New Zero Turn Mower Burning Oil Already? 1.0 Hours.

[YoshiMoshi3]

I have a new zero turn mower that uses the FR691V engine. Exactly 1.0 hours on the clock. I checked when I got it brand new and it was at the full line. Now after 1.0 hour it is at about half way in-between Full and Low marks. Seems a bit excessive to me? What should I do, any recommendations?

 

[inyoyote]

Check your air filter. Clogged air filters cause engines to burn oil and can get clogged very quickly if mowing dusty areas. All new engines burn oil until they break in. I would change the oil now that you’ve got a little time on it. Don’t change the filter yet because dirty filters filter better up until they start to plug which is a long time. you might be surprised how much metal particles you see in the oil. It’s not a problem, but you want to get it out. Do another oil change at about 10 hours and then an oil filter at 50. After that change the oil and filter at the recommended interval. I would also avoid synthetic oil until you 50 hour service. Synthetic oil has been known to lubricate too well and cause the rings not to seat in correctly. Also avoid idling and vary The load on the engine. That means mow slow on a couple passes and then faster a couple passes and then back to slow. I would do that for the first 10 hours or so. make a few high load passes from time to time by mowing taller grass as fast as you can. Those kawasaki engines are outstanding if you take care of them correctly from the start.

 

[Junkman]

give the rings a chance to seat.

 

[JuncleJohn]

Maybe the level checked full until the 1 start, then after it filled the oil filter. Which would result in a lower reading on the dipstick.

Also, as Junkman has already stated, maybe the rings haven’t yet seated.

John

 

[BillK]

Now after 1.0 hour it is at about half way in-between Full and Low marks.

This does not mean anything. How much oil did you have to add to get it back to the full mark ?

First thing I would do is send an e-mail to the dealer and ask them what the oil consumption should be. Check it over the next few hours and if it does not slow down let them know and ask them what you should do ?

Normally I say to call people but the e-mail will keep it on record in case it turns into a warranty issue.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

Thanks for the help!

I haven't added any oil to it. Getting an accurate reading can be tricky. I might pull the dipstick out, leave it out, place a piece of blue painters tape over the hole, and let it sit for a bit then try again to see if I can get a more definitive reading. Give the oil a chance to drip back down into the pan from the dipstick tube. Oil clinging to the sides of the tube can stick to the dip stick and give an inaccurate reading.

I will probably do an oil change. Using quart size jugs, so I can get a resolution of 4 oz in tolerance on what I put in. So that way I know exactly how much was put in. No idea what was put in when it was built. I know they ship it dry, so maybe John Deere put oil in it. There was oil in it when I got it, I checked. I can then do another oil change when it's recommended or when I notice it's low on oil again, and measure how much comes out using a container with ounce markings on it up to 5 quarts. Then I can quantify how much oil I'm burning or loosing exactly within how much time.

What viscosity should I use on this thing? It gets around 100 deg F plus at some points where I am at in the summer, and 2-3 feet of snow some winters. Don't think I will be cutting grass with snow on the ground, but would defiantly use it below 68 deg F in the fall to pick up leaves.

From the engine owner's manual

From the engine technical manual.

1.9 US QT if you don't remove the filter or 1 + 28.8 oz. Graduation marks on quart size bottle has a line specifically for 28 oz. So can go slightly higher than that mark.
2.2 US QT if you remove the filter or 2 + 6.4 oz. Can eye ball half way between 4 oz and 8 oz on the quart size jug.

 

[lolaetype]

Two thoughts:

1. Personally. I like the oil close to the "High" mark but as long as the oil level is between the high and low marks you'll be fine.

2. I don't know how many ounces of oil is represented by the distance between the low and high marks, but I'd think burning through half that amount in one hour would produce a noticeable amount of oil smoke.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

That's both sides. Blue arrow is where I believe the oil level is. I'll leave the dipstick out for a bit with painters tape covering the hole. To see if I can get a more accurate reading and be more confident in my reading, that it is left than half full.

 

[CombatNinja]

An new Kawi engine would be smoking a lot if it was truly 'burning' that much oil in one hour. You have nothing to worry about. I use the Kawasaki SAE 30 factory oil in my Ariens and have zero consumption issues after 3 years. I do a complete service on the mower (plugs, oil & filter, air filter, and fuel filter every year. Probably overkill as a 'year' is only about 40 hours for me but whatever. I change out the blades monthly during the season since we have sandy soil that is hell on them. Only other regular service I do is grease the front wheels a couple of times a year. I'll have to do the drive belt this winter due to age more than hours. Stop worrying, your engine is fine.

 

[BillK]

If you are going to do an oil change I would suggest getting the oil and filter from the dealer. Same reason as the e-mail. If it turns out to be a problem dont give them any reason to deny a warranty deal

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

An new Kawi engine would be smoking a lot if it was truly 'burning' that much oil in one hour. You have nothing to worry about. I use the Kawasaki SAE 30 factory oil in my Ariens and have zero consumption issues after 3 years. I do a complete service on the mower (plugs, oil & filter, air filter, and fuel filter every year. Probably overkill as a 'year' is only about 40 hours for me but whatever. I change out the blades monthly during the season since we have sandy soil that is hell on them. Only other regular service I do is grease the front wheels a couple of times a year. I'll have to do the drive belt this winter due to age more than hours. Stop worrying, your engine is fine.

What is your opinion from what I can see on the dipstick, without leaving it out for a bit? To me it looks like 1/4 of the way above Low. I do not notice much smoke during regular use, but I notice a lot of smoke at startup from a cold start. During a cold start, the engine seems a bit out to ordinary to starting a small engine. I don't have much small engine useage or work, but have done a lot for car engines.

From Engine Owner's Manual

From Lawn Mower Owner's Manual


My mower will not start at full choke from a cold start, maybe 70 deg F outside. I have to use half choke. This is with the speed at the lowest setting (the turtle symbol). A lot of smoke comes out at a startup. After it has started, I pull the choke level completely down after startup (closest to the side with the turtle), it doesn't smoke and is fine after the initial startup.

It seems like SAE 30 is probably best, if I interpret the range as 32F to 95F. There may be a few days where I would use it above 95F, but that would be unlikely, but still possible. Thanks.

If you are going to do an oil change I would suggest getting the oil and filter from the dealer. Same reason as the e-mail. If it turns out to be a problem dont give them any reason to deny a warranty deal

Should I have them do the oil change as well lol?

 

[BillK]

Should I have them do the oil change as well lol?

No but i would definitely use the factory suggested oil and filter. I have been making this recommendation to all of my customers with any new car or new equipment.

And like I said before showing the dipstick is meaningless without knowing how much oil it takes to go from one mark to the other.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

No but i would definitely use the factory suggested oil and filter. I have been making this recommendation to all of my customers with any new car or new equipment.

And like I said before showing the dipstick is meaningless without knowing how much oil it takes to go from one mark to the other.

My operators manual for my mower says to use John Deere Plus-50™ II or John Deere Turf-Gard™. But I cannot find these in SAE 30. What should I do? The owner's manual for the engine, does not recommend a specific bottler/manufacturer of oil. I will defiantly measure how much comes out when I change the oil.

 

[jblnut]

Run Turf Gard in it and don’t worry about it.

I run a 15w-40 oil from Deere in everything from my ‘88 Ford Ranger to my 500hp 9420 Deere as well as pressure washers, transfer pumps and my brand new 2038r. Fill it, check it and do not over analyze it.

 

[lolaetype]

But I cannot find these in SAE 30. What should I do? The owner's manual for the engine, does not recommend a specific bottler/manufacturer of oil. I

But I'll bet it recommends a specific weight or range of weights and a minimum API Service Class, like as an example API SJ or higher. Buy a quality oil of the correct weight and API Service Class and you'll be fine.

 

[Adaylate]

I bought a new zero turn with the Kawasaki a few weeks ago. Yes, it smoked a big blue cloud on start up. After about 6 hours, three mowings, I noticed it wasn't smoking anymore.
I think you'll be ok after you get a few hours on it.

Good luck!

 

[mike93lx]

do not over analyze it.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

After sitting for 24 hours with dipstick out:

After doing a single dip:


I know meaningless without knowing how much to get to full. I will do an oil change before next usage, measure how much comes out exactly, and measure how much I put back in.

I checked the oil before first to make sure it wasn't shipped dry and it was at the full line, so that's 0.2 qt right there. Although I would assume they would have done some testing after assembly to make sure it worked, and the filter was saturated some when I got it.

I will report back after I drain it.

I bought a new zero turn with the Kawasaki a few weeks ago. Yes, it smoked a big blue cloud on start up. After about 6 hours, three mowings, I noticed it wasn't smoking anymore.
I think you'll be ok after you get a few hours on it.

Good luck!

I noticed after I bought my lawn mower, lawn mower manufacturers are more of a system integrator, kind of like Dell or HP. I can get a mower with the same X transmission and same Y Engine, from a variety of manufacturers of mower like John Deere or BadBoy etc. I don't think it really matters who assembles the mower, except for warranty differences from one company to another, or availability of replacement parts etc?

Although I remember having a dell alienware computer back in the day, I think someone else made the motherboard custom for Dell. So they didn't actually make the motherboard, but the only way you could get that specific motherboard was from Dell. I wonder if there's anything like that in this industry. Like BadBoy has kawaaski make them a custom engine to fit their lawn mower, the only way you can get that engine is if you get a BadBoy mower?

 

[Jlanciani]

Why change it? Just top it off and get back to work, no reason to waste the oil or filter after an hour of use.

 

[Firebrick43]

I noticed after I bought my lawn mower, lawn mower manufacturers are more of a system integrator, kind of like Dell or HP. I can get a mower with the same X transmission and same Y Engine, from a variety of manufacturers of mower like John Deere or BadBoy etc. I don't think it really matters who assembles the mower, except for warranty differences from one company to another, or availability of replacement parts etc?

Although I remember having a dell alienware computer back in the day, I think someone else made the motherboard custom for Dell. So they didn't actually make the motherboard, but the only way you could get that specific motherboard was from Dell. I wonder if there's anything like that in this industry. Like BadBoy has kawaaski make them a custom engine to fit their lawn mower, the only way you can get that engine is if you get a BadBoy mower?

Other than deck design and control differences or suspension in the case of ferris, you are correct for most companies. Grasshopper had eaton make some proprietary drives in their 600 and 700 series (the gemini's were garbage, the previous model, that name escapes me, was even worse) , but even they have switched to parker transmission on there higher end mid mount and 900 series front mounts.

Most of the rest of the industry uses hydro gear pumps and motors by parker and more recently many are switching to unitized hydrogear transmission (ZT line) or parker quazi unitized transmissions.

Kawasaki, Briggs, and Kohler do make multiple configurations of the same base motor but the differences are usually regulated to the crankshaft PTO end dimensions and muffler/air cleaner configurations. Some times there are differences on the governor plate, depending on if the manufacture wants to use separate choke and throttle or both combined into one lever.

Several companies like small engine warehouse makes repower kits with engines that PTO end shaft matches but due to discontinued motors they put different mufflers or air cleaners to work with an older mower.

 

[3baygarage]

Tell the dealer the oil is low

 

[JeepYJ]

If that is a Kawasaki engine with a screw in dipstick it usually says to check the oil without threading the cap on.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

Makes me think swapping one engine out for another would be extremely easy, as long as the output shaft was the same diameter.

The reason why I don't want to just pour some oil in, is because this is the default oil that came with the machine when it was new. I have no idea what viscosity oil it is. Reaching out to John Deere, they couldn't provide an answer, and told me to reach out to the dealer. I didn't buy from a dealer. I hesitate with the possibility of adding two different viscosity oils together.

This will also allow me to measure how much comes out exactly, and maybe more importantly know exactly how much I pour in. I have no idea how much came in it, and just have to assume it was filled properly.

I ordered some straight 30 oil SuperTech, but it still hasn't shipped. Seems the oil shortage is hitting the industry. I'll just get some off the internet. I'll update how much comes out.

John Deere did match some of the other ideas that some "break-in" period is normal were oil consumption will be high. I have never owned a brand new car, so not sure if this is common with cars as well.

The owner's manual for the engine does mention an oil change after 8 hours. I assume this is the break in period. So I'll be more concerned once I pass the 8.0 mark if I'm still burning this amount of oil, and will keep an eye on it in the mean time.

Just a bit scary to me that I could have probably ran this thing for 1.5 hours and have have ran her dry if I wasn't checking the oil level. I know the dealer would have said that in the manual it says to check your oil daily, and it wouldn't have been covered by warranty and my fault.

 

[JeepYJ]

The reason why I don't want to just pour some oil in, is because this is the default oil that came with the machine when it was new. I have no idea what viscosity oil it is.

I hesitate with the possibility of adding two different viscosity oils together.

Throw some 10w30 in there and go. Or whatever you have on hand. If you’re changing it in a few more hours it won’t make a difference.

I know the dealer would have said that in the manual it says to check your oil daily, and it wouldn't have been covered by warranty and my fault.

You should always check it before starting for the day and after refueling.

 

[38Chevy454]

As JeepYJ said, oil level is checked without threading in. FWIW, I have the Kawasaki V-twin on my zero turn, now going on year 8. Typically around 70 hrs per year, change oil and filter at end of mowing season. I use 5W-40 synthetic diesel oil. Not burning any oil. I also used a longer filter Fram Ph3600 or equivalent number.

I would just top off with any 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil. The burning should reduce as the rings seat and engine breaks in. Don't overthink it.

 

[Dodgeboy2020]

JeepYJ is correct to say to check it without threading the dipstick in, is it possible (everyone in human) that the dealer checked it with it screwed all the way in? We have a fleet of 10 mowers with Kawasaki engines on them and this is how I service them. First oil change at about 50 hours and then every 125 hours give or take after that. I use Napa filters and regular 10W30 (not synthetic) and have not seen any oil related issues (knock on wood) We typically run 400 to 500 hours a year on the mowers and I consistently get over 3000 hours on the motor without much issue (a couple of head gaskets and one cracked head in 8 years that I've been responsible for them) which I feel is a fair amount of run time in a commercial environment run by employees who may or may not care about the equipment as they should. I've found that the Kawasaki engines seem to hold up the best in our situation compared to the other engine manufacturers offered by our brand of mower (Scag).

To Firebrick's comment about the base engine being the same that is correct in my experience. In the cases of needing the head gaskets and related parts I have found that the engine serial numbers are 'blacked out' for most vendors to search for parts so you are supposed to go to the Scag dealer to get them. I've found a vendor online that has been more than willing to help me work around this 'black out' and find me the parts needed as they are the same basic parts. I do agree that is possible that there may be specifics such as muffler location/size or other nuances that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer of the mowers leading to the phantom serial numbered engines.