redline oil in a pushmower?

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howdy My folks mower in a honda push mower. kinda hard to start the last few years I ran cleaner in gas and is better. I changed oil to redline 0-40.

Do you guys think this choice is ok or did i screw up. the yard they mow only takes about 1 and half hours to mow.
thanks
 
Sure it's ok, but why Redline in a push mower? Could just buy a gallon of 15w-40 HDEO for the cost of Redline qt.
 
I thought it might be more heat resistant. because of air cooled engine gets hotter than car engine. should this oil last a season or two? we cant afford a new mower so I thought I would buy a good grp 5 oil that would not shear down.
any thoughts are appreciated.
thanks
 
Nothing wrong with using the Redline 0w40 in the mower if you already have it on hand but you probably don't need to buy it just for the mower since it's expensive and over kill

Mowers usually run well on the 40 grade if it's really hot out, but if it's cold it could be harder on splash lube engines, the ones with full pressure lube (ones with oil filters) are fine on 40 grade all time usually.
 
Red Line is fine. Make sure you're changing whatever oil you use at the specified interval. Most manufacturers call for 25 hours. I just change mine at the end of the season.

I put the marine Sta-Bil in all of my fuel and keep the tanks full.
 
If you can't be 100% sure that you got every last drop of fuel out and it's completely home-dry inside, then the second best thing you can do is to add a full bottle of Stabil to the fuel and then top off with fresh fuel before sealing the tank&vent for the off season.

Re oil - redline is more than capable of dealing with all the heat you can throw at it, but it's arguable than any HDEO would perform equally well. The only way to be sure is to UOA.
 
Overkill indeed. These little engines typically last forever on a minimum of lubrication. In fact, it's more of a fluke that they fail.

As was mentioned already, it's far more important to keep their cooling fins cleaned out than using a high end race type oil.
 
I wouldn't buy a new mower just because this one might be hard to start. You can buy an entire carb for Honda mower engines on the internet for 20 bucks if you shop. They are easy top change. Often a shot of Berryhman carb cleaner gets the engine going properly.
 
Since you mentioned the mower is hard to start, I would check the spark plug to make sure it is gapped properly and not fouled. Cleaning the carb or running your favorite carb cleaner in the gas would also be a good idea.
 
I also have a Honda Engine (Troy mower.) I generally have a 5 quart jug of "left over" new oil from oil changes. 1/4 quart here and there gets dumped in. It is usually a mixture of synthetic and synthetic blend, so now its one big blend of various SN oils. Some 20 and some 30 weights. My mower only takes around 3/4 of a quart, so guess what goes in every fall? Mower is 12 years old and runs great.
 
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at end of mowing season should we run tank dry or stabil the gas on last fill up?


Both!.

Rule of thumb from my cycle days was: stabil and fill a metal tank, drain a plastic tank.
And of course, make sure that stabil treated gas gets into the carb.

My 2¢
 
I like on sale synthetics for my small engines, usually 10w-30 in the big 5 qt containers last me a long time. I will also mix other oils including conventionals that I have on hand. More importantly though, I buy really good fuel for the small air cooled carburetor motors. I buy non-ethanol 90 octane recreational fuel. Costs an extra $1 a gallon but I never have to worry about my carbs gumming up.
 
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overkill but it isn't my money. It should work great. To be honest I have been using cheap conventional 5w-30 for almost 15 years now with zero issues. Changing the oil alone goes a long way with the reliability of OPE. Just make sure to keep the fuel fresh and run the engine dry with a healthy dose of stabil prior to shutting down for the season
 
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