Toro 5000 Series Zmaster Kohler oil leak

Mick Oz

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This Toro 5000 Series Zmaster professional has a Kohler engine and it has been hard used. It has unfairly earned a poor reliability reputation amongst the operators who use it for small scale roadside work.
Any issue at all seems to see it dumped back at the workshop with the now normal red tag saying stuffed.
It's the same one I recently replaced the rectifier one and previously pulled down to check coil packs and look for a broken keyway.
It has developed an oil leak from close to if not between the oil filter and engine block. Minor service and oil with filter change 20 odd hours ago. Starts and runs well but will pool oil overnight after being used. Does not pool any oil if just cleaned and topped up.
I only found that out when someone told me this morning, " I topped up that Toro yesterday afternoon when I moved it out of the way from the front of the shop.
I had a look and their was apool of oil in front of the shop but clean and dry below the Toro where it now sat.
The oil pooled photo is staged by putting the Toro back where it was to show the location and spread of the oil.
The dipstick shows full and the oil is in good condition
 

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bertsmobile1

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Between the oil filter & the engine is the manifold for the oil cooler.
So the oil lines may have a leak which dribbles down to the manifold then on to the floor.
Or the seal between the manifold and the block may be gone of the manifold has come loose.

Not sure how K hold the manifolds on.
Some just screw onto the original oil filter spiggot while others have a small bolt.

The oil on the floor could be the from the oil cooler

Lots of mirror & torch work cause it is a bitch to get at with the engine installed.
 

Mick Oz

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I will have a good look and see if I can track down the source. Thanks for the ideas, I'm sure there is one of those digital inspection cameras somewhere I can borrow.
 

bertsmobile1

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People kept telling me they were good so I got a $ 50 from Aldi when they were on special to see if they were worthwile.
Being cheap & bulky it was not as good as it could have been but good enough to justify spending more on a better one.
Spent $300 on a USB unit with a very thin tube and a 360 /180 lense so it can look at the bore on the way down.
Excellent with Chainsaws as I can now tell all the Husqvarna owners their saws are scrap because the chrome is lifting off the bore in 2 minutes rather than waste an hour pulling the garbage piles down.
The mirror on the Aldi one does not fit through a 14mm plug hole by itself and needs a mirror to be fitted to the end to see the sides.
But it is good on site when I know why something does not work.
Pull the boroscope out and shove it in a few places and no one argues about the diagnosis "computer says no "
 

Mick Oz

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One step forward and one step back.
Yes the oil leak is from between the block and the oil cooler. It's held in place by the oil feed tube for the oil filter.
Unfortunately there are none in Australia, so the parts supplier advised me to take it to a local bearing and seal supplier to see if they can match it.IMG_4651.jpgIMG_4649.jpgIMG_4652.jpg
The oil feed tube is a large hollow hex drive bolt.
Once I fix this leak I can look at fixing the snapped exhaust stud jammed in the head.
 

bertsmobile1

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Down to CBC for a sheet of teflon or buytl rubber then out with the scissors & wad punches.
Having dissimilar parts that get hot & are clamped together without allowing for different expansion rates is poor engineering
If you have a lathe you could even mount the manifold and turn a groove in it to take an O ring or even cut a square one and slip the seal off an old oil filter on there
Just remember that the manifold really needs to be in contact with the block for support or there is a chance of snapping the hollow tube that holds it in place or ripping the threads because the force will be leveraged by the length from the hole to the edge of the manifold.
 

Mick Oz

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I do like this machine, I am learning something, or several somethings every time I get to work on it. The whole Cyclone clean up program is in motion here now, so I hope to get back at the Toro Monday of next week.
 

bertsmobile1

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Are so you are that far north.
hope you got through it unscathed.
 

Mick Oz

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It went about an hour and 20 minutes south of us, so all we got was the very edge of wind and rain. Well Monday was a bust. Spent Sunday night in a&e for a snake bite, must look where I stand. Luckily it was a dry bite so 12 hours of observation and regular blood tests got me the Ok.
 

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