Think I just bought me an 1811

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by cuber

can you actually see the leak? Is it coming from the threaded side of the fitting or the steel tube side? If it the threaded side you can put some teflon or some pipe dope on the threads. If it the other side you may have to back the fitting off and clean it up good, there could be a little piece of dirt or something on the flare ring

If I look at the drivers side right shroud where the oil lines pass though, I can see it dripping down the side of the shroud. But, if I look in the front of the engine through the grill, I can also see a slow drip off of one of the lines where it attaches to the engine.

But the weirdest thing of all is after 4-5 hours of snow removal yesterday, just to be cautious, I shut it off and let it cool down for a couple hours then checked the oil. Even after replacing the leaking head gasket, I've somehow still went through about 3/4 of a quart of oil! There's no way I'm burning that much oil, heck I don't THINK I'm really burning any oil to speak of but I've been wrong before.

Anyway, where is this oil going?!!? If I park the tractor and let it run after it's good and warmed up it's not like there's suddenly a huge puddle under it. I parked it out front of work a couple time yesterday and let it run while I went in and warmed up and I don't recall seeing any oil spots on the ground. This has got me really puzzled. I want to replace the oil lines with new ones, I'm thinking I'll just go to Napa and have them make some up for me, but after that, where do I look? Any suggestions are welcome, I'm about at whits end.

[J-Mech]

As far as the oil lines go, I don't think you will be able to get Napa to make hoses that will work. They run through the shroud and down the side. A hydraulic hose will be too big to make the bends through the shroud and down the side, plus, I doubt you would be able to get the side panels back on. Need to make your own from copper or steel. (I'd suggest steel like in Oaks picture.) Just for the purpose of info, they are still available. $70 a piece.

You have a hole in your air filter housing. You need to weld it shut IMMEDIATELY, or at least plug it with silicone. If snow gets up on top of that, it will suck it in. While were on the subject, how clean is the air filter? And have you looked at how much oil is in the housing? The crankcase vent goes back up into there. A plugged filter can make it "suck" more oil up out of the vent. Or a problem with the vent will "puke" more oil than it is supposed to. Could be part of the oil consumption..... maybe.

It is definitely burning oil. You can see that from the spark plugs. It may not all be being burned, you may have a leak too. 3/4 of a quart in 5-6 hrs seems like a lot to burn, but I've seen those engines burn that much before and not smoke. Think your best bet is to get it through this season and plan on pulling the motor out of the tractor, pulling the flywheel and jugs. Check the rear for a leak, and see if it has broken rings. If so, you may be able to hone it and re-ring it. The jug you posted a pic of doesn't appear to be scratched, so you may not have to bore it. I'd say the PO ran it long enough with a blown head gasket it the rings lost seal. May have a broken ring too.

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

As far as the oil lines go, I don't think you will be able to get Napa to make hoses that will work. They run through the shroud and down the side. A hydraulic hose will be too big to make the bends through the shroud and down the side, plus, I doubt you would be able to get the side panels back on. Need to make your own from copper or steel. (I'd suggest steel like in Oaks picture.) Just for the purpose of info, they are still available. $70 a piece.

So as far as the steel lines go, I could buy some line from say Napa and bend that myself, then get some Fuel Injector Line hose and some hose clamps to keep the hose on the fittings? This is what a little searching has come up with, I believe R Bedell (hope I spelled it right ) did so I may go that route.

Originally Posted by J-Mech

You have a hole in your air filter housing. You need to weld it shut IMMEDIATELY, or at least plug it with silicone. If snow gets up on top of that, it will suck it in. While were on the subject, how clean is the air filter? And have you looked at how much oil is in the housing? The crankcase vent goes back up into there. A plugged filter can make it "suck" more oil up out of the vent. Or a problem with the vent will "puke" more oil than it is supposed to. Could be part of the oil consumption..... maybe.

Funny you should mention that, when I removed the air filter housing to check after this last run, I noticed a small amount of oil, maybe a couple drops, sitting inside the air filter housing so a new filter is on the list as well. This brings me to another question; if you remove the dipstick or oil filler cap while the tractor is running, should a mixture of air and a bit of oil blow out?

Originally Posted by J-Mech

It is definitely burning oil. You can see that from the spark plugs. It may not all be being burned, you may have a leak too. 3/4 of a quart in 5-6 hrs seems like a lot to burn, but I've seen those engines burn that much before and not smoke. Think your best bet is to get it through this season and plan on pulling the motor out of the tractor, pulling the flywheel and jugs. Check the rear for a leak, and see if it has broken rings. If so, you may be able to hone it and re-ring it. The jug you posted a pic of doesn't appear to be scratched, so you may not have to bore it. I'd say the PO ran it long enough with a blown head gasket it the rings lost seal. May have a broken ring too.

Could the white spark plugs be running too lean?

And as far as getting it through the season, the current game plan is this Saturday, come hell or high water, install a new air filter, remove those oil lines, remove the engine shrouds, remove the other head, plane it and replace the gasket then put it all back together. I hope this solves the oil loss problem.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by jimbob200521

So as far as the steel lines go, I could buy some line from say Napa and bend that myself, then get some Fuel Injector Line hose and some hose clamps to keep the hose on the fittings? This is what a little searching has come up with, I believe R Bedell (hope I spelled it right ) did so I may go that route.

No. Fuel line is not oil line. Bad idea. Just run steel line all the way, or buy the new lines from Kohler. Plus, if it were mine, I'd be scared of a clamped line on such a critical thing, coming off and pumping the oil out. Not me!

Originally Posted by jimbob200521

Funny you should mention that, when I removed the air filter housing to check after this last run, I noticed a small amount of oil, maybe a couple drops, sitting inside the air filter housing so a new filter is on the list as well. This brings me to another question; if you remove the dipstick or oil filler cap while the tractor is running, should a mixture of air and a bit of oil blow out?

Air yes, oil maybe. I don't pull dipsticks with the motor running..... what's the point? (Unless I'm looking for something specific, like a pressurized crankcase, or vacuum leak.)

Originally Posted by jimbob200521

Could the white spark plugs be running too lean?

And as far as getting it through the season, the current game plan is this Saturday, come hell or high water, install a new air filter, remove those oil lines, remove the engine shrouds, remove the other head, plane it and replace the gasket then put it all back together. I hope this solves the oil loss problem.

Could be, and I'd say it is. But I opened them in another window and blew it up. Looks like oil to me. I still think it's running lean. You didn't stand in front of the motor in your new vid. I had trouble focusing on the motor. If you want us to listen too it, you need to stand in front of it. Can't hear a miss when you move around. Briefly, when standing in front, I thought it was still sputtering. That motor doesn't have a compression release. After you put the new gasket on, and do the run-in and re-torque, do a compression test. I'd like to see what it makes.


Disclaimer:
All the info I give is based off pictures, given info, and audio from a video.
This is the best diagnosis I can give by not being there. It is incredibly hard to listen to a motor run with a distorted audio from a cell phone. And no picture is as good as holding a part in my hand and looking at it through my glasses. (Yeah, I'm getting older, so what. )

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

No. Fuel line is not oil line. Bad idea. Just run steel line all the way, or buy the new lines from Kohler. Plus, if it were mine, I'd be scared of a clamped line on such a critical thing, coming off and pumping the oil out. Not me!

Alright, I'll heed that advice. As far as bending it, I know not to make sharp bends because it can kink the line, but is there a certain way that works better than another for bending?

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Air yes, oil maybe. I don't pull dipsticks with the motor running..... what's the point? (Unless I'm looking for something specific, like a pressurized crankcase, or vacuum leak.)

Ok, just wanted to toss that out there. I removed the dipstick while running and out came pressurized air and a hint of oil. So that made me curious, so I removed the fill plug and same thing. It wasn't puking up or anything, just wanted to make sure it was normal

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Could be, and I'd say it is. But I opened them in another window and blew it up. Looks like oil to me. I still think it's running lean. You didn't stand in front of the motor in your new vid. I had trouble focusing on the motor. If you want us to listen too it, you need to stand in front of it. Can't hear a miss when you move around. Briefly, when standing in front, I thought it was still sputtering. That motor doesn't have a compression release. After you put the new gasket on, and do the run-in and re-torque, do a compression test. I'd like to see what it makes.

Alright, when I'm at the auto parts store this weekend I'll rent a compression tester and in the mean time, I'll try and take another video from in front of the tractor.

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Disclaimer:
All the info I give is based off pictures, given info, and audio from a video.
This is the best diagnosis I can give by not being there. It is incredibly hard to listen to a motor run with a distorted audio from a cell phone. And no picture is as good as holding a part in my hand and looking at it through my glasses. (Yeah, I'm getting older, so what. )

Hey now, I'll be needing glasses before too long and if I'm not old, you're not old!

[J-Mech]

As far as bending line, there are two easy ways.

One of these.....
(It's a tubing bender. Auto parts store, or hardware store may have them. Obviously, Snap-On has them too. )
IMG_20140206_122611.jpg


And the other way is to get a piece of pipe (or other round object) clamp it in a vice and bend the tubing around it. I do that when the bend is sharp, or over 90°.

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by jimbob200521

This brings me to another question; if you remove the dipstick or oil filler cap while the tractor is running, should a mixture of air and a bit of oil blow out?

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Air yes, oil maybe. I don't pull dipsticks with the motor running..... what's the point? (Unless I'm looking for something specific, like a pressurized crankcase, or vacuum leak.)

I was re-reading through these posts and this caught my attention the second time around...pressurized crankcase? Looking back, I don't know if I was totally clear about what's coming out. When I pull the dipstick or open the oil fill cap, it's like someone is blowing compressed air out. Not 100psi or anything that drastic but enough that I wanted to make sure it's normal. If I hold my hand a foot or so above the oil fill cap for a moment, I get oil on my hand.

[J-Mech]

Yes. That is normal. If you put your finger over it, you should feel the pressure disappear. (It should go out the crankcase vent. If, while idling you can hold your finger over it for a few seconds, pull your finger off, and feel it blow air out hard then quit (like letting air out of a tank, or balloon) then the vent is plugged. When you take your finger off it shouldn't have a big sudden blow of air. Actually, if everything is working right, it should almost "suck" your finger down onto it.

Same is true the other way. Your finger shouldn't get "stuck" to the opening (as in a vacuum situation). If it does, there is a crankcase venting problem. On these engines, about the only way that can happen is if the air filter is plugged. Or there is a 1 in about a million chance the jug is cracked. (That is unheard of.)

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Yes. That is normal. If you put your finger over it, you should feel the pressure disappear. (It should go out the crankcase vent. If, while idling you can hold your finger over it for a few seconds, pull your finger off, and feel it blow air out hard then quit (like letting air out of a tank, or balloon) then the vent is plugged. When you take your finger off it shouldn't have a big sudden blow of air. Actually, if everything is working right, it should almost "suck" your finger down onto it.

Same is true the other way. Your finger shouldn't get "stuck" to the opening (as in a vacuum situation). If it does, there is a crankcase venting problem. On these engines, about the only way that can happen is if the air filter is plugged. Or there is a 1 in about a million chance the jug is cracked. (That is unheard of.)

Ok, like I usually do I did a little research (google the problem ) then posted here if I don't find what I'm looking for. On this one, I googled the issue and the posts I've come across say a way to test if put a balloon over the hole and if it blows up, you have a problem. If it gets sucked in, you're good to go. I've not done this, I've just take it off and uh oh air! Better ask someone lol So now on the list for Saturday (and peace of mind) is to check the breather going into the air intake. Ugh, knowledge/learning without experience (or time to learn) is a dangerous thing

[Shrewcub]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

A
You have a hole in your air filter housing. You need to weld it shut IMMEDIATELY, or at least plug it with silicone. If snow gets up on top of that, it will suck it in. While were on the subject, how clean is the air filter? And have you looked at how much oil is in the housing? The crankcase vent goes back up into there. A plugged filter can make it "suck" more oil up out of the vent. Or a problem with the vent will "puke" more oil than it is supposed to. Could be part of the oil consumption..... maybe.

That hole should not allow unfiltered air into the engine. Both of my Magnums have another cap on top of the air filter element. I do think any hole the manufacturer did not put there should be fixed unless there is a valid reason for it though.