B&S V-Twin Oil Leak

[Astro_Guy]

A few weeks ago I performed the annual oil and filter change on our John Deere D140 lawn tractor. Everything went well and the lawn got cut the following week. After that cut I noticed a large puddle of clean oil on the shed floor. I checked the drain cap and oil filter and both were dry. Roll the clock forward another week... I cut the lawn and parked the tracctor in a different place in the shed. There was another large puddle of clean oil. Yes - I did top it up between runs.

Roll the clock forward another week. The lawn was cut and the tractor parked in another new location. Today I went out for another cut and noticed an oil spot the size of one or two drops. So how does a large oil leak fix itself? After cutting today I blew out the deck and under the hood with a leaf blower. Suddenly oil started spraying out as if it was under pressure and then settled into a fast leak. It turns out that the drain pipe from the block was really loose - 540 degrees of roatation to tighten it up. Blowing it off produced enough of a temperature differential between steel and aluminum parts to loosen things up and allow the oil to escape. Luckily this didn't happen while mowing at 85 degrees ot I would have lost an engine.

Have any of you experienced anything like this or did I just win the lottery?

 

[odie]

Checked mine and it's fine . Thanks .

 

[Astro_Guy]

Checked mine and it's fine .

I wasn't joking about tightening it a full 1-1/2 turns or 540 degrees. Pulled it out of the shed today to access other equipment. No sign of any leak. I am going to make a mental note to tighten that drain tube any time I am under the hood.

 

[odie]

That'll be on the check list . Especially before storage . Always put a pan under the drain oil pipe w/ cap and oil filter during winter . The oil drain cap concerns me . Check it on occasion .

 

[Lubener]

I had mine loosen on an old B&S 18hp (80's vintage). It wasn't leaking. The bad thing is if this is left this way for a long time, the drain pipe will vibrate and mess up the threads on the engine.

 

[Ausfahrt]

A few weeks ago I performed the annual oil and filter change on our John Deere D140 lawn tractor. Everything went well and the lawn got cut the following week. After that cut I noticed a large puddle of clean oil on the shed floor. I checked the drain cap and oil filter and both were dry. Roll the clock forward another week... I cut the lawn and parked the tracctor in a different place in the shed. There was another large puddle of clean oil. Yes - I did top it up between runs.

Roll the clock forward another week. The lawn was cut and the tractor parked in another new location. Today I went out for another cut and noticed an oil spot the size of one or two drops. So how does a large oil leak fix itself? After cutting today I blew out the deck and under the hood with a leaf blower. Suddenly oil started spraying out as if it was under pressure and then settled into a fast leak. It turns out that the drain pipe from the block was really loose - 540 degrees of roatation to tighten it up. Blowing it off produced enough of a temperature differential between steel and aluminum parts to loosen things up and allow the oil to escape. Luckily this didn't happen while mowing at 85 degrees ot I would have lost an engine.

Have any of you experienced anything like this or did I just win the lottery?

You got lucky and addressed it before the engine was trashed.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Buddy had a rear main seal blow on a Kohler Command Pro 25HP EFI engine and it blew the entire crankcase of oil all over the electric PTO. Had to be towed out of the yard and trailered in for warranty SVC.