Amsoil in old Briggs and Strattons??

[vassarroad]

Love Amsoil, use it in everything.

Have my dealer account but just use it for discounts, nobody really asks for it where I am.

I have some older small engine lawn equipment, and know that going from regular oil to synthetic will shrink seals, do you think it would be a good idea to put it into 4 cycle ten year old small lawn engines?

I'm not sure where they could leak from, I've done it before and never noticed any leakage problems, do you know what gaskets could leak from the shrinkage in small (5-10hp) B&S engines?

Just kind of hesitant, let me know what you think.... -Matt

[kdc]

I have used Amsoil for years in every 4 cycle engine I own. Have never noticed any leaking. I hadn't heard of synthetic oils causing seal shrinkage. In my two cycle engines, (Snowmobiles, out boards, on my boats and my lawn boy 7261) I use, Kultz Techniplate snowmobile TC W3 power valve oil. Love it a lot less smoke.
kdc (ken)

[Doubleh]

Never had any seal problems. It has been my experience that if the engine is burning some oil it will consume more synthetic than mineral oil. I have no idea why.

I don't use synthetic oil anymore except in a Polaris fourwheeler. The general consensus by people who are supposed to know, chemists and engineers, seems to be that you gain nothing by using synthetic oils over mineral oils if you do recommended oil changes. The reason for using it in the fourwheeler is for gearshifting. It is an Expedition 425 with the mechnical tranny where the engine and transmission use the same oil and that is what Polaris recommends.

[donsoil]

Love Amsoil, use it in everything.

Have my dealer account but just use it for discounts, nobody really asks for it where I am.

I have some older small engine lawn equipment, and know that going from regular oil to synthetic will shrink seals, do you think it would be a good idea to put it into 4 cycle ten year old small lawn engines?

I'm not sure where they could leak from, I've done it before and never noticed any leakage problems, do you know what gaskets could leak from the shrinkage in small (5-10hp) B&S engines?

Just kind of hesitant, let me know what you think.... -Matt

Greetings Matt !
There are many old wives tales about synthetic oils, and the "problems" they create. The seal issue you refer to goes back about 50 years to the beginnings of synthetic oil use.
In the 1950's and 60's the first synthetic oils were not compatable with petroleum base oils, and in most cases were not compatable with other synthetic oils, if mixed they would react and create a goo that would not lubricate anything, resulting in component failure.
Some issues resulted when these first synthetic formulations came into contact with the 1950's and 60's seal materials. Some seals would react to the oil formulation, and in some cases the gaskets, creating the potential for leaks.
These early oil compatability and seal compatability issues were resolved in the late 60's and early 70's, unfortunately the old wives tales live on.
Oil and seal technology have made huge strides since then, for the last 15 to 20 years most engine seals have been made from synthetic materials, such as silicone and teflon, they handle extreme temperatures and resist becoming brittle much better than older seal technology. I have changed teflon lip front and rear main seals on caterpillar,cummins, and international engines at 750,000 to 1,000,000 miles that leaked because the original seal wore to the point that it was paper thin and could seal no more.
These teflon seals that I replaced were still as flexible as a brand new seal because they are impervious to engine heat.
Here are examples of seal materials used in todays seals and the ammount of heat they will endure:

Min. service temp, max. service temp, abrasion resistance,
Nitrile: -40 F 225 F excellent
Polyacrylates -20 F 300 F fair
Silicone -80 F 350 F poor
PTFE (Teflon) -200 F over 500 F good

Several things to keep in mind about seals and sealing technology:
A seals function is to seal in lubricant, seal out impurities and dirt.
Seals leak for a variety of reasons including excessive heat from inadequate lubrication, or elevated oil temperatures, shaft finish too rough at lip contact point, improper installation, seal spring damage, shaft wear, shaft scratches or gouges, damage or scratches on seal bore.
Lubricants also play a large role in seal life. Oil is the lubricant, coolant, cleaner and conditioner of the seal.
Most of the seals I have replaced over the years failed because of excessive heat which caused the seal material to crack, or the seal served its useful life and needed to be replaced.
I have had a few people tell me synthetic oil made their seals leak, lets talk about that.
If you have an older vehicle or antique tractor that has original seals and you begin using Amsoil, and shortly thereafter your engine seals leak, the oil gets the blame for the 20 30 0r 40 year old seals failure. The most common reason for the leak is seal failure, what typically happens is deposits are layed down on the seal originating from impurities in the petroleum based oils that have been used up to this point. These deposits accumulate as hard carbon and varnish which are leftovers of oil oxidation, which is the leading cause of oil breakdown. As the deposits accumulate on the seal the lubricant, coolant, cleaning and conditioning is slowly cut off resulting in excessive heat that ends up creating radial cracks in the lip of the seal. These cracks are sealed up by the deposits that cover them up, that is until the cleaning action of Amsoil dissolves them and reveals the true seal condition, the leak is blamed on the oil, instead of the faulty seal.
What's ironic is how many times leaking seals are replaced when petroleum based oil is used, yet the oil isn't targeted as a cause.

If you have older vehicles or antique tractors that have been overhauled or you know the seals are in good condition, Amsoil will not cause a good seal to leak nor will it shrink them, it will eliminate the deposits that attribute to seal failure, allowing for much longer seal life.
An example of this is a 1988 olds 98 I purchased 6 years ago, it had about 125,000 miles on it when I bought it. I installed Amsoil in the engine, flushed the transmission and power steering with Amsoil Synthetic ATF, and have changed engine oil every 2 years, which is around 25,000 miles for me.
I sold the car to a friend this spring, it has over 200,000 miles on the original engine and transmission with no leaks, and it still runs like a top.

Matt, Amsoil should work fine in your 10 year old briggs engines, and will reduce the engine operating temperatures by 20 to 50 degrees F. which will definitely help make the seals and gaskets last longer.
The other thing you will notice is the oil will look nearly as good at the end of the season as when you installed it, Amsoil does not break down to the heat like dino oil does, Amsoil significantly extends the life of small air cooled engines.

Please let me know if this helps !
Thank you !
Don

If anyone would like to do further research, or would like to purchase Amsoil, check out my website, or contact me, I am here to serve you !
:thThumbsU

[vassarroad]

Thank you so much for the info Don, I hope that will clear up alot of worries for others as well. Most of my engine info sources comes from forums, AKA The Jailhouse Lawyer or the Red-neck mechanic at the local Meineke (jk).

I love synthetic, used Mobil one since its been out until I found Amsoil. The breakdown period is great as well, 15,000 in the car with one filter change definitely saves some money in the long run. Plus I have a turbocharged 5 cylinder engine, 20psi at 50,000 RPM needs the good stuff. In 95 Volvo came with and recommended synthetic, they just must be a little ahead of the game.

Most new cars come with synthetic and require it for warranties, I guess with the gas mileage concern nowadays the carmakers had to give in to a lube that subsequentially makes for a long lasting powertrain.

[jimmychoi]

Hello Fellas,
I'm new here, but I just made my first new lawn tractor purchase. I bought an AC130 with the 23hp Extended life Briggs v-twin. I would like to run synthetic as I do with my other vehicles. The booklet tells me to run 5w-30 or 10-w30 synthetic or SAE 30 conventional. I've had some people tell me that they run SAE 30 in Briggs motors regardless of whether it's dino oil or synthetic. What are your thoughts? Thanks fellas
James

[jimmychoi]

No thoughts huh?

[catdoo]

No thoughts huh?

Well my two cents worth goes like this: I use SAE #30 in the summer when it's hot and switch to synthetic in the late fall when I get ready for snow-plowing. Synthetic lets the engine spin over faster for cold starting and is better in the cold. I have used synthetic in the summer too but have found out that the engine uses some oil, with the straight #30 it doesn't use oil. If synthetic wasn't acceptable, your manual wouldn't recommend it, I would trust the manual before some "expert".

[elhigh]

I don't have a mountain of experience with the bigger B&S twins, but I never went over to using expensive oils in mine. They always started just fine. Even one time when I went to pull-start my battered ol' Snapper RER at -10 degrees, it gets the job done well enough.

[rscurtis]

I use it in everything, from a 1982 92908 B&S, a TVS 90 Tecumseh, "L" model Gravely's, Kubota GR 2110, 1983 Mercedes, and 2003 Dodge. No issues with leaks or consumption, even on the old Briggs.

[Burntime]

I use sae 30 in summer and 10w-30 min the winter. My sovereign is a 1992 and has had 2 head gaskets (oposed twin) but other then that it is still running strong. Just too many miles to switch to synthetic on it... I do like synthetic though. I run it in my log splitter so that it starts better in the cold!