I don’t disagree with you, a drain would be nice. But if the car is up in the air with the oil dump underneath . . . Yeah a drain plug would be nice. I used to loosen the bolts more on one end to try and direct the main flow, but it was always a mess.
Yeah, there’s lawnmowers you have to flip upside down to change the oil on! (Not really an option with a car…) It’s disgraceful how much so many appliances have been cheapened. They can only “decontent” cars so much–the engine, anyways–because it has to meet EPA durability testing. For once, TY, EPA.
I prefer drain plugs. My last car without one was a Dodge Caravan. I still managed to drain the oil without much of a mess, but it takes some planning and care.
More strength inspiring . . . for a 3 cylinder car?! It does have a nice little growl to the engine . . . kind of like when you go over somebody's house and they've got a little puppy and he's about as big as your foot but he runs over and bites your pants cuff and starts tugging on it and growling but his tail is wagging. You gotta admire his spirit . .
Yeah, and his owner probably named him Hercules!
If he had named him “snowflake” he’d act accordingly, cowering in the corner looking like a victim rather than the viscous predator that he is 
Maybe you can complete the picture with a small daisy in a vase on the dashboard… 
BTW, in case it isn’t abundantly obvious, I’m just yanking your chain…
Yeah, upon further reflection, I suppose “purr” is a more appropriate word than “growl”. At any rate, its nice little car. I’m glad I held out for the manual transmission, especially enjoyed the link @circuitsmith provided a few pages back, the whole bit about the direct mechanical linkage and durability, the bearings can last decades. . . . as opposed to the 2 speed CVT unrebuildable transmission
“2 speed CVT unrebuildable transmission”
Yes, it is true that CVTs are not yet rebuildable in the US, but…Where did you get the mistaken notion that those transmissions have only 2 speeds?
In fact, a CVT has almost infinite gear ratios available, depending on vehicle speed, load, and rate of acceleration. Are you sure that you aren’t thinking of the old Chrysler Powerflite transmissions of the '50s, and the Powerglide transmission that Chevy used up to (I think) the late '70s?
From @cwatkin 's post on page 11 of this thread, quote, " I know the one used on small cars such as the Mirage, Versa, and the like has a two speed auto coupled to a torque converter feeding into the CVT unit. This allows for a high range and a low range. The complexity and relatively low cost of the units makes them considered “non-rebuildable” so you just replace them. I guess these work well in small cars but once you put some power to them, they just don’t hold up very well."
Who wants all that complexity? As he has mentioned previously, when the CVT transmission goes, the car will probably go to the junkyard because who’s going to go to that expense for a car like a Mirage or Versa which will already probably be over 10 years old / 100k miles. All of this will serve to re-inforce their reputations as a “disposable” car.
Contrast that with the article @circuitsmith posted the link to on page 9 of this thread:
EXCERPT BELOW:
- Service life
Especially if you’re considering a used car, the automatic transmission is the weakest link in the reliability chain. In the era of the GM Turbo-Hydramatic 350 and 400 transmission, filters and fluids were easy to check and change.
But today, many automatic transmissions have fluid change intervals in the 100,000 mile range, and many don’t even offer a way to check the fluid periodically. “Lifetime” transmission fluid intervals don’t mean “for the lifetime of the car,” but “for the lifetime of the transmission” or “the lifetime of the first owner’s period of ownership.”
Electronic transmission control means that your transmission ekes out higher fuel economy than an older automatic ever could, but it also means an array of sensors and control units that fail long before the usable lifetime of the car is finished.
CVTs are even less suited for the long haul. They’re built to be in a perpetual state of slippage, so the “belt” — really more of a chain — wears to the point of failure in a finite number of miles.
A manual transmission, on the other hand, is a precision mechanical device. Sensors don’t shift gears, your arm does, and you’re connected mechanically to a series of forks and gears. Bearings eventually wear out, but provided the gear oil inside is changed on schedule and the transmission isn’t abused, that bearing life could be as long as your adult life.
The only real wear item in the entire chain is the clutch, and even those can last for decades if treated with care.
Yes, it is true that CVTs are not yet rebuildable in the US
Are you saying that US CVT’s can’t be rebuilt…because there are places that can rebuild CVT tranny’s here in the US.
Here’s one…
http://www.toptransmissions.com/cvt-transmission/new-problems.html
The Jatco CVT7 with auxiliary gearbox used in the Mirage;
''a CVT avilable only as an assembly ‘’ is probably more of the same car industry bull that is trying to squeeze out the manual transmissions.
They want to simplify the assembly line, they want to simplify the supply chain, the warehouse space, the numbering system, the packaging etc … so much so that if you break a little plastic fuel line retainer clip . . you have to buy a 200 dollar assembly to get it.
— THEY MAKE THEM IN PIECES BUT YOU CAN NOT BUY ANY OF THE PIECES. —
They even want to simplify the new car purchase process to the point of have so many LESS options for anyone to pick from ( just option ‘‘packages’’ ) and dare not bother the precious assembly line.
Actually that’s the way my Moped was. The engine was on a hinge and moved back and forth to change speeds. My lawn mower is a little simpler with just the variable speed pulley changing the pulley diameter to change speeds. Haven’t looked at a snow mobile up close but suspect its similar. Of course the car CVTs are much more complicated but the principle is the same.
Boys ,Boys (whistle ) stop squabbling over the trannies ,the market dictates what we can get ,the last time I crawled under the old Dakota and dropped the pan ,I said to myself that is the last time,While the Hondas are simplicity its self .I really dont see why you cannot have a common "sump " but economics creeps in again also,the cost of that extra oil could add up ,the transmission oil doesnt get contaminated nearly as quicky as the oil in an ICE ,so you would really be wasting petroleum ,plus you need the EP additives for the gears . Ad nausem .
Here’s a website devoted to us gear grinders:
Yes, just more reasons to avoid autos/CVTs for people who prefer them. I also agree that the low cost of the Mirage, Versa, etc. will make them a disposable for most when the CVT gives it up unless gas prices experience a sudden spike. Nothing is for sure in this world. Lots of Geo Metros with a dead engine or transmission but otherwise in OK shape get bought from salvage yards and bought back to life when gas spikes. The only thing going against the Mirage is that it isn’t all that common, at least where I am at. The Versa is common as dirt here. I understand these two as well as the Chevy Spark (also common here) use the same transmission. I don’t know if it is truly the same in how it mounts up, similar enough that a few sensors and accessories can be swapped to make it work, or if just the internals are the same but all else is different. I don’t have a CVT so don’t really care.
As for the drain plugs, etc. I have noticed the “artifacts” such as low areas with a nice flat spot in castings where you can tell a drain plug or some other feature was once included. I have two riding mowers with basically the same Kohler Command 16hp engine. There is one difference. One has a fuel pump as the tank is located under the seat while the other is gravity fed as the tank sits above the engine. The fuel pump on the one is bolted to the block. There is likely an eccentric on the cam or something else driving it. The gravity fed one doesn’t have a pump or a plate over this spot but there is an “artifact” as I would call it where the casting is continuous and two holes to mount a fuel pump. They are basically the same engine besides this difference.
I have seen this on other mowers and small engine equipment. I used to see them with drain plugs but they were commonly under the deck or otherwise blocked by the frame of the equipment. The engine was obviously designed independently of the equipment. Now they are making engines without drain plugs and those with oil meant to last the “lifetime” of the equipment so it “never needs changing”. These do not include a drain plug but do have casting artifacts suggesting one on the pan. See https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/campaigns/just-check-and-add.html There is nothing stopping you from turning this over to drain the oil but it will be a throwaway for most people. Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea as so many people never change their mower oil anyway.
I think planetary gears are great. They can transmit a lot of torque in a small package. Honda claims that its 10 speed automatic is no bigger than its 6 speed. My problem is with the way that they are activated in a slushbox. Unlike a manual transmissions dry clutch, the fluid that’s trapped inside a wet clutch causes viscous drag even when disengaged. Now that we have the electronic technology, when can we have automatic transmissions with planetary gear shifted by dog clutches? Just like those inside a manual transmission, dog clutches do NOT require constant pressure to stay engaged and causes negligible viscous drag. Those are the 2 major sources of energy loss in an automatic transmission even when the torque converter is locked.
The newer B&S engines( use the letters as you wish) are probably junk ,but it honestly addresses the crux of the problem ,a lot of small engine owners (they also own the huge grass deserts ) are not big on maintenance and proper maintenance is essential for the longevity of these small engines …
I have two gasoline push mowers–an 18" Toro with a Tecumseh engine that I purchased in 1988 and a 20" Homelite-Jacobsen that I bought in 1992. The Toro has a Tecumseh engine and the Homelite-Jacobsen has a B&S engine. Both engines have drain plugs. This makes them easy to service. At the end of the season, I tilt the mower back, remove the blade and oil plug, drain the oil, sharpen the blade, reinstall the blade and drain plug, set the mower back down and put in fresh oil. I also replace the air filter and spark plug. I flill the gas tank and add stabilizer and store the mowers in the shed. All I ever have to do in the spring is just pull the starter cord and start mowing. Both mowers have a cast aluminum deck so they don’t rust. Apparently, the Product Safety Commission outlawed these cast aluminum decks because they might shatter if the mower picks up a rock. I’ve never had this happen and I have hit some rocks with the mowers. I don’t like the idea of a,mower that you have to turn over to drain the oil or a metal deck that can rust, nor do I want the complexity of a self propelled mower. I did buy a,used Black and Decker rechargeable battery mower a couple of years ago. The housing is plastic. Unfortunately, the mower is heavy to push because of the weight of the batteries. I also had to replace the batteries this spring at a,cost of $70. The mower does a good job, but I could purchase a lot of gasoline for $70.
I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed since the EPA got involved in small engines is that there is no carburetor adjustment anymore. They are set lean and either work or don’t to meet emissions. Plus they are all (lots) made in China now. The demise of the small engine industry was the canary in the coal mine as our industrial base crumbled and accountants took over. Then you have the folks in Washington that just can’t seem to help and would like to see no small engines at all and are doing their best to achieve that goal under the guise of clean air.
I have oil drain plugs on everything though except my generator. Because the generator is mounted under the engine where the drain would be, you have to tip the thing upside down to drain the oil out.
Plus they are all (lots) made in China now. The demise of the small engine industry was the canary in the coal mine as our industrial base crumbled and accountants took over.
Big-box home improvement stores forced many manufacturers to sell high volume to them at a very low price…this forced many of them to move operations overseas so they could make those mega-volume sales at that price. Quality was NEVER an issue for companies like Home Depot or Lowes. Volume was their only concern.
Lookup “The man who said no to wal-mart” online and select the Fast Company article. I would post the link but it seems that many times they get filtered like they think it is SPAM. Anyway, this article talks about just the situation of selling high-volume but low-quality mowers at Wal-Mart. The same applies with other box stores as we know but I work on electronics and see the same thing with computers, TVs, and more. They are all made just to their specifications and have a model number that is only sold at Wal-Mart. The only time I have seen these models outside Wal-Mart is on some of the refurb deals. Also, the Black Friday sale stuff is much the same. It is made cheap just for that day and when people lose their mind. They don’t care if the thing works but they got it cheap.
Yes, I dislike the lack of adjustment or limits to adjustments on many carbs these days. I have seen the exhaust of some of my mowers glowing red as it gets towards dark out and figure it is because they run so lean. This reduces hydrocarbons and CO but increases NOX. Pick your evil. I especially don’t like this on two strokes where lubrication is an issue. I had one where I found plastic caps over the adjustment. I was able to extract these caps by screwing a small wood screw into them and then I was free to adjust as I wanted. Then there is a leaf blower I have that has a catalytic converter. I actually kinda like this because there is no fume smell after a few seconds of full throttle operation. I would like to run the unit a tad richer but it is limited internal to the carb. There is no way to remove this without a complete tear down so have just left it as rich as I can make it. I also figure some of this is because of the onboard cat and that I might melt it down if I made it richer. Either way, I like not smelling the fumes from the equipment.
There was a B&S plant where I live in Rolla, MO. It closed down and all the operations sent to China. There are still some plants in the US but the cheaper box store stuff all went overseas. I agree that many of the newer engines are lacking, but for those who never maintain them, I see no issues with this. Why spend money on a good unit when you plan to just roll it out to the curb at the beginning of each season and buy a new one? I actually dated someone with one of those cheap Weed Eater mowers from Wal-Mart that are not much more than $100 or so. Everything about it was flimsy and light. The funny thing about it was that it weighed nothing. I would be outside like running laps mowing her yard because it was so easy to push around. I also changed the oil for her as that had never been done. The old oil was so nasty that I ran the new oil for a while and then changed it once again because it got dirty so quick.
Like the computers, etc., these engine companies have different lines for professional and consumer use. You have the Kohler Courage for the consumers and then the Command/Command Pro line for professionals. Briggs has the Intek for consumers and the Vanguard for pros. I personally had a Kohler Courage and was sorely disappointed. It was nothing but problems until its demise. Mine had come to me used but new owners of these were involved in class-action suits and such about all the problems. On the other hand, I have two mowers with almost identical 16HP Commands and they seem indestructible. I put them through conditions they were never intended for but they just keep on going. I change the oil/filter and all of course and use a diesel rated synthetic which I am sure helps.