1862 Oil Usage
 

New to me 1862. Oil was full when I started blowing leaves. Finished in one hour. Next day checked the oil and at bottom tip of dip stick. No oil smoke out the exhaust. Plugs were not oil soaked. No oil leak under tractor in garage. No oil in air filter. Where did the oil go? Was going do a compression test but could not find my tester. I may have been burned. All replies appreciated and thanks in advance. Have a great day. Pics. attached.
Bob

What is metal box above the fuel filter?

Is the oil brand new? I've seen where old oil that has a good deal of contamination with fuel or moisture dilution in it will evaporate after a good hot run showing a lower dipstick reading. Before you judge this engine too critically, I would change the oil and filter, using low ash SAE30 if not operated in the extreme cold, or 10W30 if used in really cold conditions. If it still uses oil after the change, then further investigation is warranted. None of my Kohler Magnum twins leak or use any appreciable amount of oil, even after thousands of hours of use.

Ditto, the only other option is it lost a ring and/or is pushing vapor out the breather at a high rate (but you mentioned the air cleaner looks good).

Vacuum fuel pump:beerchug:
Smell your oil, if it smells of gas, change it quick, otherwise fill it to the full line and run it again checking it to see if it indeed is "using oil"
Normally they don't consume that much oil without a tell tale clue.:bigthink:

1862 oil usage
 

Thanks to all that replied. Oil was very clean and to the full mark. No smell of gas in oil. Will fill it with oil and try it again but it will be a couple weeks. Just had eye lid surgery. George I went down and took another look at that piece above the fuel filter and this time I located a vacuum line going into the rear of it. You people are so smart. Thanks again and have a great day.
Bob

So, with these Magnum twins, if you are running 10w30 or thinner oil, consumption will be higher and is considered normal per factory documentation.

FWIW, this is from my 782 owner's manual.

1862 Oil Usage
 

The oil was at the full mark when I checked it after it was delivered. Oil was clean looking and maybe it was just changed. Don't know what weight oil was used. Will add some 30 wt. oil when I can and give it another work out. The day I used it the temp was in the 70's. Hope it just had the wrong wt. oil in it. Going to look for my compression gauge again today. Hard to tell what I have done with it. Have a great day.
Bob

I run SAE30 when I can for this reason. Little harder starting in the winter if you don't have a strong battery.

1862 Oil usage
 

Found my compression gauge last week. Checked the compression with throttle and choke fully open. Bad news. Looking at tractor from front of frame, right cylinder read 70 psi and left cylinder read 65 psi. It took me 1/2 day last week to get some of the tins off. I don't think much of the way they are attached. Got the fuel pump tin off, the front and bottom tins off but not the other side tin. Looks like you have to take the oil lines loose to get this side tin off. Is it possible to take the heads and jugs off with engine still in frame. Just want to re-bore , new rings and new valves seated. Thanks for reading and have a great day.
Bob

Sorry to hear the numbers on the compression Bob. It has been awhile
since I worked on mine but I believe. The tin you can't get off, only
comes off if you pull the engine. I would guess someone out here has figured
out a way to pull the heads and jugs with engine in but I wouldn't even
think about attempting. I would bet it would take less effort to just pull the engine.
However I do understand that kind of project isn't always doable.
Good luck with what you decide.

Ken

The service manual (a free download from Kohler's site) specs difference not greater than 15% between cylinders and above 90 psi is acceptable. Compression tests are to be done engine warm, and throttle/choke wide open.

When you get the engine out ( not a difficult job)
take off the heads, intake/exhaust manifolds, then the cylinders.
just like any other engine.
FWIW the valves have no adjustment, one precision grinds the stems, with the valve grinder to get correct clearance.(or a lathe with tool post grinder)
---------just so you know before hand.
Don't mix up the valves or you will be causing a lot of extra work in setting the clearance.
And when fitting up the valve clearance, leave the valve seals off till you get the clearance set or you will ruin them.
And don't give stupid money for those intake seals.
IIRR, inline 6 Cyl fords of late 60's'early 70's, use same seals for a couple dollers not $20 + each some ask.:beerchug:
Read the service manual!!
Do understand it ain't an afternoon job and you do need precision measuring devices, a ruler and caliper don't cut it. :biggrin2:
I've covered it all before on here.
Go easy on the silly cone!!!
Good luck, have fun

1862 Oil Usage
 

Thanks George & 1711. Looks like I will have to do the compression check again. Throttle fully open, choke fully open but a cold engine 1st time. Don't think it will go any where near 90 psi but worth a try with a warm engine. I really don't want to pull the engine. I get very dizzy when lying on my back and trying to work. Old age sucks. Do you think pulling the jugs and getting it back together is doable without pulling the engine? Engine runs great as is. No putt at exhaust or carb. Thanks for your help and have a great day.
Bob

If it is does not smoke (blue), you may be okay. Also the plugs look dry. I recommend to change the oil and filter before you do another compression check. If it does not sit in the cold, put 30W oil in.

Also, IF you encounter low readings, squirt some 30W oil in the spark plug hole, then retest. If the readings rise quite a bit, then you have a ring seal issue. If the readings don't improve, you have a valve sealing issue.

Excellent suggestion!

I have pulled the jugs off of them only on the bench. If the rotating assembly is fine inc. cam and governor gear, then the beauty of these flat twins is you can fully service the bores without disturbing the crank and cam.

Pulling the engine is the way to go, trust me, its easy and no underside work, Most all is sitting on a stool ( might be difficult getting up), Ha,LOL!
Ok not so funny for us "recycled teenagers" (seenagers)
Do not try in frame cyl removal, it just is trying to pull yerself up by yer boot straps,--- ok worse than that.
When you remove the exhaust manifolds keep them attached to the muffler.
Mufflers are old and rusty and don't like divorcing the manifold spigots.
Heat the manifold nuts so you don't have to deal with broken studs
Also the pto clutch 2 top bolts/studs need dealt with to remove the muffler.
You will need 2 exhaust-to-cyl. gaskets when going back together.
Cylinders are RTV'd to the crankcase, no gaskets.
Heads to cyl do use head gaskets no reusing them and be sure to retorque after running on the bench, bring them up to temp 2X then retorquing, or you will be replacing then.
You can bring them up to temp with tins off, just don't get carried away.
Oh boy here I go again, you prolly know all this.:BlahBlah:

1862 Oil use
 

Thanks to all that replied. All very helpful. I do have a printed copy of service manual. Thanks for the advise to squirt oil in cyls. before compression test. I knew to do that at one time but had just forgotten. George, I do have a chain pulley and steel beam running across ceiling of my garage. I know this project will take me months to complete. I don't see where any oil has leaked from the front or back of engine. Governor seems to be working fine. Will know more about oil leakage when engine is sitting on work bench. I need to start reading the service manual and hope I can remember what I read. Thanks to all and have a great day.
Bob

A lift of sorts helps, Last one I did, i just muscled it out, Next one I might give in to Arther-rights-us.
Doing things one enjoys keeps the mind sharp.
Now if I just can remember what I wanted to do, it would help.
But it beats living in an assisted place watching reruns of Green Acres, knowing they are all long gone.

Hard to believe it has problems with as good as the plugs look.
Might want to compare the compression gauge with a pressure gauge on your air compressor :beerchug:

1862 oil usage
 

George. Thanks for the advise. I do not have an air compressor. My compression gauge is very old made in the 70's by sears craftsman brand. Hadn't been used in a long time. Will try to borrow or rent a good one to double check. May be able to do this Friday. Thanks again and have a great day.
Bob

1862 oil usage
 

Got a loaner compression gauge from NAPA. It was within 5 pounds reading of what my gauge showed. So low compression it must have. Does this engine have an automatic compression release? I could not find any where that it does. Took some pictures for the members in the know. I know it is hard to tell any thing from pictures. Look at the picture that shows what look likes piston ring impressions. There does not seem to be any ridge formed by rings at top of cylinder wall. Haven't seen any thing like that before. Seating valve rings on jug looks OK. Can't tell about seating on valves themselves. Does this look like the correct carburetor? A place on the carburetor has been ground down to give room for the governor linkage to fully operate. Also, it looks like it had a electronic choke at one time. 4 of the head bolts were too easy to break loose. Could it have a blown head gasket? Will try to attach 6 pictures. Thanks for looking and have a great day.
Bob

If you had squirted oil in the cylinders and retested, it would have narrowed down the low readings. Hopefully the test was done when engine was at operating temp.

It DOES need a head and piston clean at the very minimum. That is a normal maintenance chore. The bolts will need to be retightened after 15 hours of use after the heads are reinstalled and torqued to spec and in the proper sequence.

1862 oil usage
 

1711CUB, I did squirt oil in spark plug holes while warm and it did not change readings. Thanks for looking and I appreciate your help. Have a great day.
Bob

Sounds like valvetrain sealing.

Do you have a air compressor? If so, maybe do a leak down test to see where the issue is.

Looking at the pictures, I'd say a bad head gasket seal on the exhaust side of that jug. This won't cause oil consumption on a flathead like this but will cause low compression. You can see the black sooty marks on that side. I bet when you crank this engine over you could have heard it puffing compression out that cylinder.

What does the breather look like? If it hasn't been updated with the newer reed-style plate, it probably has a bad umbrella seal/valve.

I would suspect this situation has multiple factors. Low compression, poor crankcase sealing, high hours on the bores/rings/pistons.

With limited tools at your disposal, you could reseal the engine and reinstall/retest. I would be surprised if you pulled the flywheel and that front main seal wasn't at least somewhat compromised. It's hard to tell by the pics, but it certainly looks to me like there is an external oil leak in the engine bay somewhere. The grass and debris may be soaking it up so it doesn't show as much as it should. Still, at the rate you claim it consumed oil it should be giving a sign somewhere.

1862 oil usage
 

Thank you jsoluna for taking the time to look at my post and offering good advise. It does not have an updated reed valve. There was very little oil in the filter screen that the vacuum line fits over. It could be that the person I bought it from had changed the oil and used 10w30 oil and put new spark plugs in it. They are the correct spark plugs that the book calls for. You may be correct on a blown head gasket. I am old and have a lot of hearing loss. Going to clean the head and jug and install new head gasket. Change the oil to 30 wt. After getting it warm will let cool down and re torque the head. If the compression raises to at least 90 psi I will pull the engine and start on the other side. Thanks so much for all your help and have a great day.
Bob

1862 Oil Usage
 

Well its been a little over a month since I last posted. Had a change of mind in that time period. Not going to tear it down yet. Filled it with 30 wt. oil and new cub cadet filter. Put the head back on with a new gasket after cleaning both the head and combustion chamber. Torqued the head down and ran engine for about 10 min. Re-torqued the head the next day. Got a real bargain on a pair of 75# (each weight) wheel weights and my friend helped me put them on the tractor. Tried to put them on by myself but just couldn't do it. Will be taking it to my friend's farm maybe next week. He has a lot more grass to cut than me I adjusted the carburetor and it was adjusted way to lean. Engine ran a lot cooler. after my adjustment. Hope it will correct the oil usage. Will tell him to keep close check on the oil. Do not run more than 45 min. without stopping to check. Will let you know the outcome in a few weeks. Sorry for the long post. Got carried away. Have a great day.
Bob