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Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and hope someone can help me with this problem. I have a Toro Wheelhorse 44" riding mower with a 500cc BS OHV engine. It started smoking last cutting time and when I tried to start it this cut It would not. I have checked the spark plug and initially the gap was filled with oil. I cleaned the plug good and ran the engine to clear the cylinder while I checked for spark. There was oil in the cylinder and even after replacing the plug with a new one it will still not start. I checked the compression with an ordinary compression tester and got 110lbs. This might not be the right way to test this engine but it does have compression. I also checked the gas line to the carb and have flow. With the oil I couldn't tell if gas was getting into the cylinder. I had cleaned the intake air filter as a spring tuneup and cleaned it again. So now I guess the oil in the cylinder is something that must be corrected. My question is where to look? Valve problem or broken oil ring? I would sure appreciate any help that would be offered to me in this thread and help in where to start to correct it. Thank you in advance.

Larry

Pull the dipstick and if it smells like gas then gas got into the oil, which caused it to over fill and maybe went through the crankcase breather and into the cylinder. Blow out the cylinder as good as you can-change the oil- put it outside and let it smoke like hell. If it won't stop smoking then you probably have bad piston rings or the rings are all lined up. Hope that helps.

Fuel contamination of the engine oil could have caused it. Besides also running time and material failure.
About how many engine hours would you estimate is on this motor and mower?
It's year of manufacture?

This mower is about 6 years old. Hrs. is a good question. Probably about a 100. I have taken the carb off and cleaned. I checked the solenoid fuel shut off and it worked on a 12v battery. I will be troubleshooting the electric circuit to it tomorrow.

Was the spark plug ever wet with oil? It may give an indication of oil consumption.
Don't overlook the simplest, which is gas contaminated oil.
After your work, see how it runs with fresh oil. Hopefully no damage occurred.

Retiredcarguy said:

Was the spark plug ever wet with oil? It may give an indication of oil consumption.
Don't overlook the simplest, which is gas contaminated oil.
After your work, see how it runs with fresh oil. Hopefully no damage occurred.

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Because I use the fuel shut off valve that I installed a few years ago I don't think there is any gas in the oil. I have taken the head off and the gasket is shot. Oil getting in from the push rod cavity. The spark plug was and is very wet and was dirty from burnt oil. I am waiting for a gasket and expect to have it back together sometime next week. I will post at that time with the results. I have not been able to start it so I hope with the increased compression that it will start and also no damage. Thanks for the input.

Good n Dusty said:

Because I use the fuel shut off valve that I installed a few years ago I don't think there is any gas in the oil. I have taken the head off and the gasket is shot. Oil getting in from the push rod cavity. The spark plug was and is very wet and was dirty from burnt oil. I am waiting for a gasket and expect to have it back together sometime next week. I will post at that time with the results. I have not been able to start it so I hope with the increased compression that it will start and also no damage. Thanks for the input.

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Can we get a moderator to combine all of his threads? It would make more sense to all of us here!

Fish said:

Can we get a moderator to combine all of his threads? It would make more sense to all of us here!

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Yes, that would be good. I will continue this discussion in the Briggs and Stratton Forum. Sorry for the inconvenience!

:smile: You might want to check the head and block for warpage as you have the head off.