Oil pan flush

JL Ray

Member
Got out my JD F935 Saturday to do an oil change. Drained the system. Installed a new filter. Refilled the system. Then I noticed the oil drain pan was way to full. You got it. I forgot to install the drain plug. My first time doing that. So it wasn't a mistake it was just an oil pan flush.
 
I sure wouldn't want to do that with my nearly new cub cadet. I bought into a program where if you use an oil called Opti-4, they will extend the engine warranty 3 years after the Kohler warranty expires. 14 bucks a quart!
 
That's three oil changes for the price of one! No make that ONE oil change for the price of THREE. That sounds better or more gooder.
 
Extended warranty will not cover engines that have been operated with an empty oil pan. No warranty will. No oil in an engine is considered to be negligence, not some sort of failure of the manufacturing process.

In other words, what happened here in this thread would not be covered by warranty by anyone. The owner would have to repair or replace the engine out of his own pocket.

Opti-4's plan only applies to BRAND NEW outdoor power equipment and you must buy the Opti-4 package at the exact same time as the equipment purchase to qualify for the extended warranty. Essentially, you are buying insurance for a very high price.
 
Tom, I never saw in his post where he "started" the engine with no oil in it. He just wasted a little oil because he forgot to put the plug back in. I wouldn't expect Opti-4 to warranty an engine that's been run out of oil either.
 
Forgot to mention, I bought the mower "new" and the plan at the same time, as per conditions of extended warranty.
 
If the Opti-4 is as good as the Opti-2 thats used in chainsaws you will like the results that you will get from using it.
 
The only reason the OP did not start that engine and then use the tractor is because he happened to notice that his drain pan had more oil in it then he expected it to have. Had that gone unnoticed, the engine would have quickly destroyed itself. I am sure that we can both agree on that. What concerned me was that some readers might have concluded from your post that the damaged engine would have been covered by the Opti-4 plan. After all, some people believe in angels, the tooth fairy, Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. LOL
 
As I see it, the problem with many of these "wonder lubricants" is that there is little to no empirical evidence to support the claims. I view most of them as nothing more than "snake oil" that rely on a clever, well-written advertising campaign to push a product for an absurd price. But if it makes people happy to run such oils in their engines, then be my guest. After all, it is not my money that is being tossed away.
 
With all the bad publicity that Kohler engines have gotten on here, I don't consider 30 bucks a year (2 quarts for an oil change) a waste of money for a little insurance. Time will tell.
 
I take you have never used this product. We have run Stihl saws with Opti-2 and Stihl saws with Stihls own oil side by side . The saws run on Opti-2 ran cleaner, no smoke and don't have that gas oil mixture stink.The muffler screens on inspection of the saws using Opti-2 had no build up compaired to the other saws. I have had the same results in weedeater. My oldest saw is a 30 year old Husky and was converted to Opti-2 about 15 years ago and it runs cleaner on the Opti than it ever did on the Husky oil mix. Opti-2 is the only oil besides Stihls owen oil that they will honor warranty. Don,t knock a product until you run the same machines side by side. I find most people won't use Opti-2 because they only look at the dollar and cents.
 
You are correct. I have not used Opti-2 or Opti-4. I thank you for your "real world" testing of Opti-2 report. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is full of hype in advertising and it is very difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. The average guy rarely has the opportunity you reported to conduct side by side testing to see if there were any noticeable differences. In spite of all the laws that are supposed to protect us from fraudulent claims, it is still very much a Buyer Beware world that we live in. My obvious pessimism comes from being disappointed many times in the past and then hung out to dry by the manufacturers that refuse to back their product.
 
Tom it was a Stihl dealer that got me started using Opti-2 when I bought my first new Stihl saw. Before that I used what ever the manufacturer said to use and had 5 differant gas cans marked for which machine to be used in. After going to the Opti-2 I have one gas can with mix that covers all my 2 cycle equipment. Tom I was reluctant at first about using the Opti-2 but now I wouldn't go back to 5 differant mixs setting around.I know since I started using Opti-2 (over 15 years ago) that there have been a lot of improvements in oils.
 
Haven tore into engines most of my long life, I can't remember a one that was wore out because of using good, clean and changed regularly. I have seen lots worn out because of old, black, dirty nasty looking sludge from not ever changing it though. I'm one of those "show me" for claims of great anything, show me it is better!!
David
 
I didn"t realize this would start such a commotion. I made a mistake, caught my mistake. Made the best of my mistake. Past on my mistake.
 
No worries! Some times there is a need to relax, read, and comprehend prior to responding on here.

I once did a 55 Gallon drum worth of transmission "flush" on a 988 Cat loader, Boss wasnt impressed when I told him it was an impromptu flushing. Glad I didnt tell him about Opti-4 or Ida really got ripped, LOL
 
[i:654c4848f0]The only reason the OP did not start that engine[/i:654c4848f0]

And you know this how? Were you there? Just because he noticed the over-full drain pan [i:654c4848f0] before[/i:654c4848f0] he got around to [b:654c4848f0]checking the oil level[/b:654c4848f0] and starting the mower doesn't mean that he would have started the mower without checking the oil first.

That's the way I normally do it-- wipe off the area around the drain, clean up the mess (e.g, dump old oil in sealable container, looking for metal bits along the way), then look for drips, then check the levels (vehicle level, oil level), then start, allow to reach operating pressures, turn off, wait for oil to settle, check level again. If I didn't notice the missing plug at step 1 or 2 that doesn't mean I would have skipped multiple steps and fired it up w/ no oil.
 

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