445 Antifreeze in oil and leaking bad!

[BBO]

Yesterday when mowing I noticed a bad leak on the left front of the engine.
No power loss, it seemed to be running fine.
I shut it off, opened the hood and antifreeze was all over the left front of the engine.
It was hissing pressure as if a hose was busted but the radiator and hoses are on the backside of the engine.

I pulled the oil dipstick and I can see that some water is in the oil.

That's all I know for the moment; it was almost dark and all I done was get the mower on a trailer and bring it back to a shed.
Some kind of seal or gasket has busted I suspect. But if so it's one that lets coolant mix with the oil, PLUS blow outside the engine.

Would a blown head gasket let coolant blow out on the front area of the engine?

In 2011 I had a set of rings installed in this engine and at that time we replaced the 2 gaskets for the water pump.
Just over 1130 hrs on the engine now. (Rings replaced at 1024 hrs)

Maybe some of you have had experience with this. It's the 22HP Kawasaki engine.

 

[Katahdin]

I am not familiar with this engine but the fan could be blowing the coolant everywhere. To easier find the leak remove the fan (or belt) and run the engine without load for a brief period so you can find where the leak is coming from.

 

[XSKIER]

Yes a blown head gasket can cause those symptoms.

 

[BBO]

Yes a blown head gasket can cause those symptoms.

I can see that the large gasket on the front of the engine is pushed out in one place.
This is where the antifreeze was blowing out.
I don't know yet if I have more problems or not, but the water pump gaskets look to be OK.
I am going to pull the front cover off, water pump etc. and see what else I can see inside.
I will have to replace the front engine seal also as it has a small leak as well.

I do not think it ran long like this but this is what was in the air filter.

The oil stick does not show overfull with only a small amount of white down at the bottom of the stick.

 

[XSKIER]

Something is putting a ton of pressure in the crank case from combustion gasses. Either that suspected head gasket, or smoked piston rings. Looks like you're into a project, good luck!

 

[BBO]

Something is putting a ton of pressure in the crank case from combustion gasses. Either that suspected head gasket, or smoked piston rings. Looks like you're into a project, good luck!

It's the large crankcase cover gasket that's blown. I have not took it off yet, probably be Tuesday.
If that's the only problem it will be an easy job.
Head gasket would be a bit more work.
I had new rings installed ~120 hours back.

I am thinking the water pump has a bad seal in the rear and may have pressurized the crankcase.

This thread indicated the same.
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=115641

 

[BBO]

I am thinking the water pump has a bad seal in the rear and may have pressurized the crankcase.

Now I am befuttled...
The water pump looked good. And again it was the large front seal that blew.
My muffler had a small hole in the rear and this was blowing right near the spot where the gasket blew.
So it's all back together, seems to be running fine but I am still a tad nervous.
So far I see no water in the oil but I have not ran it but 20 minutes so far.

The oil pressure switch was leaking oil so I will need to replace this.

 

[will v]

I guess the heat from the muffler could have made the front cover gasket fail. What I'm not getting is how would that pressurize the crankcase?

Interesting to see if it just runs correctly for you from here on out.

 

[BBO]

I guess the heat from the muffler could have made the front cover gasket fail. What I'm not getting is how would that pressurize the crankcase? Interesting to see if it just runs correctly for you from here on out.

I was told that water jackets are behind this front cover. A retired JD mechanic helped me with this and he said they had done dozens of these with just the gaskets and new front seal. Actually he said "hundreds" but surely that was exaggerated...He did not replace the water pump at all; said it looked good.

I have about 10 hours on the engine so far after this and so far it's fine. Oil is crystal clear still.
It does have a real slight miss that was there before all this, and I plan to remove the valve covers to check the valves. It tends to char the left spark plug in about 4 months.

He used some kind of gasket sealer that you see running down the front.

 

[jdboy4410]

if the oil wasn't overfull,you may have just had some condensation build up,it happens,especially when the weather fluctuates.if a head gasket were to blow into the combustion chamber,you would definitely know it,the engine will pour white smoke out and you would definitely see a difference in oil level.sounds like it was an external leak.that gasket sealer looks like good ole permatex indian head gasket cement,good stuff,but it is messy.good luck,hope the problem is solved.