I got a Quantum B&S, do oil changes beginning of each season. I never need to add oil and it is over 10 years old. Amazing engines. I do check it before each mow to be safe though.
@@HomeGaragechannel It is a solid engine, I would like to see it live for another 10+ years. I have a backup Honda mower that needs tons of repair, but I prefer the Craftsman even though it has cheap other parts on it.
I never have to add oil to my mowers. But then again I change it 2X a year. Always check it before using. Use HD straight 30 wt in my push mowers and purple synthectic in my 17 HP Kohler Courage.I've heard all the horror stories about the courage but haven't had a bit of trouble with it.
I have a customer with one of these. I just tuned it up, cleaned out under the drive belt covers, sharpened the blade, changed the oil & air filter in the beginning of the season. He brought it back last week because the drive stopped working. The belt covers and that pulley cover around the blade were completely packed solid with grass and about 3lbs of acorns, and this guy never lets his grass get too tall between mowings. A bunch of the acorns got ground up in the pulleys and derailed the belt. This is without a doubt the stupidest belt drive cover design I have ever seen. If you use it as a mulching mower the large open area under the deck turns the belt covers into a grass catcher and packs them up, plus it goes through pulleys because they are completely exposed to the mowing area. It’s not as bad if you use the grass catcher or the rear chute, but all they had to do was make the hole in that bottom cover piece much smaller so it protects the pulleys and the belt and it wouldn’t be a problem at all. If I didn’t know that I had just cleaned out under those covers a few months ago I’d swear they’d never been cleaned in the life of the mower!
I agree 100%. If I am keeping a machine and have no plans of selling it, then I will do what I have to to make sure that everything is 100% functional at all times. When I keep one, it is usually because I have some kind of attachment to it. I want it to be the best it can be.
Great mower, especially if you have hills on your property. They are lucky they didn't cause severe damage. I like that you addressed the dirty (filthy) chassis.
Never have to add oil to my either of the Honda mowers I’ve had. Same with the Kohler I had too. Then again I changed the oil generally once a year or so.
What is the cleaner/degreaser that you use on these machines? It seems from the videos, that it does a pretty good job. The machines always look good when you're finished with them.
Looks like they could have also had it on its side and rotated the blade. Done that before and caused oil to get sucked through the breather and muffler. But that overfill will definitely cause it to smoke like that too. Best to fire it up and let it run for about an hour to help burn the oil out of the muffler.
Can you please make a video of how to replace a John Deere gas tank an old snowblower because I started it but hit the gas tank nob or stem or the connector to the gas tank, and the fuel line
I have one of those engines on a toro I acquired. It said on air filter cover no oil change just add. Took 3 oil changes to get it to look clean. Change oil after break in and al least yearly
Hey, your family / friend at least tried and took some interest in maintaining the equipment. Kudos to them. You reminded me to change oil. I changed it this year and it read low. I swear I put hardly any in and overfilled it. I was lazy and will correct it with next oil change. 30 W oil? Non detergent? I don’t even remember what to use? I guess just buy mower oil?
Have you ever tried running seafoam through an engine to clean it out? That stuff works really good on carbon deposits and also lubricates some of the internal parts of the engine. You should give it a try.
On my old Honda HR214 last year while doing annual service I’ve decided to do a compression test after seeing excessive carbon buildup on spark plug electrode. The compression reading was 95psi. I tipped the mower upright with the spark plug opening facing up and filled the cylinder with Seafoam at top dead center. Left this sit for about a week, replaced spark plug then after mowing my lawn I’ve checked the compression again with a new reading of 115 psi this time. I’m assuming there was some carbon deposits forming around piston rings which the Seafom helped to clean and restore the engine compression. I have to mention that prior this the engine didn’t smoke or knock or did I noticed loss of power but after Seafom treatment the mower starts at first pull of the rope where before it took two or three when cold.
have a rider that i had to fill both before and in the middle of mowing . mounted a bed on rear and converted it to a 15 mile per hour "poorwheeler" utility vehicle . the old flathead briggs sometimes smokes so bad that you can hardly breathe , and sometimes doesn't smoke at all . sometimes sump is nearly dry when i check oil . been like this for years , despite a couple of new sets of rings . have another engine waiting for it , but this old warrior just refuses to quit .
I usually don't have to add oil but I might change it twice a season too. When I got the opposed Vanguard, something was folded over in the fuel pump and ran the motor full. I caught it and it only cleaned the innards and I got a kit and took the pump off and rebuilt it. That was several years ago and no problems yet. The way the 85 Snapper governor acts I run it a dab rich but usually change it when the oil gets ready. And I had to use a Husky mower like that and I can go just as good with my Snapper as it can and a site lighter too. I've got that same motor on our pressure washer. Plastic camshaft. Thanks and Blessings
I'd learned through all the years of driving trucks and herding machines that if you didn't keep them up, you had to fix them. Seems like that goes for about everything that isn't a blasted computer or computer controlled. My pal with his own shop had a Cub Cadet mower that has the same start/stop panel as the battery job. The little board he had to get was over $200 and there were more at over $400 with the same part number. I think the battery job has a 5 year warranty. It's getting more interesting every day of folks making stuff that they won't tell you anything about. Like how to keep the batteries from freezing without taking them inside or heating the storage place OR do what we're doing. Ought to be able to help you on these things. Interesting! Blessings to you!@@HomeGaragechannel
on a snapper riding lawnmower 9hp briggs and station engine what will cause the bottom of the engine block where you can spite the engine apart to leak a little bit . and do i need to replace the seal to stop it. the lawnmower is a 2000 snapper WM280921B, 28" 9 HP Rear Engine Rider " M" Series 21 sizes riding lawnmower
If the oil is leaking/dripping then yes you will need to reseal the sump. If it’s only sweaty and collecting dust without you having add any oil between the mows then it’s up to you. And no, “thicker” oil will not solve this issue. Good luck
When you split the case there’s going to be a gasket in between. After cleaning both mating surfaces replace damaged gasket with a new one. In some cases high temp RTV silicone is used instead of traditional gasket.
Never had to add oil to my Honda mower. It is a couple of years old. I changed it the first season to clear out the break in oil. It doesn’t have to mow very much grass.
On maintained newer Honda the only oil issues I see is governor shaft and valve cover “sweating” a little but not obvious leaks or consumption. Solid engines
@@rumrunner4783 Good to know. Honda motors are great. I still putter around in 1987 50 cc SE50P scooter. It sat for over 15 years. I added a bit of Seafoam. Let it sit, and it started right up.
Hey bro what's up? This mower didn't look bad at all considering that it was being used. The oil level was questionable and also the grass wrapped around the axel.
@@HomeGaragechannel nice. I'm guessing that overfilling the oil will most definitely cause the excessive smoking and will probably cause the piston to get partially covered with carbon.
Your mower must be burning/smoking a lot or leaking/dripping which is not a good thing. Take care of it before it causes more damage not only to your mower but to your lawn, garage floor, environment and not to mention your health. Good luck
1969! Very impressive! Another great example of how much better quality this equipment was build back then. Now we use this high quality top notch high end space age technology to produce “crappy” mower. Something Elon Musk should look in to…oh wait, that would be another electric mower! Let’s fix that cub cadet! Looks like normal wear and tear at this point, being so old I’m assuming great maintenance and care over the years. Compression and cylinder leak down test will be helpful before tear down and hopefully new set of rings and gasket set is all the machine needs. Keep us posted!
In my 3 horsepower Briggs and Stratton powered lawnmower it was burning 200 mLs of oil per hour before replacing the piston rings & the same amount every 10 hours after I rebuilt the engine !
Did you follow break in process after the rebuild? How extensive was the rebuild job? Sometimes budget rebuild ends with new piston rings and gasket set and reusing old piston and sometimes not ideal cylinder wall surface so some oil consumption is to be expected.
I got a Quantum B&S, do oil changes beginning of each season. I never need to add oil and it is over 10 years old. Amazing engines. I do check it before each mow to be safe though.
wow much maintenance routine!
@@HomeGaragechannel It is a solid engine, I would like to see it live for another 10+ years. I have a backup Honda mower that needs tons of repair, but I prefer the Craftsman even though it has cheap other parts on it.
nice!
I never have to add oil to my mowers. But then again I change it 2X a year. Always check it before using. Use HD straight 30 wt in my push mowers and purple synthectic in my 17 HP Kohler Courage.I've heard all the horror stories about the courage but haven't had a bit of trouble with it.
nice!
I have a customer with one of these. I just tuned it up, cleaned out under the drive belt covers, sharpened the blade, changed the oil & air filter in the beginning of the season. He brought it back last week because the drive stopped working. The belt covers and that pulley cover around the blade were completely packed solid with grass and about 3lbs of acorns, and this guy never lets his grass get too tall between mowings. A bunch of the acorns got ground up in the pulleys and derailed the belt. This is without a doubt the stupidest belt drive cover design I have ever seen. If you use it as a mulching mower the large open area under the deck turns the belt covers into a grass catcher and packs them up, plus it goes through pulleys because they are completely exposed to the mowing area. It’s not as bad if you use the grass catcher or the rear chute, but all they had to do was make the hole in that bottom cover piece much smaller so it protects the pulleys and the belt and it wouldn’t be a problem at all. If I didn’t know that I had just cleaned out under those covers a few months ago I’d swear they’d never been cleaned in the life of the mower!
yes you are correct, the cover is quite a liability when it comes to the belt and the pulleys
Yes I think you should change the oil just add is a joke.😊
thanks!
I have never had to add oil to my lawnmower, but I do change it at the beginning of mowing season.
very nice routine!
I agree 100%. If I am keeping a machine and have no plans of selling it, then I will do what I have to to make sure that everything is 100% functional at all times. When I keep one, it is usually because I have some kind of attachment to it. I want it to be the best it can be.
I totally have to agree with you on that one.
Neglect is the worst repair of all. I pick and choose my work now. I can fix the problem, but never the cause.
well said!
Great mower, especially if you have hills on your property. They are lucky they didn't cause severe damage. I like that you addressed the dirty (filthy) chassis.
agreed!
I never add oil. I change it every season on all my 4 stroke engines, and they don't use enough oil to require adding.
good choice!
Never have to add oil to my either of the Honda mowers I’ve had. Same with the Kohler I had too. Then again I changed the oil generally once a year or so.
nice work! Your engines are in very good condition then.
What is the cleaner/degreaser that you use on these machines? It seems from the videos, that it does a pretty good job. The machines always look good when you're finished with them.
sure, I'm using Super Heavy Duty Degreaser but you have to be very careful with it.
I applaud them for at least trying to maintain it for sure but to bad to way overfill with oil.
I agree.
I have a similar one, 10 years without any oil change or additional oil added. Only air filter one time ..increible machinery
Thanks for sharing
Had a coworker who had the same problem. He thought you were supposed to pour the entire one quart bottle in it.
yes a lot of people think that.
Looks like they could have also had it on its side and rotated the blade. Done that before and caused oil to get sucked through the breather and muffler. But that overfill will definitely cause it to smoke like that too. Best to fire it up and let it run for about an hour to help burn the oil out of the muffler.
yes I've done that a time or to a long time ago.
Can you please make a video of how to replace a John Deere gas tank an old snowblower because I started it but hit the gas tank nob or stem or the connector to the gas tank, and the fuel line
I wish I could however snowblowers are not very common in my area.
I have one of those engines on a toro I acquired. It said on air filter cover no oil change just add. Took 3 oil changes to get it to look clean. Change oil after break in and al least yearly
yes, the whole "no oil change" thing was not a great idea
No i've never had to add any oil to mine.I change it every season at the beginning of season Thank you for the video
no problem
This brand offers the most overpriced trash I've ever seen.
LOL!!!!
Do you charge extra for cleaning and lubricating?
nope
Never had to add. Just check it in case and change it every year.
very nice!
We get it, mower. You vape!
LOL!@!
Why didn't you clean the grass out of the valve cover mating surface
choice Neo
@@HomeGaragechannel interesting
Well for me only when it needs a quick top up and besides that it's lasted me many years etc.
you got that right, a good engine won't consume that much oil to begin with.
@@HomeGaragechannel yep too right mate.
It's been a while I watch these videos.
thank you for watching
Do you live in St Louis
nope
Hey, your family / friend at least tried and took some interest in maintaining the equipment. Kudos to them.
You reminded me to change oil. I changed it this year and it read low. I swear I put hardly any in and overfilled it. I was lazy and will correct it with next oil change. 30 W oil? Non detergent? I don’t even remember what to use? I guess just buy mower oil?
there's always a "preferred" oil type but to be honest almost any oil will do.
Have you ever tried running seafoam through an engine to clean it out? That stuff works really good on carbon deposits and also lubricates some of the internal parts of the engine. You should give it a try.
I'm sure it works but the answer no, I've never used it on a mower.
On my old Honda HR214 last year while doing annual service I’ve decided to do a compression test after seeing excessive carbon buildup on spark plug electrode. The compression reading was 95psi. I tipped the mower upright with the spark plug opening facing up and filled the cylinder with Seafoam at top dead center. Left this sit for about a week, replaced spark plug then after mowing my lawn I’ve checked the compression again with a new reading of 115 psi this time. I’m assuming there was some carbon deposits forming around piston rings which the Seafom helped to clean and restore the engine compression. I have to mention that prior this the engine didn’t smoke or knock or did I noticed loss of power but after Seafom treatment the mower starts at first pull of the rope where before it took two or three when cold.
thank you for the information, It might be time to try some.
I change the oil every season
great choice
have a rider that i had to fill both before and in the middle of mowing . mounted a bed on rear and converted it to a 15 mile per hour "poorwheeler" utility vehicle . the old flathead briggs sometimes smokes so bad that you can hardly breathe , and sometimes doesn't smoke at all . sometimes sump is nearly dry when i check oil . been like this for years , despite a couple of new sets of rings . have another engine waiting for it , but this old warrior just refuses to quit .
wow! what a great engine!
What kind of spray cleaner were you using? That stuff worked great!
it's a degreaser from harbor freight, they only have one kind
I have never needed to on a good mower, when doing yearly changes. But on a mower that leaks thats a different story
that makes total sense.
Away you pesky 🦟 😆
LOL!!
I usually don't have to add oil but I might change it twice a season too. When I got the opposed Vanguard, something was folded over in the fuel pump and ran the motor full. I caught it and it only cleaned the innards and I got a kit and took the pump off and rebuilt it. That was several years ago and no problems yet. The way the 85 Snapper governor acts I run it a dab rich but usually change it when the oil gets ready. And I had to use a Husky mower like that and I can go just as good with my Snapper as it can and a site lighter too. I've got that same motor on our pressure washer. Plastic camshaft. Thanks and Blessings
I would imagine your maintenance routine was more than enough to keep all your equipment in great working condition
I'd learned through all the years of driving trucks and herding machines that if you didn't keep them up, you had to fix them. Seems like that goes for about everything that isn't a blasted computer or computer controlled. My pal with his own shop had a Cub Cadet mower that has the same start/stop panel as the battery job. The little board he had to get was over $200 and there were more at over $400 with the same part number. I think the battery job has a 5 year warranty. It's getting more interesting every day of folks making stuff that they won't tell you anything about. Like how to keep the batteries from freezing without taking them inside or heating the storage place OR do what we're doing. Ought to be able to help you on these things. Interesting! Blessings to you!@@HomeGaragechannel
on a snapper riding lawnmower 9hp briggs and station engine what will cause the bottom of the engine block where you can spite the engine apart to leak a little bit . and do i need to replace the seal to stop it. the lawnmower is a 2000 snapper WM280921B, 28" 9 HP Rear Engine Rider " M" Series 21 sizes riding lawnmower
If the oil is leaking/dripping then yes you will need to reseal the sump. If it’s only sweaty and collecting dust without you having add any oil between the mows then it’s up to you. And no, “thicker” oil will not solve this issue. Good luck
thanks reseal the sump with what @@rumrunner4783
When you split the case there’s going to be a gasket in between. After cleaning both mating surfaces replace damaged gasket with a new one. In some cases high temp RTV silicone is used instead of traditional gasket.
thinks@@rumrunner4783
well said
Never had to add oil to my Honda mower. It is a couple of years old. I changed it the first season to clear out the break in oil. It doesn’t have to mow very much grass.
On maintained newer Honda the only oil issues I see is governor shaft and valve cover “sweating” a little but not obvious leaks or consumption. Solid engines
@@rumrunner4783
Good to know. Honda motors are great. I still putter around in 1987 50 cc SE50P scooter. It sat for over 15 years. I added a bit of Seafoam. Let it sit, and it started right up.
@@qfdformeRide on man! 86 ch150 on this end!!😂
@@rumrunner4783 Honda’s don’t die. Although Yamaha is pretty good too. I am still driving a 1981 golf cart.
perfect routine for me. Just keep an eye on it after that
I have a mower that needs a brake cable.Do I look under model number or serial number
Model #
model and the serial number will help with any variations
What's the item on the deck that looks a bit like a Hozelok connector?
that's a wash port to hook up your garden hose. Turn on the water, and then turn on the mower and let the water clean the deck.
could be burning oil deposits in the muffler
yes I do believe you're correct
what type of cleaner did you use to clean the mower? looked brand new when you were finished!
I'm using the degreaser from harbor freight but to be honest the mowers paint was in great shape to begin with.
@@HomeGaragechannel thank you.
Hey bro what's up? This mower didn't look bad at all considering that it was being used. The oil level was questionable and also the grass wrapped around the axel.
yes it was, I don't recall it being like that when it was here last time so I'm going to have to take a look again and see.
@@HomeGaragechannel nice. I'm guessing that overfilling the oil will most definitely cause the excessive smoking and will probably cause the piston to get partially covered with carbon.
you are correct.
Too much oil is worse than too little
In my experience little oil caused blown motor where too much oil blew crank shaft seal
definitely not good either way
well put
It can be hard to see the dipstick with fresh oil. A little Marvel Mystery oil will give it some color.
May I suggest eye doctor visit in near future? It did wonders for me!
thank you for the tip
I've been needing to, getting to that age.
I have to add oil everytime i mow
Your mower must be burning/smoking a lot or leaking/dripping which is not a good thing. Take care of it before it causes more damage not only to your mower but to your lawn, garage floor, environment and not to mention your health. Good luck
@@rumrunner4783 It is 1969 cub cadet 125 with 12hp Kohler mostly burns it
1969! Very impressive! Another great example of how much better quality this equipment was build back then. Now we use this high quality top notch high end space age technology to produce “crappy” mower. Something Elon Musk should look in to…oh wait, that would be another electric mower! Let’s fix that cub cadet! Looks like normal wear and tear at this point, being so old I’m assuming great maintenance and care over the years. Compression and cylinder leak down test will be helpful before tear down and hopefully new set of rings and gasket set is all the machine needs. Keep us posted!
wow, I've had that issue before too, it was a worn out engine though
Good fix 👍
thanks
I won't buy a machine that claims to be maintenance free. It's maintenance free because it won't last long enough to ever need any maintenance.
well said!
In my 3 horsepower Briggs and Stratton powered lawnmower it was burning 200 mLs of oil per hour before replacing the piston rings & the same amount every 10 hours after I rebuilt the engine !
Did you follow break in process after the rebuild? How extensive was the rebuild job? Sometimes budget rebuild ends with new piston rings and gasket set and reusing old piston and sometimes not ideal cylinder wall surface so some oil consumption is to be expected.
that was quite the burn rate
hello