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I have a Kohler KT725-3012 and I am having oils leaks.
Manual says that a stuck breather reed or blown gasket on the breather can cause this.
Any info on diagnosing the breather would be appreciated.
Thanks

slharman1 said:

I have a Kohler KT725-3012 and I am having oils leaks.
Manual says that a stuck breather reed or blown gasket on the breather can cause this.
Any info on diagnosing the breather would be appreciated.
Thanks

Click to expand...

breather valve test.
Remove the tube that goes into the air filter housing start the engine and stick your thumb over the end of the tube.
IT should blow only
If it blows & sucks the valve is stuck open if it does not blow the valve is stuck closed.
Way back some one said a piece of tissue over the end of the tube is easier to use.

Head gasket

Run the engine for a few minutes, turn it off then remove the dip stick tube .
If it smokes then the head gasket has gone.

bertsmobile1 said:

breather valve test.
Remove the tube that goes into the air filter housing start the engine and stick your thumb over the end of the tube.
IT should blow only
If it blows & sucks the valve is stuck open if it does not blow the valve is stuck closed.
Way back some one said a piece of tissue over the end of the tube is easier to use.

Head gasket

Run the engine for a few minutes, turn it off then remove the dip stick tube .
If it smokes then the head gasket has gone.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bert!
I will try this when I get home today.

bertsmobile1 said:

breather valve test.
Remove the tube that goes into the air filter housing start the engine and stick your thumb over the end of the tube.
IT should blow only
If it blows & sucks the valve is stuck open if it does not blow the valve is stuck closed.
Way back some one said a piece of tissue over the end of the tube is easier to use.

Head gasket

Run the engine for a few minutes, turn it off then remove the dip stick tube .
If it smokes then the head gasket has gone.

Click to expand...

I checked it today and it is hard to tell if it is sucking, definitely blowing. tissue was hard to tell as well, as a newby is there something i am doing wrong or maybe not looking close enough?

I took the dipstick out a little early and it was spewing oil out pretty heavily - does that give me more information, like maybe too much crankcase pressure.
There was a little smoke in the tube but that was while it was running - didn't really notice any when i did it the second time and waited for the engine to stop.

Manual says this:
Oil Leaks from Oil Seals, Gaskets
● Breather reed broken.
● Clogged, broken, or inoperative crankcase breather.
● Loose or improperly torqued fasteners.
● Piston blow by, or leaky valves.
● Restricted exhaust.

Thanks again for helping me out.

bertsmobile1 said:

breather valve test.
Remove the tube that goes into the air filter housing start the engine and stick your thumb over the end of the tube.
IT should blow only
If it blows & sucks the valve is stuck open if it does not blow the valve is stuck closed.
Way back some one said a piece of tissue over the end of the tube is easier to use.

Head gasket

Run the engine for a few minutes, turn it off then remove the dip stick tube .
If it smokes then the head gasket has gone.

Click to expand...

I think it is just sucking, not 100% sure though.

I pressure washed the engine and then ran it.
Definitely have leaking valve covers. So I cleaned off the old gaskets and re-sealed with gasket maker (stamped metal covers). I will start it up tomorrow and see if that takes care of everything.

I might have just thought it had to be leaking elsewhere because there was so much grime on the engine.

Thanks so much for the help!