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

Having had  a chance to use my new Ariens ST24E  with a Subaru sx21 engine I have been most pleased thus far but am now getting to the point of the initial oil change.

I reviewed the manuals and they gave conflicting instructions regarding the oil change requirements.

The Ariens Manual said to change the oil after the first two hours of use while the Subaru manual said to change the oil after twenty hours.  Now thats a large difference

The hours used between subsequent oil changes was also slightly confusing as the Subaru manual said to change it every fifty (100) hours of use.  Yes, that is correct, they gave one number in words and then double that amount in numerical form.


So I come to you to ask you opinions as to when the heck I should change the oil on this machine, both initially and then  on a regular schedule.

Thanks for any advice.

That is easy.  Change it every 5100 hours.

Ok, so maybe not such a good idea.  I imagine the Ariens manual was written for the Briggs engine or maybe the Tecumseh engine?  Not sure why Subaru would have conflicting info though.  I figure you can't hurt it by changing it too much.  Nothing like quality control on the translating line.

Oneplay wrote:

Hmm, Well I can tell you my new Yamaha reads  'change the Oil after the first 20 hours ( or 4 full tanks of gas), then each time the winter season begins'.

I am a bit more zealous in that I will likely change the Oil this weekend, about 5 hours, then every 50 hours after that. I use a good quality conventional Oil, well worth the $4.00!!!

I also like to put fresh oil in it for storage, get all the acids and contaminates out of there, why let them sit for the summer. Then it is ready to go for a surprise early snow storm!

I would change it after the first two hours and then put in synthetic.  Run it the rest of the season on your second oil change and then change it again at the end of the season when you put it away.  That way, you can pretty much bet you've gotten any small particles out from when it was mfg.  Opinions will very on this topic especially when it comes to oil.

lseap107 wrote:

Well it is about opinions on this site. So I will give mine, it is based on reference from a friend who rebuilds engines for >30 years.

I am not going to get into the synthetic vs conventional debate, use what your manual recommends.

Some manufactures do recommend synthetic, some don't. I can tell you that Yamaha does not make any mention of synthetic oil. I will not be using synthetic oil in my new purchase.

What I will recommend is that you break it in with conventional oil, for the first 50 hours. This allows the various moving parts, esp rings, to wear in, seat, etc. I am not an engine expert, but my friend is, just sharing what he passed on to me.

After you break it in, use what your op manual recommends, may even recommend a synthetic.

I have a 2003 ariens 8hp 24"snowblower that I just put a new drive disc wheel on. it works fine in forward and reverse, but for some reason the wheels will not turn when the engine is off. I checked the free space on the drive wheel and it is not touching anything when the left lever is open. Even when I had the drive gear off the wheel axle would not turn.This condition was not the initial problem, it only happened sometime during the drive wheel replacement. Any advise would keep me from ripping my hair out. Thanks

Scotie wrote: