Easiest Oil Change Ever!

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The mower is a self-propelled LawnBoy with a Kohler engine.
Today I changed the oil by simply removing the dipstick and
tilting it on it's side to drain the oil. Worked great.

Is this SOP for push mowers, or is there a better method?
 
Some mowers have a drain plug underneath.. I prop up the front edge with a block of wood or something and drain it that way. Less messy than tilting it on the side.
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
used an oil extractor and didnt spill a drop.
This ^^^^^
 
Yes, most mower engines these days call for the
'Tip it over' method. Cheaper than machining and installing
a drain plug.
In part due to 'all thumbs' home mechanics that don't install
drain plug properly and they work free and dump the oil killing
the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: TheLoneRanger
The mower is a self-propelled LawnBoy with a Kohler engine.
Today I changed the oil by simply removing the dipstick and
tilting it on it's side to drain the oil. Worked great.

Is this SOP for push mowers, or is there a better method?

Almost all new units have no drain plug. Myself, I would rather have a drain plug as it would be best for getting all wear metals out with the oil.
 
Yes, I just tip my mower over into the big drain pan, then lift the front of the mower and prop it up so it all drains out. Best to run the mower out of gas and drain it then, plus the oil is nice and hot and should take all the particulates with it.

My mower liked RT6 but since I only fill it with surplus and not specific oil, it has had PP 5W-30 and some Mobil1 0W-40 in it as well. I dosed the last fill with some Lubegard BioTech. Just because I can, and push mowers are cheap
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Some mowers have a drain plug underneath.. I prop up the front edge with a block of wood or something and drain it that way. Less messy than tilting it on the side.


+1 I am usually under the deck anyways taking the blade off for sharpening. I usually drain it using the plug. The tipping method is also pretty easy.
 
Originally Posted By: TheLoneRanger
Is this SOP for push mowers, or is there a better method?


I tell people to run the gas tank dry first before tipping anything on it's side.
 
Any idea of how many mowers live long productive lives with no oil changes?

I've worked on mowers that had a substance more similar to black grease in their crankcases that were still running after 20 plus years of obvious abuse. Keep the oil up and a mower will likely never have oil related problems.

Not that I'm against proper maintenance which includes oil changes, I'm simply stating that if there's oil in the machine, it will likely run for many, many years without ever changing the oil. As a matter of fact, I've seen ads for mowers now that claim no oil changes required.
 
When I talked to a Power Equipment servicer this past summer about my lawnmower issue, they said that the vast majority of failures are from the carbs. Change the engine oil all you want. But, keep the carb clean as well. In the half dozen or so small push mowers I've had, it's either been all but once that killed them beyond the cost to repair. The other one was from rust due to not cleaning the underside frequently enough. I do change the oil at least once per year for 50-100 hrs of use.
 
I have been tipping the lawn mowers to drain the oil for the last 30 years. The technique works well
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
When I talked to a Power Equipment servicer this past summer about my lawnmower issue, they said that the vast majority of failures are from the carbs.


I do agree that is mostly what causes people to buy new mowers. Before craigslist me and a group of friends used to spend our summers picking up curbside mowers, cleaning the carbs, and flipping them for profit. We made a nice profit to fund our ATV hobby. Now people know enough to just throw it on Craigslist for $20-30 even if the thing is missing parts.

Dealership markup on parts doesn't help either. I had a guy bring me a fairly new chainsaw that wouldn't start. He said the dealer told him it needed a new carburetor for $200 + labor. The saw was maybe $300 new. Before buying another saw for $300 he asked if I could look at it. I looked online and the whole carburetor was $100, but the rebuild kit was $18. We chanced on the rebuild kit and it took me an hour to clean the carb and install the kit. So for $18 + an hour of labor he was good to go. I feel a lot of the dealers don't want to mess with carbs and just say they need to be replaced, which usually means to the customer it is cheaper to buy a new machine.
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
used an oil extractor and didnt spill a drop.


I bought an oil extractor that you pump up and then release the valve. It works pretty good, but for me it only seems to pull about 80% of the oil out of my lawn mower. Tilting the lawn mower on its side and letting it rest there for 5-10 minutes gets 98+% of the oil out. You can attach a funnel to the filler tube to reduce spills when tilting the mower. I like getting the most oil out as possible, so I've stopped using the extractor for mower changes. If I was changing my mower oi1 dozens of times per year, i'd probably use the extractor, but I'm only changing it once a year, so the tilt method serves me well.
 
Originally Posted By: Rab6715
Originally Posted By: raytseng
used an oil extractor and didnt spill a drop.


I bought an oil extractor that you pump up and then release the valve. It works pretty good, but for me it only seems to pull about 80% of the oil out of my lawn mower. Tilting the lawn mower on its side and letting it rest there for 5-10 minutes gets 98+% of the oil out. You can attach a funnel to the filler tube to reduce spills when tilting the mower. I like getting the most oil out as possible, so I've stopped using the extractor for mower changes. If I was changing my mower oi1 dozens of times per year, i'd probably use the extractor, but I'm only changing it once a year, so the tilt method serves me well.


I just ordered the smaller LiquiVac and have to agree, I poured what it sucked out into an empty quart bottle and it was only about 14oz out of the 20oz it holds. To me that's not acceptable because this was break in oil I was removing at my 2 hour change, my next five hour change I will make sure it all comes out. If I'm going to hassle with changing the oil I want it all to come out. It also wouldn't pull it all out in one time like all the videos I watched, I had to pump it 20 pumps four or five times and finally gave up. Maybe I didn't let it get hot enough, I let it run 2 minutes like the manual said to do. Next time I will try it after letting it sit for a couple minutes after I get done mowing.
 
I get those off eBay / use for power steering, transfer cases, etc / guess I’ll try the push mower next
 
Even if it's got a drain plug under the deck, I'll still run it out of gas and flip it on it's side. In the case of my expensive Snapper Ninja commercial 21" mower, it's got a drain plug, but it's above the self-propel drive belt and cover! Really sweet, well thought out design. LOL.

The only downside to the side flip is, depending on how the carburetor is oriented, some machines can flood out or push engine oil through the breather and into the air cleaner housing depending on how you flip it. That's why I recommend waiting until you run it out of fuel first and get the oil draining as soon as you tip it.

To me, dirtying up equipment such as an oil suction/extraction system is kind of silly for something as simple as a push mower with a fraction of a quart in it. I get it though, if you've got an extractor and that's what you like using, go for it.
 
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