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Oil on engine


hufhouse

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Last night, while mowing, I happened to "lean into" a turn and noticed that there was a tiny bit of smoke coming off my engine out by the muffler. This is a 7117 with a Kohler Series II engine. I immediately stopped to see if there was a problem. I opened the hood, and there was just a little bit of smoke coming off the engine out toward the front near the muffler. I noticed that there is a coat of oil on the top of the engine under the carb and basically all over the top of the engine. Not a lot, just a coating, especially down in any crevices. I had topped off the oil before I started. I immediately checked the oil, and it was down a little on the dipstick. I added a little oil, started it up, and finished mowing (about another ten minutes). I kept my eye on it closely and there was no problem. The more I think about it, the more I think that this might not be a recent problem. I've owned this tractor for two years, and I always have to add an ounce or so of oil when I mow. Also, I always smell like burning oil when I finish mowing. At least that's what my wife tells me.:I Is there something on the top side of the engine that could be leaking oil that might be easy to fix? This mower is in great shape, has been well-maintained, but has a lot of hours on it. I can expect to use some oil. However, I was kind of surprised to notice oil actually laying on the engine. What do you think?
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I don't know about your particular model, but I had a small head gasket leak on my Model 700. The leak was under the blower housing. I didn't notice it right away. Wife also said I smelled of smoke after mowing the grass (I think it is just that Simplicity smell:) ). I started overheating after running an hour or so and decided to clean out the blower housing. That is when I discovered my problem. There was an oily mess of grass and dirt inside the housing. I also notice a shine of oil over the entire head of the engine. Replaced the head gasket, cleaned the housing and walla problem solved. The shine has not returned and the oil consumption (an ounce every 5-6 hours of use) appears to be normal again. Wife still complains about the "Simplicity smell" :P, but I don't have the time to put a stack on and blow the exhaust over my head... :D Hope this helps...
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Here is the engine: [img]attach/hufhouse/engine.jpg[/img] Here is where the oil seems to be coming out: [img]attach/hufhouse/oily.jpg[/img] This is a place where the gasoline comes from the tank, then connects to a little part, then the gasoline continues to the carb. Whatever that little connecting part is appears to shake like the dickens when the mower is running and there appears to be oil coming out of that area pretty quickly. If you look at the "Whole Engine" picture, you can see the gas line coming around and you can see the fuel filter. Just under that little "can-like" thing (some electrical part!), is where this part is. The part where the fuel line connects on both sides is very loose and appears to be losing oil. What's going on? Can someone help me?
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I am not all that familiar with the Kohler II series but I will give it a shot. It looks to me like the "little thing" would be your fuel pump. If it is leaking oil then it probably needs to be either repaced or at the least a new gasket installed. BTW the "can like" thing would be your coil. 8D
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The fuel pump seems VERY loose. Is there a gasket around the fuel pump? Tonight, I noticed enough oil leaked out to create a little pool of oil on the mower deck.
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You may want to go to the KOHLER website and download the service manual for your kt17 PDF file tp-2043-a.pdf Don
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I have read over the pertinent parts of the Kohler manual, and I have some questions: 1. Does the fuel filter gasket seal back oil? If so, this seems like the probably culprit, and seems like something I could do myself. It doesn't seem to me that the fuel filter should be shaking so badly and that there should be oil all over it. 2. The manual said that a common cause of high oil use is an incorrectly assembled breather. How far down into the breather would I have to dig? Is this something simple to check, or do I need to know about cams and valves and pistons and all that stuff to be able to check this?
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Guy, question #1, yes the fuel pump gasket does seal oil ( the bolt may just be loose), #2 I don't know, my 7117 also leaks and I just haven't taken the time yet to check it out. Don
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Yes, the fuel pump gasket does seal oil. It appears as though you have a plastic body fuel pump. If it has been running loose, I would be afraid that the mounting surface has also been wearing and may not provide a good seal, even with a new gasket. As these pumps get older, sometimes the pivot shaft for the pump lever wears and oil leaks from there. That is close to the gasket area. As to your question #2, incorrect assembly of the breather is a common cause of oil usage. USAGE is the key word here. Oil usage from an incorrectly assembled breather will most likely result in oil usage by burning the oil in the cylinders, not by leaking it. An incorrectly assembled breather can cause oil leaks, but not necessarily at the breather. It can cause crankcase pressure to build up and will push oil out of anywhere that there is not a good seal. If all sealing areas are good, the most likely place for a leak from too much crankcase pressure, would be the main crankshaft seals. In your case, since the fuel pump is loose, I'd put my money on that as the problem. Pat
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I don't know how much money you put on it, Pat, but you won!:D I tore into it this fine July 4th morning and discovered that the fuel pump was barely attached. There was oil everywhere under the covers that I removed. One screw was barely hanging on and I tightened the other a good full turn. I tightened them the best I could with a large Phillips screwdriver. Should I be using some kind of lock-tite on these or something? It doesn't seem like they are going to stay put very well. I'm going to clean out under the covers that I had to remove, because there is a lot of oily grass down in there all around the flywheel and blower. I'll keep an eye on things to see if there is more leakage. If so, I might just purchase a new fuel pump kit. It doesn't look too difficult to install. I don't think I'm going to bother with the breather at this time. I just might get to mow the front yard and finish the lawn today! I was really afraid this was going to get me in over my head and I was going to have to take the tractor to a pro and spend serious $$$$. Thanks, everyone, for your help and advice. I have added the Kohler PDF file to my favorites for future reference when I need it. This was a lot of good information. This website has saved me some serious time and dollars once again!
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Hi Guy, Don't know how big those phillips screws are...??.. but for snugging them up , you can buy a hand-held impact tool/wrench (Sears) that you gently?? strike the end w/a hammer for loosening and tightening screws. Has slotted and phillips tips. Great for impossible, motorcycle phillips head sidecase screw removal/replacement. A
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I wouldn't use an impact driver on those screws, as the fuel pump is plastic and may break. Can't remember which color it is, but I would use the loctite made for bolts that occasionally have to be removed. Pat
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I'm going to the hardware tomorrow for a couple things. I'll pick up some Green 242 Loc-tite! Thanks!
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