JD525 puffing smoke

[Ford850]

I have a JD F525 riding mower witha 17hp Kawasaki engine (300hrs). After a recent mowing, I hosed it down to clean off the grass. Started it and drove it in the barn to park with no problems. The following week when I started it, it puffed HEAVY white/blue smoke that smelled like oil, and it lasted for at least 30 seconds so I shut it off. I checked the oil level which was a little low. I added oil and restarted it, this time the smoke stopped after a few seconds. It ran normal for a couple weeks. Yesterday while in heavy grass it belched a huge puff of that same white/blue smoke for 2 or 3 seconds then ran fine again.
Does anyone have ideas on the smoke issues?

 

[VABlue]

Doesn't sound good to me. Any chance that cold water from the hose sprayed down the engine? You may have cracked the block if it cooled off too quickly. That's worst case, granted, but better to prepare for the worst case... You could pull the spark plugs and check them for moisture or gunk (they should be dry and clean). Check the oil again, also. See if it is discolored or foamy (should not be).

Other than that, I would find a small engine mechanic and have it checked out before using it again. It may repairable now, but continued use could kill it.

 

[pennwalk]

My F525 did the same thing usually after turning hard. The weird thing is that it went away. That oil cloud will kill the grass where it hits and it won't grow back on its own for a couple of years. If You find out what it is I'd love to know too.

Chris

 

[Ford850]

It seems to run fine now. I'm guessing that the water spray caused an issue and the engine wasn't firing correctly causing the initial smoking. Then I shut it down and immediately checked the oil and added oil thinking it was low. It was probably not as low as I thought and overfilled it slightly, which might have burned off some on the next use.
The oil looks clean and I've run it over 8 hours since, with no problems.

 

[VABlue]

Glad to hear its doing okay... But keep an eye the oil - both the fill level and what it looks like - for another month, or so. No sense in not being safe with it!

 

[RollTideRam]

I had a GT262 with a 17 hp Kawasaki. It did the same thing. It seemed to do it when I was almost through mowing my yard and while turning hard. I ran it all summer that way and Deere put a new motor on and it never happened again. The tech seemed to think it was a hole in the piston. This was back in 94 when the mower was new. JC