Dip Stick

[sandybeach]

True - I think.

I'm all for anything that will improve the life of my tractor. However, measuring what it takes to fill the filter after the oil has been added and the engine has been run for a few minutes - and then rested for a few days - becomes problematic.

1. There is a known amount of oil installed in the engine (less that unknown amount diverted to the filter).
2. The filter is side-mounted, meaning that there will be some spillage that can't, realistically, be measured.
3. It's a small filter: approx 3 1/2 inches high by 4-4 1/2 inches diameter - meaning that the volume is probably small. Briggs and Stratton says 4 oz. on their 23 HP overhead valve horizontal engine.
4. The dealer said don't bother, there isn't enough to be a problem - but I'll bet that mechanics around the world are split 50-50 on whether on not that's true.
5. 4 oz seems like a lot, but it's about 2% of the recommended capacity.
6. Analogy: if I overfed my dog 4 oz, she wouldn't notice and she certainly wouldn't tell me if she did notice it. If I underfed my dog 4 oz, she would notice and she would make that quite clear.

Hm-m-m, sounds like a case for the MythBusters :thumbsup:

All of that blather passed on .... since it's clear that I have to drain some oil anyway, I may as well drain 4 oz less.

And my wife says I overthink the small stuff ...... I say it's that I like the sound of trivia bouncing around in my head.