White smoke from BCS?

[GAnight]

Hello,

I've been lurking here for awhile, but now I've run into a problem that I can't seem to solve. This past summer I bought a used BCS 720 that the guy added a 13hp Honda engine (from EarthTools) to. I've used it for brush mowing and tilling (best tiller I've ever seen - no comparison at all) and it seems to perform well. A few days ago I had to replace the tube on a tire; after I put the wheel back on I checked the oil and added some and I also pulled off the air filter, knocked it cleaner and screwed it back on. After waiting for a few days I went out to mow this morning and it ran great for about three minutes and then a huge cloud of white smoke came billowing out of the muffler and the engine died.

While this might possibly be useful to the Vatican, it is not helpful to me. I haven't tried to start it since, but I did take the air filter off again and saw a bit of smoke there. Any idea what might have happened? Unfortunately the screws on the muffler housing are stripped so I couldn't take that off to get a closer look.

As a secondary question - is a 13hp engine too much for the 720?

Thanks in advance,
Mike.

 

[farmerboybill]

Have you checked the oil? It sounds like it might have starved. Earth tools cuts off the dipsticks on the Hondas and tells owners to fill the crankcase to the top of the filler hole with the engine level. It's better to slightly overfill the gasoline engines, and slightly underfill the diesel engines.

No, 13 hp isn't too much for a 720, but it is a bit of overkill for tilling. Brush mowing, it might be needed.

 

[GAnight]

Thanks for the reply. I will be the first to admit that I don't know a whole lot about engines, but fortunately I have been following the recommendations from the Earthtools website about oil levels. When I put the tire back on I checked the oil and added some until it was overflowing. I also checked after the smoke and it was still quite full. What looks like oil has sprayed out on one of the tires next to the muffler too.

I was reading about the air filter in the Honda engine manual and it says that it should be soaked in oil and then drained of excess oil before being put back on. I neglected this step - could that be a problem? The air filter was clearly dry when I removed it.

Because of the larger engine, my plan is to leave this 720 as a dedicated tiller and eventually get a larger one for mowing and other jobs. The lack of a differential makes mowing more difficult.

 

[farmerboybill]

Have you tried to pull it over and see if it's stuck? What brand and weight of oil are you using?

I don't think not soaking the filter in oil would cause this problem.

You really could put a 9 hp engine on that 720 and be fine for tilling. The 13 hp would be more helpful with mowing heavy material.

You sure are right that a diff lock machine is nicer for mowing.

 

[GAnight]

I'm not sure what you mean by pulling it over - I did try to start it again and it started but white smoke came out and the engine sounded poorly as it did before. I only ran it for about 5 seconds just in case something worse happened. I think I might have to end up taking it in to a small engine place, I think I'm well out of my league. I was able to find this shop manual: Amazon.com : Honda GX240 GX270 GX340 GX390 Engine Service Repair Shop Manual : Outdoor Power Tool Replacement Parts : Patio, Lawn & Garden so I think I might give that a shot for the future. For oil I use the Earthtools recommended Shell Rotella.

As far as a larger machine, I have a friend who has a non-running 737 with an Acme engine he's willing to sell to me. I've thought about getting it and putting in a new engine on it, but your suggestion of the 9hp for the 720 has got me thinking that I could put this engine on the 737 and then get a 9hp for the 720. Assuming I get the engine from Earthtools do they typically include decent instructions?

 

[oughtsix]

Swapping out engines on the BCS tractors is only slightly more complicated than swapping implements! I used to pull the engine on my 735 all the time to unstick the frozen clutch before I finally replaced the heavy duty clutch with the standard clutch.

I have heard many say a 13hp is over kill for an engine for tilling. I run a 13hp Honda on my 735 and love it. Where the 13hp is really nice is when breaking new ground with the tiller. I can run the 13hp engine at half speed or less slowing the tine speed down to half speed or less without running out of torque to keep the tines turning. I find the slower tine speed makes the tiller much easier to control when breaking new ground. At full engine speed all the extra power from the 13hp is wasted. The Honda GX390 is a sweet engine and a pleasure to run.

As far as your white smoke issue... usually I think of white smoke when coolant gets into the cylinder from a bad head gasket or something. The Honda GX390 is air cooled and hence has no coolant so that isn't your problem. I would expect burning oil to put out a more blackish smoke. My guess would be you got some oil in the carb when you had the engine on it's side and it mixed with the gasoline in the carb. I would guess that you could just run the engine for a few minutes and the oil-ish gasoline will burn off and then you will be good to go. It seems like I remember having this same issue at one point in time with my GX390 equipped tiller... and my GX390 is still running great after 15 years of service.

If you can pick up the 737 for a decent price I would go for it! Does the 720 have a differential and wheel breaks? If the 720 doesn't then the 737 will be a boon for mowing and the 720 will make a really nice tiller. Personally I would buy the engine adapter kit and put on another Honda or cheap Honda clone (Harbor Freight) rather than putting on the Kohler. I was given a pressure washer with a GX390 that was run without oil. I replaced it with the Harbor Freight 13hp engine and it has always run great in the couple years I have had it (It vibrates a bit more than a genuine Honda in my opinion).

 

[GAnight]

Embarrassing update: turns out the engine wasn't level when I added oil. I leveled the engine, took off the oil cap and let the excess oil drain off. Now it runs just fine. So as mistakes go not too bad, didn't cost me anything and I would rather have over-filled it with oil than under-filled it. Lesson learned!

Thanks for your help guys!

Now the fun stuff - my friend wants $1500 for the 737 (has a differential, 720 doesn't) plus tiller (which I don't need), but the deal is conditional that I can get it running. Add another engine and the cost goes up more, but I would have 2 solid machines which would be pretty nice. Especially if one breaks down at a critical time I wouldn't be stuck waiting on a part or something.

Anybody have any experience with the riding dump cart that Earthtools makes and sells? How maneuverable is it? We need another haulage option and the cart sounds promising.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey GA,

It's a very good unit for short runs and moderate sized loads, but it I wouldn't call it *maneuverable*. Stand behind your tractor and swing the handlebars to the side as far as you can without moving. That's the limit of how sharp you can turn. In tight areas, you'll be making multi-point turns. If you have a lot of hills and are going to be hauling large loads, make sure you max out on wheel weights and get some fair sized wheel extensions.

I'd say the 737 is fairly priced, if it's in very good condition and if you can get it to run. Without it running, I'd say he is asking a little much. Make him aware that a parts are hard to come by for Acmes and that a new GX390 with adapter kit costs $970. You could also mount a 9.5 hp Kohler Command with the short tapered shaft on the 720 with the clutch from the 737 for $550. Then, your current GX390 could go on the 737...