C'mon people! It appears half of you have not comprehended the original post. He's talking about a bucket of soapy water with some oil in it. Not "pouring oil on the compost." How do you suggest he 'recycle' that at his local recycling center, if there even is one? They won't want a bucket of water. I don't think it would do any harm, but I would also add that your septic tank is a very lively bacterial environment that would probably work about as well. Me, I would pour it on my rock driveway. Finally, regarding fertilizersalesman's post: "There is no question that microbes will break down petroleum products, I would be concerned about the associated contaminates such as the chlorinated compounds, lead and other heavy metals, benzene etc.": There will not be significant chlorinated compounds or lead in used motor oil. Metals, yes, low levels in the oil itself, mostly iron from the steel engine, but not enough of anything to speak of in soapy oily water. Finally, benzene, a major component of gasoline, is at once very toxic, volatile AND biodegradable much faster than lube oil in an aerobic environment!

Your Briggs model number seems to be missing a "digit". Is the number actually maybe 446070, or maybe 46x070 (x being unknown numeral). Or even some other 6 digit number. Briggs model numbers are 6 digit numbers, except for the very smallest displacement engine families. I would certainly hope any rider cutting 42" will have more than 4 cubic inches of engine displacement. :^) Anyhow, I will surmise that the engine has actually broken a connecting rod. To determine this you would need to remove the spark plugs and WATCH the piston by looking into the spark plug holes with a flash light. Crank the engine (or turn by hand) and watch each piston for motion. One of the pistons may not be moving. If a piston is not moving, but the engine crankshaft is turning.................that connecting rod is broken. Only a tear down and look see will disclose the extent of the damage. Oil is cheap.......even if it's $10 per quart, compared to the lack of oil. This post was edited by mownie on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 12:23

Bill, I am more familiar with the Moss-Magnuson Act then you could imagine and have been involved in legal cases regarding that act. I suggest you READ my post... "While in warranty I never use anything other than OEM filters" Anywhere in that statement that I said that I thought I had to? It is MY choice to ALWAYS use OEM parts except in circumstances where I decide that a third party part is superior to OEM or provides a feature that I decide I want. By using OEM filters I eliminate any warranty delays if warranty is denied. If you'd rather pay a lawyer to litigate denied warranty coverage with a manufacturer and wait till that is adjudicated then that is your choice and I support your right to make it. I've held positions where my job was to evaluate third party parts and you wouldn't believe how often third party parts fail to meet the OEM specifications regardless that the packaging says meets or exceeds manufacturer specifications. Third partiy manufacturers(?) are not privy to the OEM manufacturer's specifications or designs and they may use materials that are inferior or different than the OEM uses. They reverse engineer(?) the part, blister pack it, and put it on the shelf. Patents? We don't need no stinkin' patents... the Chinese are infamous for counterfeiting anything and everything regardless of any legal protection that exists for the original manufacturer. There are lots of people who want to pay less for something and that's fine... unless when you pay less and get less and don't know it and suffer for doing it. When people unilaterally recommend doing or buying something that less knowledgeable people might blindly follow it does everyone a disservice and so does you assuming what anyone on a forum knows or doesn't know. A dollar's worth for a dollar is still the best deal there is. Those who want to pay fifty cents and get a dollar's worth usually end up paying seventy five cents and getting fifty cents worth. Was true when my Dad told me that for the first time in the 50's, it's still true today, and it will always be true. So you save your buck or two on oil filters and I'll pay a couple bucks more for an OEM filter I need once a year and revel in my piece of mind. This post was edited by justalurker on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 0:18

You guys have been VERY helpful - wish i could buy you all a beer... Turns out the engine is a Tecumseh and NOT a Briggs & Stratton ... No where on the engine did it say Tecumseh - I finally found a sticker on the side of the engine with some numbers which turned out to be sears parts numbers and then finally I traced a part number to 36680 (a tecumseh Starter motor part number) Anyhow - i found a couple of aftermarket starters for the about $49-59 dollars a real Tec. Starter (#36680) is about $125 bucks (definitely not going to happen). I question the value of this tractor no cutting deck, rough shape, etc. --- I would not pay $50 dollars for the tractor - So Im not sure I would spend the $50-60 to actually repair it... As suggested - I will continue to search for a bargain starter - I know if I wait long enough Ill get it for a good price... BUT to confuse things further - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Today I ran into someone who put out an older Snapper lawn mower with a 8hp Briggs and a 30ish inch cutting deck onto their front lawn (for free!) Its rough - but its free... (wow - that 8HP B+S engine is a lot bigger than the 8hp tecemseh engine) Its a pull start unit (no electric starting), owner tells me it will fire up with starting fluid but wont run, it did run last spring... So Im thinking Ill "grab her snapper" - toss the sears tractor (but keep the tecumseh motor just in case). And work the Briggs motor/carb into something usable.... QUESTIONS: -- - - - - -- - - - - - - 1. Do any of you happen to know if theres enough meat on the back of that funky looking Snapper tractor to mount my crumy little ball hitch to drag around my trailers? The Snapper Im talking about looks roughly like this one http://www.snapper.com/rear_engine_riders.html except older i did not think to look for that when i was looking the snapper over... 2. Do any of you know if the engine mounting bolt patterns for a 8HP Tecumseh and a 8HP B&S engine are the same??? Granted the snapper has the mowing deck (but I got a scotts 2046 for mowing). The sears is a good slow mule for my intentions of moving trailers, moving stone and logs around the property Plus im gonna have to take the pully into consideration (that sounds messy)... im guessing crank diameters dont match... 3. Do you think the Snapper has a torque-y transmission transaxle (whatever it has under there) to do roughly what Im doing with my Sears? The Snapper Im talking about looks roughly like this one http://www.snapper.com/rear_engine_riders.html Im thinking the Snapper might be a good choice Your thoughts please Mucho Thanks - Dave