# Oil question for 2410 Chinese engine



## Fruggy

I just bought a Troy-Bilt 2410 with a Chinese engine. The tag said "No Oil". Before adding oil, I checked the dipstick to be sure. Sure enough, there was oil in there. The oil touched the tip of the dipstick. 

I'm trying to figure out if there is oil in there for factory testing, or my "new" snow blower was previously used. When I bought my lawnmower with briggs engine, the sump was bone dry. 

Anyone else have little oil in their snow blower when new?


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## UNDERTAKER

Fruggy said:


> I just bought a Troy-Bilt 2410 with a Chinese engine. The tag said "No Oil". Before adding oil, I checked the dipstick to be sure. Sure enough, there was oil in there. The oil touched the tip of the dipstick.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out if there is oil in there for factory testing, or my "new" snow blower was previously used. When I bought my lawnmower with briggs engine, the sump was bone dry.
> 
> Anyone else have little oil in their snow blower when new?


that was from the factory. run the engine for awhile till it gets hot. then drop it out of there and fill it with your choice of oil. ALOHA to the forms


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## Normex

It is not rare to have less than ideal oil level at the price point those blowers sell for nevertheless just top it off with regular 5w-30 dino oil and use your blower approx. 5 hrs blowing snow then change your oil and buy good synthetic 5w-30.

Good Luck


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## SlowRider22

It's the manufacturer's oil from when it was assembled to prevent rust, normally a very lightweight oil. Drain it then return fill it with some conventional oil for the break-in


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## Fruggy

SlowRider22 said:


> It's the manufacturer's oil from when it was assembled to prevent rust, normally a very lightweight oil. Drain it then return fill it with some conventional oil for the break-in


Thank you, Mr. Hawaiian. Will running this lightweight oil mixed with engine oil ruin the engine? 




POWERSHIFT93 said:


> that was from the factory. run the engine for awhile till it gets hot. then drop it out of there and fill it with your choice of oil. ALOHA to the forms


I like to conserve nonrenewable resources. What will happen if I run this oil for 2 seasons? I have done 3 season oil changes with my Briggs lawnmower engine and it is doing fine after 13 years. I'm new to these Chinese engines.


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## Shryp

A new engine should have the oil changed after a max of 5 hours just go get all the little pieces of dirt and metal from the initial assembly and wear cleaned out of it.


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## SlowRider22

Fruggy said:


> I like to conserve nonrenewable resources. What will happen if I run this oil for 2 seasons? I have done 3 season oil changes with my Briggs lawnmower engine and it is doing fine after 13 years. I'm new to these Chinese engines.


I commend you on your conservation perspective.
However, the manufacturer's oil isn't exactly ideal for motor use. I'd recommend biting the bullet now and do the drain & fill as previously mentioned, then after the break-in you can get away with infrequent oil changes


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## Normex

Fruggy you will decide on the frequency of your oil changes but put the best oil for your engine with synthetic 5w-30 and your engine will like you for it.


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## Fruggy

SlowRider22 said:


> I commend you on your conservation perspective.
> However, the manufacturer's oil isn't exactly ideal for motor use. I'd recommend biting the bullet now and do the drain & fill as previously mentioned, then after the break-in you can get away with infrequent oil changes


That's true, especially with MTD's cheaply-made oil. Thinking of Synthetic next.



Shryp said:


> A new engine should have the oil changed after a max of 5 hours just go get all the little pieces of dirt and metal from the initial assembly and wear cleaned out of it.


True that. Like a new car. 




Normex said:


> Fruggy you will decide on the frequency of your oil changes but put the best oil for your engine with synthetic 5w-30 and your engine will like you for it.


I'm thinking Mobil 1 and leaving it in there for 2-3 seasons.


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## 43128

the manufacturers oil is only used for probably five minutes max to make sure the engine runs and has nothing mechanically wrong, it is a very low viscosity oil, change it


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## Fruggy

43128 said:


> the manufacturers oil is only used for probably five minutes max to make sure the engine runs and has nothing mechanically wrong, it is a very low viscosity oil, change it



So is this a result of poor quality control? Isn't all the oil suppose to be dumped out?


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## 43128

no, they leave it in for shipping, i dont know why but they do


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## sscotsman

43128 said:


> no, they leave it in for shipping, i dont know why but they do


This was recently discussed in another thread..
they probably leave the oil in so that lots of new owners dont start up the machine with no oil in it!  If machines were shipped with no oil, that would probably be a very common occurrence..

Scot


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## pwm

I received my Craftsman 30" with the Powermore 420cc on it on Friday. The manual said it *would have oil in it* and that was correct. The oil level on the dipstick was half way between the high and low holes on the stick. I will leave it as is since I'll be changing it when the 5 hours are up.

The manual also calls for 5W-30 regular oil but it says 0W-30 Synthetic. That's what I intend to put in it after the first change. It gets to -40 here so 0W-30 is probably better than 5W-30 for these conditions.


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## 43128

"This was recently discussed in another thread..
they probably leave the oil in so that lots of new owners dont start up the machine with no oil in it! If machines were shipped with no oil, that would probably be a very common occurrence.."

buts whats the point, it just really cheap, thin, low viscosity oil


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## Fruggy

pwm said:


> I received my Craftsman 30" with the Powermore 420cc on it on Friday. The manual said it *would have oil in it* and that was correct. The oil level on the dipstick was half way between the high and low holes on the stick. I will leave it as is since I'll be changing it when the 5 hours are up.
> 
> The manual also calls for 5W-30 regular oil but it says 0W-30 Synthetic. That's what I intend to put in it after the first change. It gets to -40 here so 0W-30 is probably better than 5W-30 for these conditions.



Ok, I made the novice mistake of not reading the owners' manual thoroughly. It did indeed said, "Some are pre-filled; some are not". 

If wonder if they just run random engines for quality control at the factory?


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## Kiss4aFrog

I've seen them delivered dry and there is a quart bottle in the bag with the manual and the electric starter cord. I think some are and some aren't delivered with oil. You're may have been one of those that was shipped dry and the person setting it up went ahead and added the oil.

From the different answers I'd run it a little and then put in what ever kind of oil and weight you think best that's recommended in the manual since it's new and under warranty.
I'd say change it in 2-5 hours. If you're conservative use Valvoline NextGen (recycled and re-refined) oil. That and make sure you take the used oil back to an auto parts store for recycling as most do for free.
I have a 2410 and it's a nice solid performer but I do recommend the impeller kit as the impeller blade to housing gap is pretty big, at least on mine it was.


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## Fruggy

just came back from Walmart. They do not sell that oil, unfortunately. Otherwise I would have bought gallons of it. Thanks for the advice.


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## Kiss4aFrog

Sorry for the misinformation about the NextGen. It appears now that I've searched Walmart for it that Walmart used to carry it but doesn't currently.
And when I checked Oreilly it's on clearance  Might be that it never caught on and it's being discontinued. Too bad it was a great idea. $3.19 a quart if they have it on hand in your area or can order it in. Item Detail Not Found | O'Reilly Auto Parts

All my stuff is out of warranty so I use Mobil 1 0-40 European formula and get it at Walmart. Mobil 1 0W-40 Advanced Full Synthetic Motor Oil, 5 qt. - Walmart.com

I really don't know that it makes that much difference as when I was younger I had lawnmowers, edgers, snow blowers ... with the same technology Tecumseh engines (some Briggs ) I'm running now and I rarely if ever changed oil on then and they lived on and on. They were very forgiving for my neglect.
I did a lot of research and found the 0-40 the best compromise for all my power equipment after spending a lot of time on "Bobistheoilguy.com". These guys talk oil like it's life or death for them personally !! Used Oil Analysis - Bob is the Oil Guy - Bob is the Oil Guy

I do think the "0" synthetic allows the engines on the blowers and rider to turn over easier on really cold start-ups < -20 deg. Just my 2 cents.


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## Normex

I would stay away from Walmart for oil purchases but that's me, just buy a good quality synthetic 5w-30 like Mobil-1 or Amsoil just to name a few.
Your engine will give you more durability with these under normal operating conditions.


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## SlowRider22

Normex said:


> I would stay away from Walmart for oil purchases but that's me, just buy a good quality synthetic 5w-30 like Mobil-1 or Amsoil just to name a few.
> Your engine will give you more durability with these under normal operating conditions.


Walmart is the cheapest place to buy oil opposed to auto parts stores, at least that's the case of being in Connecticut. I just saw last week that a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 full synthetic was a mere $24.

But I'd also agree in using quality oil for the snowblower


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## Drift-King

At first I didn't think there might be a problem , but 43128 and SlowRider22 had me thinking that the oil you found might not be of a quality to run with. It might just be some anti-rust slop thrown in while the unit sits in some warehouse in China. Better safe than sorry, change this oil with an approved replacement for break-in.


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## GustoGuy

Drain it and fill the crankcase up with a high quality synthetic oil. I have never used a break in non synthetic before I just use Amsoil. I use Amsoil in all my engines and my daily drive a 2003 Hyundai Elantra has just over 388,000 miles on it and it still runs great. Also a high quality synthetic like Amsoil will not form sludge since it can withstand much higher temperatures and there are no tars or other impurities to breakdown and form sludge.


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## Corky

I am going to call the service department of the local dealer that just delivered my new Honda. I would think that they put in the Honda SAE 5W30 oil that is recommended in the manual and is indicated at the oil fill on the snowblower, when making delivery to a new customer. The dip stick indicates that it is at the full level and I would hope that the oil in it is not factory low viscosity oil. It is probably worth a phone call tomorrow anyway. My manual says to change it after 20 hours for the first oil change. So, synthetic oil is the way to go? Sorry, I did not see that this was for Troy-Bilt snow blowers until I had typed this.


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## tabora

Corky said:


> I am going to call the service department of the local dealer





Corky said:


> My manual says to change it after 20 hours for the first oil change.


Don't bother to call. Run it at least 10 hours and no more than 20 and then change to a good synthetic 5W30. Your engine will thank you...


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## Kiss4aFrog

Corky said:


> I am going to call the service department of the local dealer that just delivered my new Honda. I would think that they put in the Honda SAE 5W30 oil that is recommended in the manual and is indicated at the oil fill on the snowblower, when making delivery to a new customer. The dip stick indicates that it is at the full level and I would hope that the oil in it is not factory low viscosity oil. It is probably worth a phone call tomorrow anyway. My manual says to change it after 20 hours for the first oil change. So, synthetic oil is the way to go? Sorry, I did not see that this was for Troy-Bilt snow blowers until I had typed this.



That's all well and good but what does it have to do with the Chinese engine on a Troy-Bilt machine in a thread that's 5 & 1/2 years old ? Just way off topic and adding nothing to the OP.


.


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## Corky

Kiss4aFrog said:


> That's all well and good but what does it have to do with the Chinese engine on a Troy-Bilt machine in a thread that's 5 & 1/2 years old ? Just way off topic and adding nothing to the OP.
> 
> 
> .


Thank you, much appreciated. Like I said by my last line, I was not aware. I just did a search on “oil” and never noticed the topic. You seem like a nice guy, are ya? Feel ever so free to delete it.


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