Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Guys

I did the first oil change today and just have a few questions for the more experienced:

1. The Tecumseh engine instructions direct to use a detergent multigrade, SAE 5W30 with SL/SJ ratings. I ended up buying Castrol GX because it stated all of those specific things on the container. I would have rather bought one of the other national brands--Valvoline or Penzoil, because they had that nice little clear band down the side of the container so you can gauge how much oil has been dispensed vs. the Castrol which didn't. Question: As far as the national, trusted, recognized brands that you see everyday, if they don't specifically say multigrade, can you safely assume they are? Not to sound overly paranoid but I simply worry a bit more about taking chances with this snowblower vs. my lawnmwower (that's lasted 18 summers so far BTW and KOW!) Also, if they don't mention SL/SJ but specify they are "SM" (which, hey, is one letter higher than SL so I assume it's better?) and exceed all previous specs...would this fulfill the ..."make sure it's SL/SJ rated" dictum?


2. In this engine you have to put in .62 of a liter. So, today I was sort of poring a bit, checking, poring, checking, etc., so I didn't overfill. I actually dispensed a bit under .62L as from my best wag, as (I think) the dipstick said filled. Question: These Ariens dipsticks (and I notice my lawnmower is the same) are a bit vague visually as far as seeing exactly how much oil is indicating on the dipstick. You think it looks like it's about at the full mark but there's always a bit of random oil scattered on the stick to confuse things. You kind of see that there is a basically solid oil line at the end of the stick that fills in the proper area and you think you're OK. It's not like most auto dipsticks which give you a pretty unambiguous indication of oil level. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that I at least got it up into between the "ADD" and "FULL" hashmarks since I dispensed slightly over half the container but I know I dispensed slightly less than .62. It started and ran fine. Can anyone tell me if there's some trick to the "wipe, insert, pull and eyeball" routine of a typical oil check on their blower, and how they know they've added the proper amount when they're eyballing the stick? Thanks a lot for any advice!

Thanks for the info. It was the first oil change--the one you do after the first two hours of operation. Actually, the oil was dirtier looking than I thought it would be. I guess you really are pulling out a lot of crud the first time.

Almost everyone I know has gone to synthetic, as it flows better when extremely cold so the engine is easier to pull over.

If you are in the neighborhood of full, and check it, you are maintaining the engine better than about 95% of owners.

For engine oil explanations, you might find the following reference interesting.....

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

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