10w-30 is no good for my engine

[milwaukee]

I have a John Deere lawn tractor with the 17hp kawasaki engine. I recently bought one of those john deere maintenence/tune up in a box kits and it came with two qts of JD turfgard 10w-30.

My machine uses about 8 oz. of oil all summer on Pennzoil hd30. After I put in the 10w-30 I used 8 oz. over the next two mowings

(I have to mow every 5-6 days). I stopped by the dealer where I bought the kit and they gave me two quarts of 30wt JD oil for free and said they hear this all the time from customers but said JD "pushes" 10w-30 down everyones throat in all the small engines regardless of age. I replaced the 10w-30 with the JD 30wt and have had zero consumption over the last 5 mowing sessions.

I see a ton of you guys use 10w-30 with no problems so what gives.

Looks like I am stuck using plain old 30wt. I would have thought a 10w-30 made just for small air cooled engines like the John Deere turfgard would have held up better than that.

 

[TooSlick]

I run a 0w-30 synthetic in my 15 year old, JD 265 with the same engine and it burns no oil to speak of. It's not the SAE grade that's the issue, it's the poor quality of the stuff you're using.

TS

 

[milwaukee]

That is very likely. I guess I just figured the John Deere turf gard would be a good oil for an air cooled engine.

 

[adam123]

Synthetic in a Aircooled engine wont burn off nearly as easy as Dino will.

 

[Gilitar]

Your fine with the straight 30 weight. No need to worry with the 10w30.

 

[muddawgs]

oils can be funny at times. same wt/diff brand one burns off or leaks the other doesnt. use what you think works the best. you may have to try a few brands. some engines just use a little oil also.

i like m1 10/30 and have used a few diff brands and found that qs 30 wt would burn off but a superflo 30 wouldnt and have had no problems using synths. i'm currently using used m1 5/30 out of my toyota that showed still good via uoa. try a diff brand next time and see if that helps. delvac or rotella 15/40 maybe a good one to try next.

 

[jef1ge]

I have a 98 JDF525, has Kaw 17horse model 540xx, cant remember, it is the intergrated powerunit type, where the hydrostatic pump/drive are one with the engine oil. Calls for 5w30 "preferred" se, sf, sg. I have been 10w30 castrol, sl, but may change now with the sm out. Does not use any oil.

Jeff

 

[Bror Jace]

jef1ge, they are asking for older oils bcause they want more zinc phosphate ... ZDDP.

But look around at some of the newer oils, the levels of ZDDP might be down, but they have moly and/or boron in them which takes over the same function (barrier anti-wear).

And some oils like the high-mileage oils and the heavy-duty gas/diesel both have really potent levels of the anti-wear adds.

If you change the oil often, even the skimpiest add pack won't get depleted.

--- Bror Jace

 

[jef1ge]

Ya Bror, I know, am thinking 10w30 Rotella hdeo. System holds 4.5 qts, but only get out 2.5 with filter at change..bout every 50hrs..

Now have a little Kaw ninja screamer to get back and forth to work cheap, it wants it too se,sf,sg or sh,sj with jaso ma rating...

J.

 

[milwaukee]

I'd rather have one kawasaki engine than two kohler engines.

BTW, deere used kohler engines for a long time.

Why do all your posts in this forum always have a little snipe shot at JD machines?

It sounds like you need justification of some sort.

 

[GT Mike]

My boss has a JD 260 with a 17 HP Kawie engine on it. I've always done the service on it, and used Pennzoil 30 with a Wix filter. Never had any consumption problems, or anything else for that matter. It uses no oil between changes, and has a pretty hard life mowing about 6 acres of grass a week. It has almost 1000 hours on it right now, and runs great!

Only problem he ever had with it was the plug wire fell apart, so I converted it to a Chevy HEI style end, rather than the Japanese style which slid over the threaded end of the plug. Now it just has to have a plug with the "bullet" top installed rather than removed. It seems to like Nippondenso plugs best.

I never really liked Kawasaki engines, and thought it a little deceiving that an "american" company such as JD would be using Japanese engines. But this thing is very impressive, and seems to be reliable as a rock.

I'd rather have an Ariens tractor with a Kohler engine personally, but my boss is a JD guy, and took what was offered at the time.

 

[GT Mike]

IMHO, John Deere doesn't live up to its hype. It's overpriced for what you get. There are other brands out there that will outperform and outlast JD for less money.

If you want a green hat that bad, then I guess nobody's going to stop you.

 

[80caprice]

Lol...... I see too many green hats as you call it with busted hoods...... cheap plastic..

 

[milwaukee]

 

[got_titan]

my cub with the 22 hp kohler command mows like ****......ive used many mowers including jd and the kohler is a great mower that usually costs less than the jd. i did notice that lowes has gone to jd mowers know. i bought the cub at the same lowes a year ago.....not sure why they changed??? i guess they can make more money on the jd line???

 

[Johnny]

Not trying to start an argument so don't ask, but I find this amusing. Here we have GT Mike from Oshkosh talking with milwaukee from east TN about one engine made in WI and the other made in Japan. Don't know why just found it amusing. Please continue.

 

[JTK]

To the OP, you could run any 30 or 40wt variation in that 17hp kawi one-lunger. Outstanding engine. Had one in a JD GT262 I had some time ago. Yes JD's are pricey, but if you spend a ton of seat time on one, they are comfortable mofo's, and the controlls are usually positioned well. Good ergonomics. I currently owne a (2005) cub cadet 2544 GT. It's a tough and easy to service work-horse, but it's no where as cozy as a JD, Simplicity or kubota GT.

G/luck
Joel

 

[Soupy]

I own a lawn care company have switched to all Kohler's. But if I remember correctly Kawi's call for SAE 30 while Kohler calls for 10W-30. I would think if JD uses Kawi engines then they would include the right oil in their kit. But if they use both brands of engines then they probably feel safer selling 10w-30 for all.

JD doesn't seem to be a preferred brand for commercial lawn mowing, but they do make great tractors and their name is well known for their farming market and this makes Homeowners think the little green garden tractors are the best thing on the market.

 

[frequency]

Soupy, I own a new JD LX280 with a Kawasaki 18hp engine (FH580V)and the JD owners manual doesn't even list SAE 30 wt. I bought the technical manual and it does list 30 wt in there. I just changed out the oil at 5 hours and put in JD Turf-Gard 10w30 just to make sure I stay within warranty. What brand and wt did your lawn business use when you ran Kawasaki's?

 

[Soupy]

Actually my JD/Kawi was a early 90's model and they might have changed recommended oil weight. I do know my Kohler's use 10w-30 and I run Amsoil 10w-30 / 30W HD synthetic diesel oil in them.

It might also depend on location which weight oil Kawi/Kohler recommends. Did your mower come with a engine Manuel? Mine always come with two manuals.. One for mower and one for engine.