This should be interesting

hrdman2luv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Threads
62
Messages
345
I just got in a TroyBilt in (13W093KP011) that has a Kohler KT736.

Customers complaint: Leaking oil and said the gas leaked out. All I've done so far, is pressure washed all the oil and dirt off it. And they're right, there's oil everywhere.
From about 1/2 way up the engine to the top of the deck. Some caked on like it's been there for a while. And some, especially on the deck and the PTO, was fresh. I'm just guessing, because I don't know much about Kohler's, but I'm assuming that there's a stuck needle in the carb. And a bad crank seal.

It has a fuel pump. And it would seem that the level of the fuel in the tank, is a little lower than the fuel pump. But about the same as the carb. That's just eyeballing it briefly.

This engine only has about 33 hrs on it. The customer says the warranty went out 2 months ago.

I'm posting this, for advise. Maybe some have seen this sort of problem before. And can make further diagnosis easy peasy.
 

Tom S. in Tn.

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Threads
2
Messages
10
Blowing oil with oil in the fuel pump pulse line can be evidence of leaking head gasket. How well does it run?
 

hrdman2luv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Threads
62
Messages
345
Blowing oil with oil in the fuel pump pulse line can be evidence of leaking head gasket. How well does it run?

It smoked like the dickens at first. So while I was running I took my air gun and blew off all the oil from around the muffler, and it completely stopped blowing smoke.
After it ran for about 10 minutes, I shut it off, and there was a little smoke in the oil fill tube. But not much at all. Sort of cloudy down in the tube. Also a little smoke came out of the carb. But again, very little.
Compression test about 170ish on both sides. I let the right side stay connected to the compression tester for about 10 minutes, and it stayed about the same. The spark plugs were a little oil soaked. But nothing at all what I was expecting. Considering all the oil that was on the PTO, mower deck, muffler, etc etc.

I'm starting to think that the bottom seal is leaking. It's sitting now, cooling off. I'm gonna go check it in a few minutes to see if I can spot any fresh oil anywhere.
 

ILENGINE

Lawn Pro
Joined
May 6, 2010
Threads
39
Messages
9,865
Bottom seal won't get a lot of oil on the engine, but will coat everything underneath. Top seal will blow oil all over everything and will be covered under the blower housing. Sump gasket area, oil filter, and drain plug, would be the most likely areas,especially if one of those twist and pull drains will either leak or work loose from the engine block. Valve covers or breather gasket area leaking will get oil everywhere also.
 

hrdman2luv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Threads
62
Messages
345
And now, it gets even more interesting.
I filled the oil level (a little high) and mowed with it for about an an hour. And can't find anything wrong, anywhere. No smoking, no hissing nothing, no smoke from the fill tube after I killed it.

I'm starting to think the customer just spilled a bunch of oil when he added some the last time. Although the oil level was low when he brought it in.

Head gaskets don't just seal themselves off. Do they? Even if they could (like maybe filling the cracks with oil), it would only be a temporary seal. When the engine heated up again, all the dried oil, would get loosened up and blown out when the engine got hot again.

I'm stumped.
 

cpurvis

Lawn Addict
Joined
Aug 25, 2015
Threads
21
Messages
2,256
The gas that 'leaked out' had to go somewhere, maybe into the crankcase, overfilling it.

Engine run with overfilled crankcase spews oil everywhere.

But no leaks now, so maybe no harm done?

I'd change the oil and send the patient home with instructions to check the oil level before each use and return IF oil level rises or leaks reappear.
 

hrdman2luv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Threads
62
Messages
345
The gas that 'leaked out' had to go somewhere, maybe into the crankcase, overfilling it.

Engine run with overfilled crankcase spews oil everywhere.

But no leaks now, so maybe no harm done?

I'd change the oil and send the patient home with instructions to check the oil level before each use and return IF oil level rises or leaks reappear.


Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking the same thing. I don't want to take the heads off, if there's no need in doing it. I know some shops would do it just for the money. But I can't do that to people.

What's sooooo strange is where all the oil came from. The whole frame around the engine was soaked. The PTO, and belt pulley was soaked. The deck was soaked. The outside of the muffler was soaked.
But after mowing with it for an a little while, and shutting it down, I shined a light into the muffler, and it's spotless.
 
Top