Lawnmower with No Oil Drain Plug (Page 3): Most small engines are now made in China...

drivered Loc: Capital District, NY

jerryc41 wrote:

I guess Briggs & Stratton is saving money any way it can. Although the generic manual that came with this Craftsman mower shows several possible locations for oil drain plugs, my new mower doesn't have one. All I could do was turn it upside down and drain about 6 oz of oil out. I'll have to get a pump for next year.

Most small engines are now made in China

Wrangler Loc: North Texas

Is it an electric motor?😀😮😀

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

WessoJPEG wrote:

Check the choke probably not closing, loose cable.

Yes, it is choke related. It won't start with the choke on. I have to start it without using the choke. From what I recall, the carb doesn't have any adjustments available.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Wrangler wrote:

Is it an electric motor?😀😮😀

Yes, why do you ask? It still needs all that oil changed, doesn't it? I poured 18 oz into it. :D

macdiedrich Loc: Central Idaho

On my Craftsman Mower I have to tip the mower up so that I can get under the deck and remove the cover for the rear wheel propulsion, then I can get at the drain plug. It is a pain to do but at least I know that I am getting all the oil out this way.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

My mower is electric, as is my snow blower, so I do not have all that fussing over oil messes.

Phreedom Loc: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

jerryc41 wrote:

I guess Briggs & Stratton is saving money any way it can. Although the generic manual that came with this Craftsman mower shows several possible locations for oil drain plugs, my new mower doesn't have one. All I could do was turn it upside down and drain about 6 oz of oil out. I'll have to get a pump for next year.

Your new mower doesn't have a drain plug... that you can find.

But the plug-less one in the article, coming out in the spring, was written up back in January of this year. So maybe yours is?

bertloomis Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

I repaired mowers for years and rarely used the drain plug to drain the oil. Tipping it on its side to drain through the fill tube works quite well but the best for me was a vacuum hand pumped oil removal can from Northern Tool. No mess and it works great!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_390306_390306

Remember, when changing the oil it must be hot, so run the engine first. When the engine is cold, gunk settles on the bottom and it does not come out through the drain plug, the fill spout, or via a pump.

EarleG Loc: Nashville TN area

Our 4 year old mower has a Honda engine without drain plug
also. It has to be tipped on its side to drain the oil.
There is a fuel line shut off that needs to be closed prior
to tipping. I use Ragu Alfredo 16 oz sauce jars as the
perfect size to drain into using a funnel. It is actually easier than prior
mowers with a drain plug on the underside of engine.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

WessoJPEG wrote:

Craftsman Mowers are the worse mowers in the world. Gave mine away bought a Honda from Home Depot 10 years ago, on the second set of wheels. Starts on first pull every time. Craftsman never knew when it would start.

My Craftsman walk behind mower is 16 years old. Starts every time on the very first pull still. I have never changed the oil, it does not smoke when running nor uses oil appreciably. Do sharpen the blade regularly, changed the plug twice and keep it generally clean. I have never had it serviced. Mow about 1/3 acre of grass weekly.

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

I have a Sears mower that I bought way back in 1996 and I can';t remember ever changing the oil in it. But now I'm so old that I now have a gardener do the work for me. So it's retired to the garage. Needs only 2 or 3 pulls to get it started.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

jerryc41 wrote:

Yes, why do you ask? It still needs all that oil changed, doesn't it? I poured 18 oz into it. :D

:thumbup: :thumbup: :lol: :lol:

Jim Plogger Loc: East Tennessee

jerryc41 wrote:

I guess Briggs & Stratton is saving money any way it can. Although the generic manual that came with this Craftsman mower shows several possible locations for oil drain plugs, my new mower doesn't have one. All I could do was turn it upside down and drain about 6 oz of oil out. I'll have to get a pump for next year.

I had a Craftsman that was 9 years old until I gave it away this year that had no drain plug. I didn't know it until I decided to change the oil. The manual actually tells you to turn the mover upside down to drain the oil!! That means that you have to drain the gas tank before changing the oil. Yep...it had a B&S engine. What are they thinking??

Dontrain Loc: Chicago suburb

I was a B&S believer until last two mowers. Engine started easily when cold but not when hot. Weary of letting mower set for an hour before it could be re-started, I got rid of it and bought Honda with twin blade mulch system and a fuel cut-off valve. The Honda is the best mower and engine I have ever used. The tip-up drain does the job and doesn't require mopping up. Yearly replace spark plug, air filter, and synthetic oil. I have Honda generator and it too starts on first pull after 15 years. I am a believer but drive 2 Buicks.

f8bengal Loc: West Nawth Carolinah

This is one of the reasons I am very reluctant to buy anything of this nature from Sears. There will be identical model #'s of two things that look alike and are supposed to the same. However, the innards could be totally different; hence their reason for requiring the serial # before they can get parts, service, etc. One would think that Craftsman mowers Model xyz would all come from a big production-line plant (China or wherever?) and be the same. But no, they contract with small independent garages, machine shops, etc. to assemble a certain number of mowers in one area and same in another location. Parts used can vary a lot.