery to it and dump a few cups of gas in it, and chances are itll fire.

That never works on a kohler, onan, or anything else ive found.

Now, when it comes to lasting through abuse, neglect, or just general stupidity you cant beat a tecumseh.

So, IMO...
Kohler-Good for something youre likely to use regularly and take care of (a expensive rider, etc)

Briggs- Good for things you will probably dont really care that much about, that will end up abandoned out back untill 20 years later when you need it again.

Tecumseh- Good for things you just use like a hammer...as in...beat the shit out of, and toss it away till next time its needed.

Tecumseh's used to be pretty good, but the bore on the 12hp I had did not last, unlike the Kohler M12 which just keeps on going. The Kohler just uses better iron. Many of the old B&S engines are aluminum so they don't rust up solid if left sitting.

The 10hp Tecumseh side valve (HM100) I had on my generator was a POS from day 1, it came with a non-adjustable carb and simply did not run correctly, ever. I put an adjustable carb on it and then it ran right, but it burned almost as much oil as fuel. And the case vent would blow oil downhill into the air filter, until the filter became saturated. I still have it for occasional use up at the barn and I hate that engine.

 

[sgtsandman]

My Tecumseh powered snow blower is pushing 20 years and running strong. Granted, it’s a 2 stroke. So that might take it out of the running.

I’ve only had problems with one Briggs and it was a carbon build up issue. Scrape the carbon off the piston and clean the head, it was good as new.

The only Honda I ever had lasted about 15 years before I chucked it in the scrap pile. I suspect but can’t confirm my girlfriend’s son sabotaged it. He managed to find something to hit with the blade and bent the crap out of it (my guess is he had to try really hard in the same yard I’ve been cutting for years - he absolutely hated cutting grass). Probably damaged the engine in the process.

I have no experience with Kohler. I’ve been told the Courage line is terrible.

 

[4.0blue98]

I have a little Honda push mower that I got very used. I call it the brick thrower. Ran it for a summer before I thought about checking the oil. Next spring I checked and changed the "oil" that was left. That was about 5 years ago and that damn things still starts on the first pull, even first time in the Spring. I didn't even drain the old gas out at the end of fall the past couple years.

I haven't had any luck with Briggs for a while now. The last couple I had (1 mower and 1 snow thrower), the carbs would gum up no matter what I did. I had MANY and always liked them too.

Tecumseh on my old ice fishing auger still runs great after about 30 years.

Don't recall having a Kohler but I've heard they were good.