Honda valve cover oil leak

dirtydixiechoppa

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Hey All,
First post here so sorry if I'm out of order...
I picked up a used (about 1200 hours) Dixie Chopper XF2500 from a buddy to take care of my 2.5 acre lawn. The machine runs and cuts great but it seems to lose a fair amount of engine oil from the left side vavle cover. I changed the gasket and even used a thin bead of permatex black RTV sealant for good measure, but it didn't seem to help a whole lot. Its got a 24 horse Honda GXV670 motor, which I kinda thought would be a good thing and it's turning out I may have been wrong. I know its kind of an oddball machine but I'm hoping someone else has dealt with this. I'm not sure if I have a valve clearance/ timing issue, clogged oil return or a much more serious problem all together. The rest of the mower is great and I'm not opposed to re-powering it with a new engine, but I'd like to make sure its not a simple fix before I throw $2k at a new engine. Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.
 

bertsmobile1

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Wash the engine thoroughly .
hen run it for a short while without the blower housing on ( around 10 minutes max) so you can double check where the oil is coming from.
The cooling wind blows oil around everywhere .
When you turn the engine off, wait a minute then open the dip stick.
If smoke comes out the head gasket is gone .
If nothing comes out check the crank case vent valve.
Check all the head bolts.
If any one is loose then remove the head & replace the head gasket.

It will be better use of money to spend $ 2000 repairing that engine than buying anything currently available new.
 

7394

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Bert- "If nothing comes out check the crank case vent valve." Can you elaborate on this statement ?
 

bertsmobile1

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Also called a breather valve.
There is a thick tube connected to the air box, normally it is a bit oily.
Where it joins the engine will be a valve or a plate with a valve behind.
On some V twins it is inside the rocker cover.
It should be a one way OUT valve
 

7394

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Also called a breather valve.
There is a thick tube connected to the air box, normally it is a bit oily.
Where it joins the engine will be a valve or a plate with a valve behind.
On some V twins it is inside the rocker cover.
It should be a one way OUT valve

Yes Bert, thanks mine has that, But you posted that opening the dip stick after running & if nothing comes out to check the crank case vent ? Do you mean oil mist or...............should be coming out ?
 

bertsmobile1

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Sorry,
You are looking for smoke.
There should be some mist but that should settle after a few seconds.
Smoke will hang around for a while and waft up out of the dip stick tube.
 

dirtydixiechoppa

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Thanks for all the suggestions Bert. I'll get into it tonight and let you know what I find
 
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