Smoking?????

mbohuntr · Apr 11, 2010

I've got a 4 yr old rider that, since last year, smokes when it first starts. I changed the oil,and filter. Greased er up, put stabilizer in the gas, ran it into the shed, and pulled the battery for the winter. I started it up yesterday, and it smoked heavily for the first 3 or 4 minutes. This machine is maintained, and doesn't have many hours on it???? Any thoughts? There is no smell of gas in the oil...and it stops smoking after a few minutes.

highboy1975 · Apr 11, 2010

does it do it every time you start it? everything i own if it sits for more than a month smokes a few minutes until warm.

mbohuntr · Apr 12, 2010

Thanks for the quick reply. It started to do it last year. Pretty much every time after it has sat for about a week. kinda like a car that is getting bad valve guides. I haven't played with the newer motors, so I was thinking about that cause (valve leakage OHC???) or a friend suggested horizontal cylinders with ring leakage??? (I tried not to laugh, I have never heard of that, and since it is a newer motor, he might be right, and I'd look pretty stupid,...) I really haven't looked at the motor closely since it was new.

JTKub · Apr 12, 2010

mbohuntr said:
... a friend suggested horizontal cylinders with ring leakage??? (I tried not to laugh, I have never heard of that, and since it is a newer motor, he might be right, and I'd look pretty stupid,...) I really haven't looked at the motor closely since it was new.

Your friend is absolutely correct. You didn't state what model rider this is, or the engine make/model, but at a guess it's a newer vertical shaft, OHV Kohler. The cylinder orientation on these engines is such that oil from the sump can easily leak into the combustion chamber. Being even slightly overfull of oil will cause this. Parking them nose-down can cause a cloud on startup as well.

Joel