Alright - don't beat me up on this if I am barking up the wrong tree. I have a "few" of the Heald SuperBronc's with both the 8hp and 10hp original stock Tecumsehs. They are in excellent shape and have never been opened up. Would using the 30W Lucas Break-In Oil which has a "high zinc content" be advantageous for the valves on these engines for the lubricating properties. I would be using this oil year round. I called up Lucas and the rep said that there are 3,634 parts per million of zinc in this oil. That means nothing to me - Good idea or ? Thanks
Lucas Break-In Oil
- Thread starter JChev136
- Start date
Here's the article https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1049812
"Those who hold onto the myth are ignoring the fact that the new Starburst oils contain about the same percentage of ZDP as the oils that solved the camshaft scuffing and wear issues back in the 1950s. (True, they do contain less ZDP than the oils that solved the oil thickening issues in the 1960s, but that's because they now contain high levels of ashless antioxidants not commercially available in the 1960s.)
Despite the pains taken in developing special flat-tappet camshaft wear tests that these new oils must pass and the fact that the ZDP level of these new oils is comparable to the level found necessary to protect flat-tappet camshafts in the past, there will still be those who want to believe the myth that new oils will wear out older engines.
Like other myths before it, history teaches us that it will probably take 60 or 70 years for this one to die also."
"Those who hold onto the myth are ignoring the fact that the new Starburst oils contain about the same percentage of ZDP as the oils that solved the camshaft scuffing and wear issues back in the 1950s. (True, they do contain less ZDP than the oils that solved the oil thickening issues in the 1960s, but that's because they now contain high levels of ashless antioxidants not commercially available in the 1960s.)
Despite the pains taken in developing special flat-tappet camshaft wear tests that these new oils must pass and the fact that the ZDP level of these new oils is comparable to the level found necessary to protect flat-tappet camshafts in the past, there will still be those who want to believe the myth that new oils will wear out older engines.
Like other myths before it, history teaches us that it will probably take 60 or 70 years for this one to die also."
That link has been posted here form time to time. It's not as cut and dried as stated. If you scroll down that link page about half way, you will find contradiction information. So let's look at the "pains taken in developing special flat-tappet camshaft wear tests:"
From the link: "Sequence IIIG evaluates cam and lifter wear using a V6 engine with a flat-tappet system, similar to those used in the 1980s."
From the actual test:
Sequence IIIG Measures lubricant thickening and piston deposits under high-temperature conditions and provides information about valve train wear.
"The engine then operates at 94 kW, 3600 rpm, and 150°C lubricant temperature for 100 hours, interrupted at 20-hour intervals for lubricant level checks."
The Starburst rated oils showed an average cam/lifter wear rate of less than sixty micrometers. That is the "standard."
So from the test cited in the link, you can use modern API rated oils in your flat tappet Briggs and Stratton, it's just fine. You can even use it in your vintage, low power, car engine, as long as you keep the RPM below 3600 RPM, check the oil and add if necessary every 20 hours, and use stock valve springs.
But the Sequence IIIG test hardly dispels any "Myths" based on empirical data from the past 70 years of using low zinc oils and theie relationship between wiped cam shafts.
The number one thing you can do for an engine is to change the oil more often.
From the link: "Sequence IIIG evaluates cam and lifter wear using a V6 engine with a flat-tappet system, similar to those used in the 1980s."
From the actual test:
Sequence IIIG Measures lubricant thickening and piston deposits under high-temperature conditions and provides information about valve train wear.
"The engine then operates at 94 kW, 3600 rpm, and 150°C lubricant temperature for 100 hours, interrupted at 20-hour intervals for lubricant level checks."
The Starburst rated oils showed an average cam/lifter wear rate of less than sixty micrometers. That is the "standard."
So from the test cited in the link, you can use modern API rated oils in your flat tappet Briggs and Stratton, it's just fine. You can even use it in your vintage, low power, car engine, as long as you keep the RPM below 3600 RPM, check the oil and add if necessary every 20 hours, and use stock valve springs.
But the Sequence IIIG test hardly dispels any "Myths" based on empirical data from the past 70 years of using low zinc oils and theie relationship between wiped cam shafts.
The number one thing you can do for an engine is to change the oil more often.