# Pro32 first oil change - WHOA!



## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

I'm getting this brand new machine ready for its first season. I've been breaking in the engine by running it at varying RPM's in several sessions totaling perhaps two engine hours. Our first storm of any consequence is due in two days, so today I warmed up the oil and then changed it with fresh 5W30 liquid dinosaurs (i.e. not synthetic).


To my surprise, the original oil that came out was FULL of metal particulates. It absolutely sparkled in the light. Swirling it around in the drain pan created cool patterns that I'd normally appreciate, but in this case I was NOT pleased at the amount of metal loss that two relatively easy hours of operation ground out of this brand new Briggs and Stratton.


Is this normal for the engines Ariens uses? Half joking: Do they intentionally add metallic abrasives to help smooth the internal surfaces? I've never seen oil like this come out of a new engine.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Totally normal and to be expected. 

The oil does look pretty wild from the first couple hours. Cast iron bored engines produce more sheen from break in. Nicasil Coated aluminum bore engines, much less.


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## 132619 (Nov 20, 2018)

i have seen this in most air cooled small engines of every brand, both alloy and cast iron bore, even with higher hours on them, there is no oil pump to pump to a filter to pick them out , the particles are so tiny they do no harm,they just look like there is issues.


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

I personally would have waited until at least 5 hours to change the oil. You should do it again in 3 hours.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

You should be good. It's normal.

.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

Many people call that "Glitter". It is fairly common. 

Since you only had a couple of hours on the engine when you changed the oil, be sure to *put conventional oil in it for the remainder of the break in period*. 

Do not use synthetic until there is no more evidence of Glitter. After the glitter you can switch to synthetic is desired.


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## Ariens hydro pro (Jan 24, 2014)

There is no filter on it so that's why you change it often. Once a year at the minimum. If you notice condensation on your dipstick in the middle of the season change it again.

I never bothered "breaking in an engine". Normal break in for me is 100% throttle, be it a lawn mower or any other small engine.


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

Thanks for all of the responses! I would have replied earlier but for some reason I'm not getting "instant email notification" for my subscribed threads. I've confirmed that I'm subscribed, and that my email address is accurate, yet I'm getting zero emails from the forum. I'm having to remember to check each thread manually. Weird.





russ01915 said:


> I personally would have waited until at least 5 hours to change the oil. You should do it again in 3 hours.


 I wanted to do the first oil change while not actually in the snow {grin}. I don't have a garage so there's nowhere to work on the machine that isn't outdoors over gravel. This machine is brand new so if I was going to learn anything awkward about it on the first change - like easily dropped parts, etc. - I wanted to avoid the extra inconvenience of doing that in snow or gravel+thin ice layer.


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

skutflut said:


> Since you only had a couple of hours on the engine when you changed the oil, be sure to *put conventional oil in it for the remainder of the break in period*.


 No worries there, I never use synthetic in occasional use engines. In daily drivers, synthetic is fine. But in occasional use engines there is research that shows liquid dinosaurs is better at leaving a thin layer of lubrication on internal surfaces (basically, synthetic drains off more completely) and this residual layer better protects occasional use engines at startup until oil pressure builds.


I buy very good equipment and take very careful care of it so that it lasts a very long time. Take good care of your equipment and it will take good care of you!


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

33 woodie said:


> there is no oil pump to pump to a filter to pick them out , the particles are so tiny they do no harm,they just look like there is issues.


I realize there is no oil filter but just haven't seen this degree of "sparkle" in other new engines of this size/class. It looked like liquid sandpaper. I'll keep my eye on it.


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## gregg (Nov 23, 2012)

I bought a snowblower that needed a bit of work to re-sell. It isn't too old and not much use but when I changed the oil I thought I was in the Klondike.


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## tdipaul (Jul 11, 2015)

.

A pic or two of the oil would add perspective here. One mans FULL could mean hardly anything to another. 

.


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

tdipaul said:


> A pic or two of the oil would add perspective here. One mans FULL could mean hardly anything to another..


Granted, but sadly it's already mixed into my recycle container so I can't give a photo of "just" that oil.


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

russ01915 said:


> I personally would have waited until at least 5 hours to change the oil. You should do it again in 3 hours.


Honestly I changed my oil after maybe 30 minutes of use then again maybe an hour after and again in another hour or two. The amount of oil used is cheap and I'd rather get the sparkles out of the crankcase than let it splash that junk on the cylinder walls and have to get scraped off by the oil ring for hours. 

That and I do the Mototuneusa engine break-in on my motorcycles which calls for 25 miles of decent accelerations in each gear with engine braking to clean the walls off after each gear's acceleration.


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

I'd like to get some input on breaking in a new Honda GX200 engine on a Simpson pressure washer. I want to break it in under load, but with the low temps around here, I don't know if my hose will stay un frozen while I run the engine and pump for a couple of hours at a time.

I got a really good deal on it, but just at the wrong time of year for me. I took the pump off to make sure there is adequate anti-seaze on the output shaft and I have it in my basement. I can wait to break the engine in next spring, but I wonder if I should do it now. 

I still haven't added engine oil and gas and I've had it in my unheated garage for a week now. The only time I've run a hose outside was when I hooked it up to my water heater to try and assist in removing ice dams off my roof and that was a one-time only deal. If my hose does start to ice up, I could do damage to the pump with restricted water flow.

I could bring the whole thing into the basement for the winter...but I'd like to get that engine broken in now so it doesn't sit all winter without being run (after any factory run). I realize that I need to either add antifreeze to the pump, or take it off and store it in my basement.

My plan is to run it with 10W30 dino oil for 5 hours mainly under load, then change out to 10W30 Mobil 1 (have a jug from another project). 

Thanks,

- Joe


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

I used a hose and a funnel, put a few wraps of electrical tape on the hose end and run the other end into the end you pour oil through the funnel. Do that for a secure seal. Also make sure the other end fits into the water intake on the pump. Prop that funnel up on the handlebar and pour some rv antifreeze in it and pull the handle on the engine to suck that stuff through the pump.

Do it outside though as it might get a little messy if it leaks at any connection and when the rv stuff gets all the way through the pump and comes out the other end. That's about all I do besides Sta-bil in the gas and running the carb dry. 

Then when you start it up in the spring time you'll get the rv antifreeze out, I just do that in the driveway or whatever as rv antifreeze is pretty harmless. Just hook the garden hose up and no pressure hose and point that outlet away from kids and vehicles and turn on the water and it'll flush the rv stuff out.

As far as break-in, change that oil often is my motto as there's no filter and it just gets splashed around everywhere. Throw some dino oil in it and gas WITH Sta-bil and the hoses and fire it up outside and spray down the grass with the wand. Pulling the trigger will load the engine and releasing will take the load off for the most part. As long as water is moving through the hoses then nothing should freeze unless you're below freezing quite a ways. When you're done playing for 30 minutes then shut the gas off and let the engine die then dump that hot oil and put more fresh dino in there and drain the pump by tipping the machine so the outlet is low (my pump is horizontal but if yours is vertical then no tipping needed) and pull the engine over a few times to purge the water. THEN do the rv antifreeze as above.

Run the thing another hour or two in the spring and change oil again. 

For the price of a quart of oil and the fact that you probably use 1/2 if that it's way worth it to change it a few times and get the sparkles drained out of the engine.


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

notabiker said:


> ...For the price of a quart of oil and the fact that you probably use 1/2 if that it's way worth it to change it a few times and get the sparkles drained out of the engine.


Thanks notabiker.

The process you mention sounds right to me. I'm going to do it.

By the way I did do a version of the Mototuneusa engine break-in method on one new bike I bought, a Honda XL350 in 1975 and I rode around for its first 50 miles with a backpack filled with oil, tools and a jug and went through the gears like you mentioned and changed the oil twice. I decided to take a short trip instead of driving out and back to my garage (my parents garage). 

In '77 I bought a '75 CB750 four with super low miles, so I didn't get a chance to do the Mototuneusa method...but I sure wish I had the chance. I really miss both of those rides.


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

jrom said:


> Thanks notabiker.
> 
> The process you mention sounds right to me. I'm going to do it.
> 
> ...


Nice, my current steed is a 2008 (year probably doesn't matter as honda just changed plastics and decals for it's entire life) XR650L. I talk to riders who scorn me for not riding a hardly davidson, but no harley is ever going to be as fun on single track trails up and down mountains or on a twisty dirt road or even any twisty road for that matter. It's amazing the grip I get out of 90/10 dirt/street oriented knobbies.

Though none of them probably even listen as I wax poetic on the fun of a dual sport motorcycle as it's not "THE" one and only bike one should aspire to buy or ride.


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## Steve70 (Nov 12, 2018)

IDEngineer said:


> No worries there, I never use synthetic in occasional use engines. In daily drivers, synthetic is fine. But in occasional use engines there is research that shows liquid dinosaurs is better at leaving a thin layer of lubrication on internal surfaces (basically, synthetic drains off more completely) and this residual layer better protects occasional use engines at startup until oil pressure builds.
> 
> 
> I buy very good equipment and take very careful care of it so that it lasts a very long time. Take good care of your equipment and it will take good care of you!


Could you please point me to some info on your comment above? I can't readily find anything. 

I've done just the opposite of you. Since the mid 70s, I've used synthetic in all small engines and most vehicles. My last ST1236 blower with 100s of hours, 1000s of inches of snow over 28 years of use still starts with one pull and will probably last for many more years with it's new owner. It has never used any oil from year to year. 

I'm not an oil guy, but I've always heard just the opposite. I know for a fact on my vehicles, from a drain down standpoint, I have to let them sit overnight to get an accurate read on the synthetic fill. At oil changes I always leave them at least 1/2 qt light and check cold the next day. Throw in increased film strength and much higher cold weather liquidity and I question this premise about the dino oil. ...but am more than willing to learn new stuff. 

I think the bottom line is that most oils (either kind), based on OEM recommendation, will work just fine. I think small engines have benefited from all oils having to be much more robust to service automotive engine advancements. ..Higher internal operating temps being one of the drivers.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

IDEngineer said:


> I realize there is no oil filter but just haven't seen this degree of "sparkle" in other new engines of this size/class. It looked like liquid sandpaper. I'll keep my eye on it.


I'm curious why you changed it after only 2 hours? Is this what Ariens recommends. Would think it would be 5 or 10 hours. Are you going to change again after 3 more hours? would be interested to hear your results after 5 then 10 hours. I have never bought a new machine before.


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

Steve70 said:


> Could you please point me to some info on your comment above? I can't readily find anything.


I'll have to look around. This comes from data I got nearly ten years ago from the marine industry, which cares a LOT about "occasional use" engines and their maintenence. They did some studies on this topic and I got into a discussion with one of the Engineers that was involved. It was clear from his comments that the matter was absolutely settled in his mind, and the data I read backed him up conclusively. I've only used liquid dinos in occasional use engines ever since, unless the manufacturer specifically requires synthetic (which I've seen a couple of times).


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

orangputeh said:


> I'm curious why you changed it after only 2 hours? Is this what Ariens recommends. Would think it would be 5 or 10 hours. Are you going to change again after 3 more hours?


 I did it at ~two hours because it's a new machine and it's far more convenient to change it before the snow hits than in the snow! Here in North Idaho, once the snow starts sticking, we almost never see bare ground again until Spring. And since we don't have a garage, winter oil changes for me are literally in the snow. If things got crazy and I didn't get around to doing an in-the-snow oil change, I wanted to at least have done the all-important first oil change regardless of what winter throws our way.


Yes, I plan to do another oil change around 5-6 hours. Ariens/B&S recommend five hours (from the manual) so I'll try to be close to that, but without an hour meter it's all educated guesses anyway.


As it's shaping up, this winter appears to be warmer and wetter than usual - which means we're getting lots of ice. Daytime temps are just above freezing, nighttime temps are just below, so the snow melts a bit and then refreezes into a fresh sheet of ice most nights. A massive drag, especially since I live at the end of the one-mile gravel road (!!!) and am one of the few year-round residents, but the upside is that so far the snow isn't simply accumulating in place so the second oil change may be a bit more convenient than I'd feared.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

IDEngineer said:


> Yes, I plan to do another oil change around 5-6 hours. Ariens/B&S recommend five hours (from the manual) so I'll try to be close to that, but without an hour meter it's all educated guesses anyway.


Especially since it's a new machine, so you're actually starting from 0, a tach/hour meter may be a useful addition. Something like these are popular, and this one ($14) says it has a replaceable battery, which is nice. Mine are not replaceable.

Having a tach is nice for ensuring the engine is set to the correct RPMs. 

https://www.amazon.com/SEARON-Tachometer-Generator-Motorcycle-Snowmobile/dp/B01CNFE8RA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1545414080&sr=8-9&keywords=hour+meter+tach


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tach-Hour-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I got two of these ones so far, ones permanently mounted to the generator and I just got one to tune the snowblower. Cheapish and seems to be decent quality, replaceable battery as well. And only $18.79 but it's direct from china so it takes a few days to arrive.


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## IDEngineer (Oct 16, 2018)

Update: Just changed the oil again on my new 2018-2019 Ariens Pro32. First change was with just a couple of hours on it at most, and I've added perhaps 6-8 additional hours since that oil change.

Ambient temp was around 40F. I moderately warmed up the engine, then drained the oil into an open-top drain pan. Result: The oil looked almost brand new, with just the very slightest trace of sparkle. I don't clean my drain pans so it's even possible the sparkle was left over from the previous oil change. As I watched the oil pour out of the "drain pipe", it was a nice clean clear-brown color that looked exactly like what came out of the new bottle of 5W-30 that I then used to refill the engine.

I'm very glad that I changed the oil so early in the engine's break-in period. There was a LOT of sparkle in that factory oil, and the idea of that _*liquid sandpaper*_ circulating through the engine makes me shudder. The machine should be good for the rest of the season now, and as usual it will get fresh oil before being tucked away for the off-season (I don't like the idea of condensation resting inside the engine for ~9 months at a time).

Just my personal experience with a brand new B&S engine on a brand new Ariens. Everyone has their own philosophy on oil changes, but even at today's prices oil is an inexpensive insurance policy for new engines!


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

IDEngineer said:


> Just my personal experience with a brand new B&S engine on a brand new Ariens. Everyone has their own philosophy on oil changes, but even at today's prices oil is an inexpensive insurance policy for new engines!


:iagree: Wish more people felt that way. I've bought some used machines that it was a stretch of the imagination to think what was coming out was ever liquid oil :surprise:
The one that sticks out was a car that came into the shop for a 9.99-12.99 ?? cheap LOF and I got it on the rack, in the air, pulled the plug and got a few drips ?? I used something to poke up into the hole thinking there was sludge or something, nope.
There just wasn't any engine oil in there. If I did that the engine would have blown about one second after the oil light came on :sad2: God protects fools.

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