# Easier oil change ---my way



## TOM B (May 6, 2020)

Instead of making a big mess when changing the oil on my Simplicity m1227e snowblower which has the Briggs & Stratton 11.50 engine, I made the adapters for the oil drain pipe, which in my case exited off the back of the engine .
I accomplished the changeover with commonly purchased Parts at Home Depot ,have a look I hope the picture comes through.
Thanks for looking 
TOM B


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

TOM B said:


> Instead of making a big mess when changing the oil on my Simplicity m1227e snowblower which has the Briggs & Stratton 11.50 engine, I made the adapters for the oil drain pipe, which in my case exited off the back of the engine .
> I accomplished the changeover with commonly purchased Parts at Home Depot ,have a look I hope the picture comes through.
> Thanks for looking
> TOM B


Welcome to SBF Tom. Good idea using the brass fittings. Nice job.


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## TOM B (May 6, 2020)

Grunt said:


> Welcome to SBF Tom. Good idea using the brass fittings. Nice job.


Thanks probably cost me $12.00 USD.
It works well
TOM B


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Is that a plug/cap below the valve? If so, you should be in good shape. If not, be to careful to check the oil level frequently. I don't believe that type of valve locks in the closed position as the purpose-built oil drain valves do.


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## TOM B (May 6, 2020)

@tabora 

Yes it is plugged at the bottom. 
This setup works well and in the past the other mods like this didnt leak so i modded this machine just to avoid an oil change mess. 
Thanks for your input .
TOM B


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## penna stogey (Nov 25, 2019)

Noice job.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

why did i think the title was Easter oil change??????

Man, I'm losing it . havent even popped the first beer yet. most people who bring me their machines don't even know where to check the oil.


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## TOM B (May 6, 2020)

orangputeh said:


> why did i think the title was Easter oil change??????
> 
> Man, I'm losing it . havent even popped the first beer yet. most people who bring me their machines don't even know where to check the oil.


Regional speak.
While your drinking that beer let me ask you this,
The last time you drove your car how many telephone poles did you see? Most people dont see any.( no points for buried service.)
I think the term is skitoma(sp)
Basically you see something so many times you don't see it anymore that's where I used to reference of the telephone poles
TOM B


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

The old Tecumseh 7HP, it was a pain to change the oil on since the drain was on the side of the engine. My dad had to tip the machine sideways on to that wheel where the drain was. It was a royal pain. When I repowered the 1971 Ariens back in 2011?... the Briggs And Stratton drain was towards the back of the machine. What a blessing. An improvement to say the least. Tipping the handle bars back to drain the oil is really a chore.  The 2015 Pro is the same way. Just to have that drain towards the back is enough help for me. I do not need a ball valve there to drain the oil. That is a little bit to lazy for me. And actually, now that the drain is in the back, all I do is take the container and put it right over the end of the pipe and all the oil goes right in to the container. I do not even have to drain it in to a pan first.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

You wonder why they don't manufacture something like that when they build the machine?
Looks good. 
Chrome would have looked better.


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## TOM B (May 6, 2020)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and input.
TOMB


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> You wonder why they don't manufacture something like that when they build the machine?


have you seen some of the new lawn mowers? i would guess they assume most people will never change the oil and will likely never have issues which for the most part is true. as long as you got oil in the block they usually keep running without issue. i pulled this from home depot's webside for a toro machine.
_
Hassle-free maintenance. mowing is enough of a chore on its own, and maintaining your mower is just another time-drainer; with a Toro, there's no oil change - ever. Just check the oil level and add when needed _


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

crazzywolfie said:


> have you seen some of the new lawn mowers? i would guess they assume most people will never change the oil and will likely never have issues which for the most part is true. as long as you got oil in the block they usually keep running without issue. i pulled this from home depot's webside for a toro machine.
> 
> _Hassle-free maintenance. mowing is enough of a chore on its own, and maintaining your mower is just another time-drainer; with a Toro, there's no oil change - ever. Just check the oil level and add when needed _


That is why they started adding the oil to the machine too. A lot of folks started up their new mower or whatever with no oil in it. Duh !
You wouldn't believe the amount of new owners who did that.

I had a friend that bought a 68 Oldsmobile new, free oil changes for a year.
After that all he did was change the filter and added a quart every 3500 miles.
He said that oil never broke down but just got dirty, changing the filter and adding the quart kept it clean. ( I don't agree with that) but,
He put over 250,000 on that car with no motor problems at all.
I bought the car from him cheap to tow a boat back and forth to my boat club. 30 mile round trip.
I would leave the dock before the sun came up and wouldn't be back till after the sun went down. 
So I didn't have to worry about the old car there compared to my newer pickup truck sitting there.
Motorcycle gangs used to party down by the water at times on the weekends. 
I knew some of them but still didn't want my pickup truck parked there. They did leave my stuff alone.

Anyway one of the valve covers started to leak so I took them off to replace, the inside was free of sludge and grime.
It looked new inside.
I finally sold that car to a friend who asked if it would make it from NJ to Florida. I said I guess so but I would give no guarantee. 
He made 3 trips back and forth to Jersey with it before the trans started acting up.
But the motor.........for the life of it, nothing was ever done besides the normal stuff like belts and water pump, alternator etc.
Pistons, rings, crank and cam all performed well.

Me.........I would rather do the oil changes.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> That is why they started adding the oil to the machine too. A lot of folks started up their new mower or whatever with no oil in it. Duh !
> You wouldn't believe the amount of new owners who did that.


yup i would believe that too. most new motors even have a tag on them telling you to check the oil before you run them. the motors just have to last till they are out of warranty then they are your problem lol. i bet that is why toro is so willing to say they don't need oil changes. i know so many people never change the oil on stuff like lawnmowers and snowblowers. i always like to do at least 1 after break in period but after that as long as the oil looks and smells good i leave it.


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## jerryvvv (Apr 23, 2020)

I change the oil in my lawnmower and snowblower once a year/season....oil is cheap, why not?

I buy a 5 liter jug of 5w30, it lasts me 2-3 years


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## jerryvvv (Apr 23, 2020)

Kielbasa said:


> The old Tecumseh 7HP, it was a pain to change the oil on since the drain was on the side of the engine. My dad had to tip the machine sideways on to that wheel where the drain was. It was a royal pain. When I repowered the 1971 Ariens back in 2011?... the Briggs And Stratton drain was towards the back of the machine.


I know what you mean, my last 5hp Tecumseh was the same way, I had to tilt it and put a big brick under the left wheel when changing the oil,

My new 10.5 HP Tecumseh is on the back....much better and easier


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

crazzywolfie said:


> have you seen some of the new lawn mowers? i would guess they assume most people will never change the oil and will likely never have issues which for the most part is true. as long as you got oil in the block they usually keep running without issue.<snip>


I just bought a new Toro from HD a couple months ago and it has a Briggs engine with the "never change the oil" uh, "feature" I guess they call it. I call it BS, I changed the oil at about 3 hours and it had lots of silver particles in it. And if you want to change the oil you have to drain it out of the filler tube, which I have to admit on this one is easier than having a drain plug in the bottom of the engine. Just tilt it over and I use an old cake pan that is about 3" deep, then pour via funnel into container.

I usually get about 25 years or so from a lawn mower (I'm 70 now) so I guess this one will outlast me. But it'll have clean oil in it when my wife's nephew inherits it.

Out of curiosity I looked up the average life of a lawn mower and it seems to be about 7 years. If that's the case then yeah, don't bother changing the oil.


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