Questions about oil + additives
 

First off i was curious if anyone runs any lead additive in their old NF models? I was talking to some older people the other day and they said it wouldnt hurt to run a bit to help lube the valve guides?

Second - oil- now i know the hand book says to run SAE 30 but i was thinking that for those of us who have a Kohler thats a virgin - never been opened up for what not - wouldnt it be wiser to run a thicker oil like perhaps 40 or even 50 in the summer? The reason is that it has more viscosity and these older engines - while they will run forever- are not as "tight" as they once were. Just looking for peoples thoughts :bigthink:

The Kohler owners and shop manual says all Kohler engines were design to run on unleaded gas.

Most if not all so called lead additives are not worth using in my book.

I run Kohler 30 weight oil above 32 degrees and 10W-30 below oil 32 degrees in my Kohlers. The oil is design for air cooled engines.

X2 on all the above. That's what the manual says so why mess with it? :Huh:

I follow what Kohler recommends....:ThumbsUp:

:beatdeadhorse:
:beatdeadhorse:
:beatdeadhorse:

Search under kohler engine, there are a few threads about old school thought & new school thought.

My biggest concern was that maybe back when. They said that kohler engines were designed to run on unleaded gas but............ They didn't have the concern of ETHANNOL. Ugh!

Nik

Open up your Kohler service manual and read the next page after oil requirements. It says it is ok to use up to 10% ETHANNOL.

The ones who do have problems with fuel with 10% ETHANNOL usually have poor fuel storage problems. :beatdeadhorse::beatdeadhorse::beatdeadhorse:

I use low ash 30 weight oil in all my cubs.

I put Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas and the oil. Also I add Startron to the gas if it is going to sit a while to fight the ethanol.

I 100% agree with you and everyone here. And im sorry to all as i probably should have used the search function so my apologies. But to get back to what i was suggesting is yes the manual says 30wt and i would never doubt what it says as they know more than i however I was just taking into account the tractor is 40+ years old now and might benefit from something thicker?
Lastly my father who bought the tractor new has always ran 10w-40 in it all year round - if i was to start running rotella 30wt would that be a bad idea since its had 10w-40 run in it for this many years?

Sorry to beat the dead horse fellas - im just trying to make my baby stick around as long as possible :beerchug:

I opened the service manual for my # 127 & NO MENTION of ETHANOL.

Then the manual for my # 109 again NO MENTION of ETHANOL.

Here is the only thing mentioned about gas;

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps701de2f2.jpg

also my Kohlers run about 12/14deg. cooler using SYNTHETIC OIL.

Ethanol was not widely used when the early Cubbies were born.
But I do know that ETHANOL does produce carbon in ALL engines. Thats why I use STARTRON as an additive.

Nik,

OK, here is something VERY important to understand about oil use in these motors:

Not only are they air cooled, they are SPLASH LUBE. Running a thicker oil WILL NOT help it if the motor is "loose". That is only true for a PRESSURE LUBRICATED system. Running thicker oil could actually be worse because it can't get to where it needs to be! I suggest sticking with 30WT oil. No matter what has been run in it before, it won't hurt a thing to change weight. Not yelling at anyone, just please understand that if you care for them as Kohler recommends, and adequately for the type of motor they are, they will last for years!

As far as gas additives...... I've never ran any. I agree with Merk. Usually people with problems with the 10% blend either don't use fresh enough gas, have a poor storage system, or just have a motor in need of a fuel system "overhaul". Personally, I randomly suck out the fuel tank on mine. I notice that no matter how careful I am, it gets a little bit of water on the bottom of the tank.