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Gents (ladies?)

Just did my 50 hour oil change on my 2021 SPX with the 23hp Intek motor. Drained it using the side flex tube and it wasn’t as horrible as people make it out to be. You just need to warm the engine up first and then sit there and hold it while it drains. The oil that came out of it was remarkably clean, just somewhat dark but you could still see partway through it.

I did notice last month that both valve covers have class one leaks so I’m going to get those swapped out and the valve lash checked while I’m there.

I have been using straight 30w oil in my mower because that’s what the manual says. I was surprised that Briggs calls for 30w, I’d been putting 10-40w / 10-30w oil in my other Briggs & Tecumseh engines for years. Thoughts on the oil choice?

if the manual calls for SAE30, use SAE30.

I wouldn't put any 10 grade oil in any mower. Shears down too fast. SAE 30w all the way.

Is this your first initial oil change? 50 hours? You know the first oil dump will have a ton of metal in it? Take it out in the sun and look at all the glitter in the oil.

slomo said:

I wouldn't put any 10 grade oil in any mower. Shears down too fast. SAE 30w all the way.

Is this your first initial oil change? 50 hours? You know the first oil dump will have a ton of metal in it? Take it out in the sun and look at all the glitter in the oil.

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What exactly is a class one valve cover leak? Valves on Briggs don’t need adjustment until 250 hours.

The what kind of oil to use controversy is an ongoing topic of debate, and will continue to be. Many people recommend initial oil change at 5-10 hours, then every 50 hours. Remember, most manuals call for oil change at 100 hours and oil filter every 200 hours. Most people have cut both down to every 50 hours.

When I fit a new engine, I mow with it for a full tank then do an oil change , check bolts for tightness, check the valve lash and change the oil.
So it is all done for the customer & I know it was working properly when it left here .
As for oil changes on hours, a total waste of time
People need simple instruction that they can follow easily ( considering that a lot do not have hour meters and hour meters are generally the first thing to fail ) . Thus they get instructed to change the oil immediatly after the last mow of the season, remove the blower housing & clean the fins leaving the blower housing off till next season when it gets refitted & the air filter gets changed
If the mower has an oil filter then change it every even number year.
Simple, easy to follow and more than good enough for a residential mower .

Tiger Small Engine said:

What exactly is a class one valve cover leak? Valves on Briggs don’t need adjustment until 250 hours.

The what kind of oil to use controversy is an ongoing topic of debate, and will continue to be. Many people recommend initial oil change at 5-10 hours, then every 50 hours. Remember, most manuals call for oil change at 100 hours and oil filter every 200 hours. Most people have cut both down to every 50 hours.

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It’s an Army thing, leaks are classified into three groups:
Class 1 - damp gasket, attracts dirt.
Class 2 - same as above with one or more drops of oil at bottom edge of joint.
Class 3 - leak actively running oil out of joint.
It’s hard to know who’s advice to trust, but I guess I’ll just stick with the owners manual. Clearly 50 hours is a little early basted on the look of what I drained, but oil is cheap, engines are not.

exiled_to_ohio said:

Clearly 50 hours is a little early basted on the look of what I drained, but oil is cheap, engines are not.

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That's why I recommend dumping the oil early and often. Mainly to get the break-in metal out. Oil is cheap.

What I do on a new engine is mow with it and dump the oil hot. Do 5 mows like this dumping the oil and metal out. Then resume what the manual states or yearly is what I do. Oil is cheaper than a new engine.

Hi,
I use 10W-30 as I live in Florida, and it is suppose to work better in hotter Climes?

seagiant said:

Hi,
I use 10W-30 as I live in Florida, and it is suppose to work better in hotter Climes?

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Put a few drops of 10w-30 on your fingers. Now the same with SAE 30w. You will notice the SAE 30w is thicker WITHOUT viscosity index improvers that 10w-30 has. Stick with SAE 30w or what your engine manual calls for.

Just a note on this, Briggs calls for an initial oil change on this motor @ 8 hours which I did near the end of the first season in 2020. I changed the original filter as well, It came out clean. So far, the engine consumes almost zero oil.