New Lawnmower has leaked oil and has creamy thick residue in foam filter...

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Krome10

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Hi

I bought a new petrol mower and it is DOA. The first strange thing is that it had some oil in, but was meant to be sent empty. I mention that just in case it gives any clues...

I haven't put oil or fuel in yet. I gave the pull cord a gentle pull and it only comes out around 10cm. That led me to look beneath the machine and the blade is very stiff. It needs a lot of force to rotate it...

What can be wrong?
Does it sound fixable?
And where do I start in diagnosing / fixing it if so?

If anyone knows, I'm sure some of you folk will :)

Many thanks
 
I assume it has the blade directly attached to the crankshaft (vertical)....
sometimes there's a flywheel brake....can be operated in a few ways but most often when the throttle is closed the brake drags on the flywheel...give it max throttle and try again...
by chance is there a petrol smell in the tank....?
I have seen it where the eng has been started with no oil....
get it back to where u bought it from.....
 
I was hoping to reply before anyone else... Note to self...: Read the basic 101 about small engines.

I'm blushing as I write this... I had not connected the throttle cable, handle etc, and was trying to move the blade/pull the cord like that. It then suddenly dawned on me what a silly billy I was being!

I was going to try to delete the thread, but then thought best to 'fess up. You never know, someone else might be in the same boat one day. Although I'm not sure anyone else would be so stupid!
 
Off topic - seeing as the machine strangely had a little oil in it, I thought I would check the air filter... It's clean (looking) but clogged with a thick creamy kind of oily paste. Any ideas?
 
Thanks Inspector Pete.

Funnily enough, that was going to be my next question... So, aside from the cylinder, where else should I check for oil / where else would oil be a problem if it has got to where it shouldn't be?

And the creamy stuff - is that oil?

Cheers
 
New lawn mowers are filled with oil , started and checked for quality control.

The oil is then drained for shipping.

Manual will probably tell you not to put all the included oil in, as there may be some left and could cause over fill.

But who reads the manual :)
 
Thanks for the additional replies.

We've had a refund on the machine but are allowed to keep it. So the task now is to see what was/is wrong (if anything) and how to put it right.

In various places it stresses that the machine will be supplied with no oil whatsoever (neither in the machine nor to put into the machine) and oil needs adding before doing anything. So if it was tested for QC, you'd imagine they strip all signs of that based on the info available.

The machine has no other signs of use, apart from the odd minor scuff. The tank smells clean and the underside is clean.

Now, this shouldn't come as a surprise after my first post, but when you say "cylinder" which part exactly should I be looking at? And where else do I need to be checking?

Thanks again

PS - I've amended the title to steer the thread away from my initial idiocy and onto the newer issues...
 
I know very little about small engines and it's clear you don't either. My advice would be to follow the manual instructions to assemble, add oil and fuel then try to start it . If it works that's good if it doesn't then you have a problem .
 
The cylinder is the part the piston goes up and down in. It has fins on it for cooling. The spark plug is threaded into a hole in the top of it. With the spark plug out pull on the starting cord to blow any oil in it out and to be sure it turns over freely. When you take the spark plug out it should be dry. If there is oil on it you’ll need to clean it off the spark plug ( no washing in the sink) or get another one. It has to be tightened to the correct torque. Don’t hold the spark plug or the lead when you pull on the cord. You’ll get a Taser like shock. If there is no oil in the cylinder and it doesn’t turn over go on to something else as the problem.

Ready to take it to a small engine mechanic yet.

Pete
 
Inspector said:
Ready to take it to a small engine mechanic yet.
Click to expand...

Not after your great run through :) I'll give that all a go when time permits over the next day or two.

Jones said:
I know very little about small engines and it's clear you don't either. My advice would be to follow the manual instructions to assemble, add oil and fuel then try to start it . If it works that's good if it doesn't then you have a problem .
Click to expand...

I can see your logic. But equally, what if the oil is somewhere it shouldn't be, and just putting fuel and oil in and having a go at starting it causes more/new problems? Prevention's better than the cure and all that, so I think it makes sense to check it over first.

It's true I don't know much about small engines, my first post showed that! I think the excitement of having a new toy got the better of me ;) However, when my strimmer conked out a year or two ago I managed to clean out the blocked exhaust, and give it a mini service myself, and it's been running pretty well since. So with good instruction I think I can hang on in there!
 
My guess is that the mower has most likely been tipped on its side, or even upside down will oil in the sump, which then ends up in the cylinder head. It happens time and again when people turn petrol mowers upside down or on the side to clean matted grass from underneath the mower.

Once oil has got into the cylinder in this way, it won’t drain away on its own however long it’s left.

The instructions will most likely tell you which way and at what angle you can lean the mower. (They do on my Honda mower). Usually, it’s in the direction where the drain plug is, at the bottom of the engine in which you have to tip the mower to drain the oil

Really, the only way to deal with it is to remove the cylinder head and clean it and the barrel out with kitchen roll tissue. (You would need to take the drain plug out and drain any residual oil first of all. You can easily move the piston up and down by rotating the blade by hand with the head removed. If you google ‘oil in mower cylinder head from tipping mower’ you’ll probably get some hits.

It isn’t a particularly complicated thing to do, but if you can’t do it yourself, you’ll need to take it to a mower service and repair centre. However, you’ll be looking at £80 - £100 to sort it.

Hope that helps a bit.

David.
 
oily mess on / in the foam air filter...oil is used to catch the small dust particals....
at least once per year wash in petrol or spray clener the a good few drops of oil to make it messy again....
the better qual machines like Honda use a throw away paper filter...bit like a car....
please dont run/work em without some sort of filtler.....
a little oil in the plug hole is not a prob, it'll run smoky for a min or so then the exhaust will be clear....
My 40 year old Honda chuffs a bit when first started but then runs clear...nothing to worry about...
if u lived near me I would happily look it over and get it running properly....I've been doing this for 50 plus years....
PS... for anyone thinking of buying a better than average mower (for LIFE) buy a Honda or Kawasaki powered machine...Kubota for the big-un's....
the Chinese copy Honda engines are good but just not quite as good.....but for the money...!!!!
oh, that's another story....
 
It's not clear what's going on here. Have I missed something?

The mower was DOA but it had no oil or fuel in it?

You've had a refund and they let you keep it? So they didn't inspect it or try to fix it?
Did you get a replacement and now have two, or just have the original one that doesn't work?

What make and model is the mower?

If the filter is clogged with creamy looking oil then it's probably not getting air into the carburettor. Creamy oil is usually contaminated with water.

Is it now fuelled, oil topped up and engine turning on the starter cord but doesn't fire at all?
 
Is it self propelled?

If so the clutch for the rear roller might be engaged. If so you need to hold the bar on handlebar tight to the handle so that it isn't engaged. Or it could be the other way around I forget without going to the garage!!🤣

I'd remove the spark plug and oil plug empty any oil in the crankcase and replace with new then turn it over a few times before putting plug back in and trying to start it.
 
Most manufacturers ship machines with no fluids in at all. Some of the better online suppliers will oil and fuel the machine to test before shipping and so the machine may get upended in transit, leading to a cylinder full of oil.
Krome, I'd follow Pete's post about checking the cylinder, provided it is clean then pull the cord a couple of times before you put the plug back in just to check it all spins ok. If it does then top up the engine with the right amount of oil, clean the filter as Glitch suggested, fuel up and it should go.
Good luck
 

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