Ariens push lawnmower blue smoke

[glengarnock]

Have an Ariens lawnmower with a kohler Courage XT-6 engine
First start after Winter- started on first pull and ran for a few minutes fine
After a few minutes it started stuttering and emmited clouds of blue smoke
Took out air filter and looked in filter box - it was loaded with a mixture of mainly oil, also in carb throat
Cleaned it up in the filter box and tried starting it to no avail
Let it sit and it started after several pulls. It burned the remaining oil then cleared and ran fine for another few minutes when it once again blew smoke all over again
The air filter box once again loaded with oil
Mower is not that old possibly 2 years , ran fine when put away last year
Any help appreciated

 

[oldhp]

Check the oil level. Sounds like it is over full.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Sounds like excessive blowby once the motor warms up.

 

[Lyman]

Had this happen on a kohler powered welder at work. It was overfilled with oil. After it burned off it was fine.

 

[Donald]

Had you tipped the mower to either side in the past day? Overfilled?

 

[Merkava_4]

That'll happen if the mower has been tipped on its side with one of the valves open. Oil probably ran out of the sump, through one of the open valves, and then into the carburetor throat. You'll have to clean the air cleaner box, air filter, carb throat, and spark plug. Next time before tipping it on it's side, try to bring the engine up to top dead center so that both the valves are closed. And always tip the mower to whichever side that gets the carb elevated the highest.

 

[glengarnock]

Lawnmower was not tipped. Mower was stored in normal position.
I had changed the oil last fall before putting it away for the winter
Just to be sure I had put in the right viscosity oil - since the oil looked really thin - I drained it and filled it up with SAE 30 and made sure that it was not overfilled today
As stated it runs fine for several minutes then it is getting oil through the carb to the point where it no longer runs- a great machine for fogging for mosquitoes at the moment- not sure the neighbours appreciate it

 

[glengarnock]

Thinking about it - the oil is probably not getting to the cylinder through the carb
I don't see where there would be a connection of the crankcase oil getting to the carb
Oil probably coming out of the carb from the cylinder and ending up in the air filter box

 

[4wheeldog]

Most small motors made in the last couple of decades have a crankcase vent that goes into the intake manifold. If it is not overfilled, and the vent is clear before start, it sounds like stuck rings.

 

[Trav]

From Kohler. The ones in bold i would check first. Also make sure the fuel isn't filling the oil.

Engine Uses Excessive Amount of Oil
●
Loose or improperly torqued fasteners.
●
Blown head gasket/overheated.
●
Breather reed broken.
●
Clogged, broken, or inoperative crankcase breather.
●
Crankcase over filled.
●
Incorrect oil viscosity/type.
●
Worn cylinder bore.
●
Worn or broken piston rings.
●
Worn valve stems/valve guides

Here is the PDF link.

http://www.kohlermexico.com.mx/onlinecatalog/pdf/sm_14_690_01.pdf

 

[old1]

sounds to me like you have a crankcase breather problem.

 

[glengarnock]

Upon further investigation , the liquid in the air filter box and carb throat is strictly crankcase oil- no gas mixture
The Oil is obviously coming from the crankcase breather hose which connects to the air filter box
I believe there is supposed to be a screen which separates the oil and returns it to the crankcase.
I think there is a reed valve involved also
As old1 stated it appears to be a crankcase breather problem- oil is getting from the crankcase to the air filter box via the breather hose not just the vapors
Any suggestions. Thanks

 

[spasm3]

I'd run the heck out it under load and see if the rings free up.

 

[bubbatime]

Its a reed valve or breather.

Man you have just found out why those engines are literally the absolute worst pile of junk lawn mower engines sold in the last 20 years. They are junk, junk, junk. Have I said I hate these Chinese Kohler engines?

 

[Trav]

Look at the service manual PDF i gave you the link to. It has everything you need to know about diagnosing and repairing this.

 

[glengarnock]

Problem solved - When I put the mower away for the winter I inadvertently changed the oil and put in 5W20
When I started it up 2 days ago I noticed that the oil appeared very thin. I decided to change the oil and put in 30w , however getting it raised to where I could get to the drain plug I tipped it on it's side
I just finished removing the crankcase vent hose from the filter box and oil was dripping out of it
I started the mover with the vent hose disconnected and mover ran fine- no smoke - no stuttering
After a while the oil stopped dripping and I reconnected the hose.
Ran mower for about 1/2 hour - no smoke - running great
I think what happened was that when I tipped the mower the thin oil got through the crankcase separator screen and filled the vent hose with oil
Starts immediately runs fine
Thanks for all your help guys, much appreciated

 

[bubbatime]

I believe this is what you need.

http://www.equipatron.com/Genuine-Kohler-Engines-Kit-BreatherAir-Filter-14-050-01-S.html

MAKE SURE that you didn't over fill the oil first. Clean oil is hard to see on the dipstick.