kawasaki engine burning oil

D2hornets58

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I have a 15 hp kawasaki engine on a 36 inch walkbehind mower. The mower seems to be burning oil. Almost evrytime I use it i need to add oil because it is very low. When i first start the mower it will uasualy smoke but only for a few seconds. after that it uassually doesnt smoke. I just drained the oil to change it and there was very little that came out. Any ideas why this is happening?
 

EngineMan

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If you hav'nt got too much oil in her, then it could be piston rings or valve guides, and that's just the start.
 

Rivets

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Take a look at the plug, is it oil fouled? Second do a compression test if you can, this will tell us a few things.
 

D2hornets58

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Ok how do you know if it's fouled
 

Clubbyboy

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Ok how do you know if it's fouled

Ok, what he means by FOULING is the condition of the plug electrode. here are some pictures and an explenation of some of the plug conditions you may find when you take the plug out of the engine.

#1The spark plug in this picture has quite a few miles on it, but led a relatively good life. There's no evidence of bad tuning, carbon deposits, or of a damaged insulator. Note also that by reading the ground strap, we can see the heat range of this plug is right about where it needs to be. To read the plug and know if you have the right heat range, look at the difference in color of the strap. If the color change is too close to the strap's end (above the center electrode), the heat range is too cold. This means the heat is being absorbed too quickly into the base ring and is not able to burn off carbon deposits effectively. If the color of the strap changes too close to where it is attached to the base ring (the last thread ring), that means the plug's heat range is too hot. This means heat is not being transferred from the strap to the base ring quickly enough. A proper heat range will be shown by the different coloration actually occurring at half the distance of the ground strap. When running the proper heat range, approximately one thread on the plug will also show some discoloration.

#2 worn or rounded center electrode indicates excessive wear, and can definitely cause misfire under acceleration, hard starting. It may also cause reduced fuel economy and damage to other secondary ignition components (e.g., plug wires, coil, and/or the distributor cap). When a plug has this type of appearance, all that means is it has exceeded its life span. Notice the ground strap and thread base; this plug's operation was within the proper application of heat range.

#3Although this is an extreme circumstance, "bridging" (or the accumulation of deposits on the firing end of the plug) is influenced by oil leakage, fuel quality, and the engine's operating duration. Light brown deposits encrusted on the ground and/or center electrodes indicate ash deposits. When the deposits are found on only one side of the spark plug's nose, it's considered to be a problem within the cylinder head. This could mean either valve stem seals leaking or worn valveguides. When the deposits are found on both sides of the spark plug, it's considered to be a problem with piston ring sealing. This condition can smother the spark, and in some cases, cause it to misfire.


Hope this helps out
Glenn
 

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D2hornets58

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Thank you for that. Ill check that out tomorow. But would a bad plug be the reason that it is burning oil?
 

Clubbyboy

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Thank you for that. Ill check that out tomorow. But would a bad plug be the reason that it is burning oil?

key is to look at the plug and see what is happening in the cylinder itself, as explained in #3, if you have deposits on the plug that are oil based, fouling the whole plug, your rings are either shot or on there way out, etc. so yes you would be burning the oil.

is the engine liquid cooled? if it is, check the fluid levels and fluid condition. milky or oily water/coolant indicates you have either done a gasket or head/block.

When you are loosing oil and it is not visible externaly then there are only a couple of places it can go.

Glenn
 

Rivets

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What we are trying to find out is where the oil is going. You don't give us a lot of info so the questions are our way of trying to help. An oil fouled plug tells us that oil is getting into the cylinder. If that is true, the next thing we have to find out is where. A fouled plug will not cause oil to be burned, but it is our starting point.
 

D2hornets58

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After changing the oil it doesnt seem to be burning oil anymore. I will check out the spark plug when i get a chance and let you know
thanks
 
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