First time opening an engine, a couple questions

[slomo]

If you are seeing white smoke, DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE. White smoke tells me there is a LOT of gas in the oil. Gasoline will dilute the oil viscosity down to 0.

Fix the carb needle/seat first.

THEN do an oil and filter dump if you have one, after every mow, 3 times. Need to get all the gas out of the oil. Oil again is cheap.

Stick with SAE 30W. That is a 30 grade oil. Multi grade oils are say in a 10W-30 for example, a light 10 grade oil with viscosity index improvers to act like a 30W at 212F. Summation, multi grades brake down quickly in mower engines. That is why engine makers state using a 5W-30 full synthetic for example will consume more oil AND to keep and eye on the oil level.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

Hello J.,

Sounds like fuel crept past the fuel needle when the engine was sitting (for a long time) and flooded the crankcase oil. That is where all the white smoke came from. The oil and filter need to be changed a couple of time to clear out all of the oil/fuel mix.

You tore into this engine and did not need to. (Quite an adventure)

At the very least, you will need a new sump gasket and crank seals, don't mess with any of the other stuff.

Any time I hone the cylinders, I replace the rings. (Personal preference)

Be very mindful of the reassembly and everything is cleaned really well. Make sure to put a light coat of oil or break in lube on any of the moving parts.

Once you get it back up and running, put a fuel shutoff valve in the fuel line and make sure you shut it off after running it every time.

You tore into this engine and did not need to. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Read details from other posts for help.