Question about a Briggs and Stratton engine...ENGINE OIL IN THE AIR FILTER???

[jodebg]

Wondering if someone could help answer a question about a Briggs and Stratton engine?
I have a B&S engine on my MTD wood splitter. Somehow engine oil gets into the air filter.

I ran it yesterday for a couple of hours and when I brought it into the garage, I saw a trail of engine oil
on the floor that came from the air filter. Ever since i purchased the machine, the air filter always has
oil in it??

 

[troutsqueezer]

A lot of engines use oil in the air filter. My ATV does and so did all the Deuce and a halfs I serviced in the army. What does the owner's manual say?

 

[PHPaul]

A wood-splitter sized engine (5 to 8 hp at a guess) won't be using an oil bath air cleaner. Usually, the foam element is oiled and then wrung out to nearly dry.

Sounds to me like you've got a lot of blow-by pressurizing the crankcase and blowing oil out the PCV tube and into the air cleaner.

There should be a rubber tube going from the block to somewhere on the air cleaner assembly. Unhook it, and run the engine. See if you're getting a lot of slobber/smoke out of it.

If so, you might try some Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas just on the off chance that you have a sticky ring. More likely, it's just a lot of engine wear. How does the plug look after a good run?

 

[jodebg]

I will get back to you after a run. Thanks

I use MMO since I owned it in every tank full as well as fuel system cleaner.

Any problem with continuing to use this engine if this is the issue?

 

[PHPaul]

Any problem with continuing to use this engine if this is the issue?

While it would obviously be better to find and fix the problem, no there's no particular danger to running it as is.

Leave the PCV tube unhooked from the air cleaner to avoid oiling down the element and re-ingesting oil via the carburetor. Keep an eye on the oil level as well, and you should be okay until you can arrange a more permanent fix.

 

[jodebg]

Wondering if I should add marine 2-cycle oil to the gas to help lubricate?

 

[PHPaul]

Might not hurt to try, but if MMO isn't fixing it, I don't think it's a stuck ring.

 

[crazyal]

Just an FYI. If you are blowing oil out of your breather tube leaving it unplugged will mean that you are now blowing oil in what ever direction the tube is facing. Have you verified the oil level in the engine isn't over full?

 

[jodebg]

Just changed the oil and replaced with the specified number of ounces. I will check to see
and see if I can determine where the oil is coming from??

 

[KennyG]

Sometimes it's hard to completely drain small engines. Adding the specified amount may overfill it. Check the dipstick. I had a problem once with a Tecumseh engine that I put multigrade oil in and slightly overfilled. It smoked like crazy. When I filled it with 30w, no problem.