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Hi folks, looking for some advice please. I have a Craftsman LT2500 with a Kohler SV620-3215 22 HP Hydrostatic Drive, this afternoon I got done cutting the grass and was heading back to put the tractor away.

While heading back the tractor stalled and came to a stop. I tried restarting it and it would turn over but not start. Checked the fuel, checked spark plug and then I checked the oil even though I emptied out the old oil last fall and replaced it with new oil and filter just before the new cutting season began, this was the second cut of the season.

On checking the oil the dipstick is showing it's near empty so I go get some oil and top it up. On trying to start the engine I see oil spraying everywhere and when I checked underneath the tractor I see oil not just leaking but flowing onto the ground and pooling on the crankshaft pulley.

I'm wondering if it's the crankshaft oil seal that's gone, or could it be something else completely? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Blu

:welcome:

If there is no oil on the mower under the engine and it is all under the mower then you have either a leaky seal or a crack in the crankcase.
Remove the deck, degrease the engine thoroughly , allow it to dry then start it up and watch where the oil is coming from

bertsmobile1 said:

:welcome:

If there is no oil on the mower under the engine and it is all under the mower then you have either a leaky seal or a crack in the crankcase.
Remove the deck, degrease the engine thoroughly , allow it to dry then start it up and watch where the oil is coming from

Click to expand...

Hi Bert and thank you for the reply. Thing is I can't get the tractor to start at all, it will turn over but doesn't fire up. Also when I looked under the tractor the oil seemed to be coming straight down from the crankshaft so it's definately under the engine. I'll fill it up again tomorrow with an oil pan under it, try starting it and see where exactly it's coming from but it does look like it's the front on the engine as the cutting deck is dry and free of oil.

regards

Blu

OK must have missed that bit.
Don't bother cranking the engine any more.
Sounds like you have tossed something inside the engine which has gone through the cases.
Remove the spark plugs and the rocker covers
Rotate the engine by hand checking for movements in the valves and that they are in sync with the piston position.

I had a customer come in with a V twin that had dropped a conrod quit some time ago by the looks of things.
He only noticed it was down on power and was using a bit too much oil.
The loose rod cap had smacked into the cam, bent it slightly and the bent cam shaft had worn a hole in the case.
A new rod, cam , followers, pushrods and a bush in the lower cam bearing and he was a happy customer

Hi Bert, well I removed the cutting deck got the tractor up on the hoist and sure enough it was the crankshaft seal that was shot. Luckily our local small engines guy had the seal I needed in stock, got the old one out without too much hassle and the new one in.

Topped it off with oil and it fired up first time, I let it run for 45 minutes then took it around the yard a few times then checked the seal and all is well again. Many thanks for taking the time to reply mate.

Blu.