Oil is grey in color

And to add to what Chris has said.
The detergents can only hold the tiny solid bits of debris ( usually carbon ) against the force of gravity for so long .
Leave it sitting for a long time & it will form a sludge
On a car engine no problems because the oil pick up is above the floor of the sump
On vertical shaft engines the oil pick up is below the floor so that is where the sludge will accumulate .

No oil will destroy your engine
Oil is not morgage your house expensive .
So buy some & try it .
Make notes on your computer / phone
Next year buy a different one and see how it goes
When all is said & done, it is oil in the most primative engines currently being made
 
FWIW: Running an engine for only short intervals will accumulate condensation internally, that can eventually turn oil grey.

Engine must be run long enough to get full heat & burn out the condensation.
 
grey oil can also be STP type deposits (clay or ptfe) or non-detergent mineral racing oil. I saw so much of that sh_t when working in the machine shop. It makes clay like deposits everywhere. The idea with the non-detergent racing oil is it is supposed to get changed after every race. The STP was what ever they put in it, I dunno.
 
Grey oil indicates metal, likely from the Connecting Rod Big end. Use Standard 30 oil. Likely a lot of oil inside the muffler causing smoke, so contamination (Aluminum Alloy) may be coming from the Cylinder Wall.
Don't over think it. Keep your eye out for a good newer model. Tis the season!
 
Gord Baker said:
Grey oil indicates metal, likely from the Connecting Rod Big end. Use Standard 30 oil. Likely a lot of oil inside the muffler causing smoke, so contamination (Aluminum Alloy) may be coming from the Cylinder Wall.
Don't over think it. Keep your eye out for a good newer model. Tis the season!
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I will thanks. Going to make a new post requesting for ideas on what is a suitable repower engine. You always need a plan B.
 
bertsmobile1 said:
IMHO
Synthetics are a complete waste of money for mower engines
Oil burns because it gets past the rings &/or valve stems and enters the combustion chamber
Standard oil burns & leaves a carbon deposit
Synthetics blow out the exhaust un noticed till there is not enough oil left in the sump = bang .
Synthetics are designed for high output modern engines not anchient mower engines that have really not changed in the past 30 years .
Click to expand...
Yeah don't waste money on what you do NOT need....run a good quality oil that is spec'd by the manufacturer and with any piece of equipment look it over and check the oil level before firing up! thanks for everyone's input i reall enjoy the forum and have learned so much! Thank you for all those that have served and the ones that gave all!
 
Update: I replaced the head gasket, decarburized the top end. Set the valve clearances, Changed the plug and oil with SAE 30. Replaced the cooling fan as it was damaged. Then I ran it for 30 minutes mowing. It ran well.

After wards I checked the oil and it looked very clean.

The engine seemed to have plenty of power. the owner was happy.

I did notice the transmission acting was funky. It is a 7 speed on a TroyBilt Pony. I am not familiar with it but it seems like a variable speed as the shifter does not have detents. You slide the shift lever any where between 1 and 7. It seems to have slow speeds and high speeds. There is no medium speeds. In 1 thourgh 5 it is slow. Some difference in speed but not much. In 6-7 it goes fast. So It is slow or fast. While in the slow speeds it has little torque. It could not drive over small bumps. Seems Like it is slipping.

I dont know much about it. Any thoughts before I make a separate post about it.?
 
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