I recently purchased a 24in. 2-stage Murray snowblower with the 5hp Tecumseh "Snow-King" engine. Per the engine manual the oil is supposed to be changed after the first 2 hours of operation and then every 25 hours of operation or seasonally.
No snow yet, but I wanted to get through the initial 2 hours and get the oil changed before the snow season hit us hard.
I ran the engine for a total of 1 hour broken up into 20min segments over the course of a couple of days "unloaded" and varying the throttle.
Then I ran the engine for 1 hour once again broken into 20min segments over the course of one day "loaded" (I tied down the handle that engages the auger). I ran the engine loaded at 1/3, 2/3, and full throttle over those 3 20min blocks of time.
Changed the oil out last night. That was some nasty looking garbage. Dark grey, kind of milky looking with plenty of bits of shiny metal in it.
Oil capacity is 21 ounces. I dumped 1/2 a quart of Havoline 5w30 I had laying around from summer into the crankcase, let it sit for a bit and pulled the drain plug again. Flushed out quite a bit more garbage. Finally I poured the other 1/2 quart straight through the engine (no plug in) and it was finally running out clean and with no metal shavings.
I filled it up with the new 5w30 TropArtic "synblend" that is showing up at retailers now. Meets SM/GF-4.
So any thoughts on my "break in" proceedures, choice of oil and when it should be changed next?
No snow yet, but I wanted to get through the initial 2 hours and get the oil changed before the snow season hit us hard.
I ran the engine for a total of 1 hour broken up into 20min segments over the course of a couple of days "unloaded" and varying the throttle.
Then I ran the engine for 1 hour once again broken into 20min segments over the course of one day "loaded" (I tied down the handle that engages the auger). I ran the engine loaded at 1/3, 2/3, and full throttle over those 3 20min blocks of time.
Changed the oil out last night. That was some nasty looking garbage. Dark grey, kind of milky looking with plenty of bits of shiny metal in it.
Oil capacity is 21 ounces. I dumped 1/2 a quart of Havoline 5w30 I had laying around from summer into the crankcase, let it sit for a bit and pulled the drain plug again. Flushed out quite a bit more garbage. Finally I poured the other 1/2 quart straight through the engine (no plug in) and it was finally running out clean and with no metal shavings.
I filled it up with the new 5w30 TropArtic "synblend" that is showing up at retailers now. Meets SM/GF-4.
So any thoughts on my "break in" proceedures, choice of oil and when it should be changed next?