Daihatsu burning oil

[Lawnjocky]

I have a riding mower with a Vanguard Daihatsu that is eating oil. I'm estimating at least a qt every 50 hours. The motor is a model DM950D with 314 hrs on it. There are no leaks on the floor and the water is fine. From a cold start it blows a lot of white/gray smoke then quits. It doesn't smoke when running or from a hot start. A friend says this is a sign a bad valve seals. Is replacing the seals a hard job? At 314 hrs I wouldn't think I should be having this type of problem but I did buy it used so who knows. I am hoping to get opinions on this or suggestions as to what else it could be. Any help would be great.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Those engines are not the greatest. Sorry to rain on your parade. I have one on a generator and they are what they are, a try to compete with Kawasaki and Honda. Actually every BS engine I have had in the last 20 years has been junk. They used to be top notch but now days I would take a Robin, Subaru, Kawasaki, Honda, or even a Tecumseh. Kawasaki would be my first choice though.

I would just let it burn oil. If you can get parts which on some do not exist, it would cost you more than a 55 gallon drum of oil.

I have a GM car that does the same thing and has done so since 35,000 miles. Uses a quart every 800 miles but other than that it runs like a top, does not drip a drop, and still get 33 mpg at 124,000 miles now

Chris

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Before I spent money fixing that engine I would try to find a different brand to replace it with. As DP said these engines are not verry good.
Bill

 

[Lawnjocky]

Where to start. I haven't posted until now because no one was of any help. And I wasn't going to post. But the more I think about it the more I feel I should post some kind of reply so that future readers of this thread can see I am not in agreement nor do I accept what the two reply's to my post had to say. I don't know if I was not clear on my question or what. If not, I apologize. Simply stated my question was; my motor is burning oil, I think its the valve's, does the board agree. I was not looking for an opinion of Briggs motors.

So to the two who did post, here is my reply.

Diamondpilot.
Besides hating Briggs, do you actually know anything about the DM950D? To save you the trouble of looking it up here's some info. The 950 is a 3 cyl. liquid cooled 27 hp diesel motor. Do the brands you listed even make diesel's? Is Tecumseh still in business? It is my understanding that the motor is not only made in Japan (there's a sticker) but it was designed there to. The only thing Briggs about it is the sticker and a partnership to import them to the US and Europe. Daihatsu is tied to Toyota, not a company known for junk. "If you can get parts" What?? This is a current production motor. I ordered my parts Monday and they should arrive in 5-7 days. By the way, the parts cost $70 plus a $20 shop manual. Crude oil is what? About $80 a barrel. Last I knew they raise the price after refining.

Hooked_on_HP
As stated above the parts will cost me less than $100. Maybe it's just me, but I think risking $100 beats the #### out of spending $3-4000 for a replacement motor. Are you in politics? You might have a knack for it.

I can't help but think the two of you know nothing about my motor but for whatever reason wanted to post anyway.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You are right, I do not know a thing about that motor. In general the BS Vanguard engines are not on par with the others. Yes, I do know a thing or two about small engines but will admit I did not read your post clearly enough. When I saw BS Vanguard and lawn mower I assumed which I should not have. I maintain a fleet of zero turn mowers for a landscape company and can tell you that anything made in the last 20 years with a BS on it does not hold a candle to the stuff built before that time.

As far as burning oil if you are using it for personal use I would let it burn. Average homeowner puts 50 hours a year or less. If using it commercially I would fix if parts are available.

Last BS motor I tried to work on for my uncles friend had bent valves due to mice getting in the muffler and then the exhaust port area and making a nest. Parts were pricey, nearly 80% of what the mower cost new. Just the nature of things.

Again, I apologize for not reading more carefully and assuming since it said Vanguard Daihatsu and lawn more that it was the gas rattle traps.

Chris

 

[roamrdb]

As far as burning oil if you are using it for personal use I would let it burn. Average homeowner puts 50 hours a year or less. If using it commercially I would fix if parts are available.

Last BS motor I tried to work on for my uncles friend had bent valves due to mice getting in the muffler and then the exhaust port area and making a nest. Parts were pricey, nearly 80% of what the mower cost new. Just the nature of things.

[/QUOTE

what exactly were the parts? what kind of mower?

 

[Lawnjocky]

Diamondpilot. Thank you for your apology. And please accept mine if I came on to strong, it's the weather.
For those interested here is some more info.
It is a 2006 Gravely 260 zero turn that I got used with very low hours.
New these mowers go for around $12-13000.
I am a commercial cutter and will put an average of 400 hours on per year.
If my buddies right all I need is the valve seals and possibly the rocker cover gasket, but I ordered the whole valve seal kit in case I need to pull the head.
I've had several diesel's in the past and ran their hour's up to 3000 or so. But my repairs have always been limited to external items. This will be the most serious fix I have ever done on a diesel. If it's like a gas motor I expect I'll do fine.

In general I agree with your preference for motors. I like Kaw's for twins and Honda's for single cylinder's. But I have been hearing good thing's about the Brigg's Commercial stuff. Not the I/C want-to-be but true commercial engine's. Time will tell and Briggs did hurt their name for several years.

 

[Diamondpilot]

As far as burning oil if you are using it for personal use I would let it burn. Average homeowner puts 50 hours a year or less. If using it commercially I would fix if parts are available.

Last BS motor I tried to work on for my uncles friend had bent valves due to mice getting in the muffler and then the exhaust port area and making a nest. Parts were pricey, nearly 80% of what the mower cost new. Just the nature of things.

[/QUOTE

what exactly were the parts? what kind of mower?

Needed a head, seats, and valves. The problem was he bought the mower at TSC about this time 2 years ago on clearance. I think he gave $1200 for a $2000 mower. Never got to use it. Fired it up in the spring and it ran bad. When he would engage the blades the engine would die. Long story short the parts were next to none to find and after talking to Small Engine Warehouse it was cheaper to just get a new motor or a new mower. Grass was growing so he got a new mower. He found a old timer with more patients and skill then I had and he cut new valves and seats by hand using some out of a Caddy engine I think and reworked the head. Got it going and gave the mower to his son.

As far as removing the head its not too difficult. I have done it on a small 3 cylinder Kubota some time back and nothing special. All we did was replace the head gasket but if you get stuck just take it to a machine shop and have them do the work. Big thing is to get new head bolts. They stretch and its not recommended to reuse them because you can not get a accurate torque. Of course you will need a gasket set also.



My neighbor runs a commercial mowing service. Running Farris IS 3100 with the 37HP Kaws. Nice machines. He has been running Farris Mowers for the last 5 season with Kaw's and I do all the maintenance. All I have done to the Kaws is change the oil every 100 hours, keep the air filters clean, replace fuel filters, and give the chassis a greasing. He used to run other stuff from Scag, Dixon, Dines, ect and most had BS engines that would not go a week without a issue.

I run a marine maintenance business and we use a lot of Kaws and Honda's in the gens and they are the same, turn key. The only BS engine I have is on my Troy Built 8550 Generator. Its what it is, a $850 generator. I will admit it has been basically trouble free. My father-n-law is a die hard BS man and Chevy truck/car guy. They both give him something to work on owning about 10 small engines on mowers, log splitters, snow blowers, ect. and 3 trucks and 2 cars.

Chris

 

[Lawnjocky]

Hopefully I won't need any head bolts but that's something I didn't know. My plan is to pull the rocker cover and do all the work from the top. I'll rotate the pistons to the top to keep from dropping my valves, change the seals and check the guides I don't know if this will work but when I get the shop manual it should tell me. If I do pull the head then it will go to a machine shop for an inspection at least.

I have found that small engines that don't get regular use are a pain no matter what the brand. I use Sta-bil and service everything once a year even if it wasn't used. Even so I have been aggravated enough times that if I know we are going to need a seasonal machine I try to fire it up a week before and check it out.

I demoed a Farris once and they seem like a good machine. I tried it out on the roughest yard I had. A real washboard. That suspension system really works. I would recommend them and the Scags to anyone. I went with the Gravely's because I felt they were a better value and the dealer was close.

Does your neighbor use any stand on mower's? That's the direction I'm going now. I demoed Toro, Wright, Everride, and am going to Louisville Thursday to check out the new Scags.

Sam

 

[zzvyb6]

I had the same problem with my 3 cyl diesel. Cause was the oil return hole in the head was plugged with a sludge of some sort. This prevented the oil from draining back properly. I presume this forced oil past the valve seals. Sucked it out with a shop vac and presto chango!

Didn't even replace the cover gasket. I did adjust the valves since the cover was off. Runs like new now. Have not checked the oil level in months. No need to.