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I picked up a little Huskie push mower the other day. Not sure of the model number. But for this, I don't think it's important. When I pulled the dip stick, there was some nasty, hard molasses type stuff on the end of it. So, I pulled the drain plug, and almost nothing that resembled oil came out. I added some oil used oil, that had some gas in it, and let it set for an hour or so. Then drained pulled the drain plug again. Still almost nothing come out, until I stuck the hole with a short nail.

Can someone give me an idea on what to use to loosen this up? Straight gas? Fresh oil changes (a lot of them)

Note: I added some new oil to it, cranked it, and let it run for about 10 minutes. Drained it out. Still lots of that stuff in there.

With the modern lubricants this is something I haven't seen in years now. Back in the pass (my younger years) we would make a mix of kerosene and oil and run the engine till warm and drain it then refill with fresh oil.

My first time.

That's probably the original fill of oil and possibly non-detergent to boot.

I, too, have used kerosene in the crankcase to rinse out dirty engines. That used to be a common practice but now an unneeded one with today's detergent oils.

There's no substitute for a tear-down and manual cleaning and that's really the only way to be sure you got it all. Short of that, it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie, depending upon the value of the mower and your time.

That's probably the original fill of oil and possibly non-detergent to boot.

I, too, have used kerosene in the crankcase to rinse out dirty engines. That used to be a common practice but now an unneeded one with today's detergent oils.

There's no substitute for a tear-down and manual cleaning and that's really the only way to be sure you got it all. Short of that, it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie, depending on the value of the mower and your time.

IIRC, All of this happened last week. When I parked it, I didn't drain the oil out. So, I'm gonna drain it again today and see how it looks. I hope it's a lot better. Because I found a used gas tank for it. (new ones are like $55). This is a clean machine. Lots of bells and whistles. The resale should be at least $100.

hrdman2luv said:

IIRC, All of this happened last week. When I parked it, .

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So you parked the mower one week and the oil got like molasses??? Something doesn't sound right here. Maybe someone doesn't like you and did a bad deed to you??

reynoldston said:

So you parked the mower one week and the oil got like molasses??? Something doesn't sound right here. Maybe someone doesn't like you and did a bad deed to you??

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LoL. No, I parked after doing all I described. I'm gonna take a look see at it later today to see if the other oil I put in it has loosened it up.

I'm thinking that acetone might be an effective solvent. Fill the crankcase and let it soak, with a few slow pulls on the starter rope from time to time (spark plug disconnected, of course). Tip the machine as far as you can in all directions and let it sit for a couple of days. If that doesn't dissolve the gunk, it's probably not worth messing with any further.

Mr. Ed said:

I'm thinking that acetone might be an effective solvent. Fill the crankcase and let it soak, with a few slow pulls on the starter rope from time to time (spark plug disconnected, of course). Tip the machine as far as you can in all directions and let it sit for a couple of days. If that doesn't dissolve the gunk, it's probably not worth messing with any further.

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If there's anything plastic in that engine, acetone will attack it.

cpurvis said:

If there's anything plastic in that engine, acetone will attack it.

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Kerro is the go .
Has been so since the first internal combustion engine was made.
Put some strait kerro in , take the plug out and give it a lot of pulls.
You can over fill a bit because you are not going to run the engine.
Leave it in the sun so it gets warm and come back every hour or so and give it a few more pulls.
At the end of the day, week end , week whatever drain the kerro out.
Refill with the 50:50 kerro oil mix and run the engine on low idle for 10 to 15 minutes then drain & refill with fresh cheap oil
Go mow your lawn then change the oil again
Change the oil again at the end of the season.
Check under the engine because usually the lower oil seal will start to leak after all the crud sitting on top of it is removed.

Everyone is correct and if you don't have kerosene handy, use cheap automatic transmission fluid. (Type A, Suffix A) has detergent in it along with anti foaming agents and anti rust agents that will still lubricate the crankshaft mains and rod throw while running. You can also run it with fifty-fifty trans fluid and motor oil of your choice and it will also clean your engine.

Stay away from anything that attacks rubber such as brake fluids, acetone and there are quite a few more that will make your seals expand and pop out of place.

Run as Bert has described with the kerosene or the trans fluid and I know a few women's cooking that has some extraordinary oils left over in the bottom of their skillets that just might clean out that little engine as it does the fella's they feed.

Good luck Sir,

Max

The used motor oil that I put in it, after a few days of sitting, has helped. I got it cranked yesterday, for a short time. (carb needs a cleaning) Gonna drain and refill with 50/50 (trans/motor oil) recipe today, while I clean out the carb. The primer button doesn't seem to be priming anything. And the gas is flowing from the tank through the fuel line. With the oil being almost a solid, I'm sure there's some crap in the carb.

We used to add one portion of diesel fuel to the oil & run it for short while & drain. repeat as needed.

hrdman2luv said:

The used motor oil that I put in it, after a few days of sitting, has helped. I got it cranked yesterday, for a short time. (carb needs a cleaning) Gonna drain and refill with 50/50 (trans/motor oil) recipe today, while I clean out the carb. The primer button doesn't seem to be priming anything. And the gas is flowing from the tank through the fuel line. With the oil being almost a solid, I'm sure there's some crap in the carb.

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2 kinds of primer.
1 squirts raw fuel into the carb and works perfectly , reliabily for decades so naturally some pencil d**k in the EPA had to fiddle with it.
The other kind pumps air into the float bowl causing the float to sink allowing the fuel level to become slightly higher than it should thus requiring less venturi pressure to suck it into the engine.
This type does not work anf require a lot of work or complete replacement of the entire housing to make an air tight seal.
Thus to "save the planet" from the 0.01cc of extra fuel burning rich in your engine when you start it, you now have 75cc of fuel in your float bowl pour onto the floor or into your grass 6 to 10 times while you try to get this "planet saving" device to work.

bertsmobile1 said:

2 kinds of primer.
1 squirts raw fuel into the carb and works perfectly , reliabily for decades so naturally some pencil d**k in the EPA had to fiddle with it.
The other kind pumps air into the float bowl causing the float to sink allowing the fuel level to become slightly higher than it should thus requiring less venturi pressure to suck it into the engine.
This type does not work anf require a lot of work or complete replacement of the entire housing to make an air tight seal.
Thus to "save the planet" from the 0.01cc of extra fuel burning rich in your engine when you start it, you now have 75cc of fuel in your float bowl pour onto the floor or into your grass 6 to 10 times while you try to get this "planet saving" device to work.

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:drink::banana: Well said.