My Craftsman DLT2000 lawn tractor with 265hrs ( bought it used last year with about 250hrs) smoke after startup and a few minutes after. I see no oil consumption. I use syn 5w-20 or syn 5w-20 mixed with straight 30w. Would a diesel oil like Rotella T 5w-40 be better?
Kohler 20hp Pro smokes after startup
- Thread starter mez
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Rotells is a HDEO not a diesel oil . Does it stop smoking ?
could it be running rich till it warms up?
What colour is the smoke?
Black = too much fuel
White = oil.
I had an old Suzuki ATV that smoked more than my father when I started it up and for a few minutes thereafter. Once warmed up, it stopped smoking. Valve seals were allowing oil to seep into the combustion chamber when the machine was shut off and wouldn't seal well until warmed up. Didn't matter what oil was in it. Rotella T 15W40 is what I was using in it.
Black = too much fuel
White = oil.
I had an old Suzuki ATV that smoked more than my father when I started it up and for a few minutes thereafter. Once warmed up, it stopped smoking. Valve seals were allowing oil to seep into the combustion chamber when the machine was shut off and wouldn't seal well until warmed up. Didn't matter what oil was in it. Rotella T 15W40 is what I was using in it.
No, it's been smoking for a while. It stops smoking after it mowed about 50ft. The funny part is that it smokes so much when i first start it that i would expected to be adding oil all the time but it's just a little below the full mark. Mowed about 4hrs this year.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Given this is a vertical shaft OHV Kohler, the vast majority of the time smoking on this style setup is nothing more than being slightly overfull on oil. Parking these or operation them nose-down can also result in a plume of smoke on startup. Because of the orientation of the sump to jugs, oil gets in the combustion chamber very easily.
Joel
Joel
To add to what boraticus asled above, blue smoke = oil burning ... so where's it coming from?
I'm tempted to go with JTK and say the machine is slightly over-full ... but then you said it was slightly UNDE the full mark (although dipsticks can be wrong ... it's just very rare).
My guess is the rings/cylinder bores have some wear/scratches on them and you are getting classic blow-by from a slightly worn engine. This is excacerbated by the thin oil you are using.
Assuming you are using this only in warm weather (to mow grass) I would switch to an HDEO ... at least a 10w30 if not a 15w40. If you don't use an HDEO, use a "high-mileage" oil in 10w30 ... and I wouldn't turn up my nose at 10W-40, either. One Wal-Mart around here is selling Pennzoil High Mileage for $5 for a 5 qt. jug. I bought two for Dad's summer OPE.
I'm tempted to go with JTK and say the machine is slightly over-full ... but then you said it was slightly UNDE the full mark (although dipsticks can be wrong ... it's just very rare).
My guess is the rings/cylinder bores have some wear/scratches on them and you are getting classic blow-by from a slightly worn engine. This is excacerbated by the thin oil you are using.
Assuming you are using this only in warm weather (to mow grass) I would switch to an HDEO ... at least a 10w30 if not a 15w40. If you don't use an HDEO, use a "high-mileage" oil in 10w30 ... and I wouldn't turn up my nose at 10W-40, either. One Wal-Mart around here is selling Pennzoil High Mileage for $5 for a 5 qt. jug. I bought two for Dad's summer OPE.
Has about 265 hours on it , I doubt it is worn unless it's seen abuse from the past owner ?
I'd go with the recomended 10W30 in a dino type oil and see what happens .
I'd go with the recomended 10W30 in a dino type oil and see what happens .
I have a Craftsman DLT 2000 with 630 hours on it. If I park the nose down hill or fill it too full of oil it will smoke a little at start up. The owners manual only list 10-30 as oil choice. I currently have valvoline synpower in it. I have run maxlife in it for the last 2 years. I have also run Havoline for 1 year and the Kohler Command oil for three years. All oils were 10-30. My oil level never goes down between changes.
I looked at the new Husvarna MZ6128 today. I really liked it but have trouble buying a $5,000 zero turn when my 10 year old mower looks and runs like new.
I looked at the new Husvarna MZ6128 today. I really liked it but have trouble buying a $5,000 zero turn when my 10 year old mower looks and runs like new.
If you do a compression test, that will give you an indication if the rings/cylinders are worn. Find out what compression specs are, rent/borrow a compression gauge and do a test. Compression tests are done with a cold engine. Pull the plugs, open throttle wide open and crank the engine. Watch the gauge as it achieves it's highest reading after a couple seconds of cranking. Record reading. Do same to other cylinder. Compare with specs. If compression is good, chances are that the cylinder internals are good.
Confirm your oil level. Measure on a level surface. Adjust level to specification if it's not correct. For this exercise, fill oil so that it's in the middle of the fill range. Run the machine until smoke clears and leave machine parked on known level surface overnight. Fire it up the next day and see what happens.
Pull the air filter off and take a good look around the carb intake for oil deposits. If, like most small engines, the oil vapours are vented into the air intake from the crank case vent, oil found around the carb intake will be an indication of oil overfill.
Now that I know that the engine is a vertical shaft, I have to re-evaluate the leaky valve seal possibility. With the valves being in a horizontal position, the likelihood of oil dripping into the cylinder is diminished. Not impossible, but probably not. I'd say that if oil is getting into the cylinder, it's probably more likely coming from the underside of the pistons and seeping past the rings if the engine is left in a position where the cylinders are lower than the crank case as pointed out by JTK.
If I were you, I'd park the machine on a known level surface, make sure oil level is in the middle of the range, run it until smoke clears, shut it off and try it the next day. If smoke still persists, carry on with the compression test. Do the easy stuff first.
Confirm your oil level. Measure on a level surface. Adjust level to specification if it's not correct. For this exercise, fill oil so that it's in the middle of the fill range. Run the machine until smoke clears and leave machine parked on known level surface overnight. Fire it up the next day and see what happens.
Pull the air filter off and take a good look around the carb intake for oil deposits. If, like most small engines, the oil vapours are vented into the air intake from the crank case vent, oil found around the carb intake will be an indication of oil overfill.
Now that I know that the engine is a vertical shaft, I have to re-evaluate the leaky valve seal possibility. With the valves being in a horizontal position, the likelihood of oil dripping into the cylinder is diminished. Not impossible, but probably not. I'd say that if oil is getting into the cylinder, it's probably more likely coming from the underside of the pistons and seeping past the rings if the engine is left in a position where the cylinders are lower than the crank case as pointed out by JTK.
If I were you, I'd park the machine on a known level surface, make sure oil level is in the middle of the range, run it until smoke clears, shut it off and try it the next day. If smoke still persists, carry on with the compression test. Do the easy stuff first.
Kohlers are known for smoking, and backfiring.
I honestly wouldnt worry about it, Start it up and go inside for a minute or two (get a drink, whatever)if it bothers you that much. I would run some thicker oil though, 10w30 is recommended for most small engines.
My 14.5hp Briggs smokes on startup for ~5 seconds, it uses 10w30 Walmart Synthetic.
You should of seen my sisters DLS3500s 20hp Intek smoke when I started it this year, choke was stuck half on and it was burning off some oil that seeped into the cylinder. Im sure the neighbors loved the mosquito fog...
I honestly wouldnt worry about it, Start it up and go inside for a minute or two (get a drink, whatever)if it bothers you that much. I would run some thicker oil though, 10w30 is recommended for most small engines.
My 14.5hp Briggs smokes on startup for ~5 seconds, it uses 10w30 Walmart Synthetic.
You should of seen my sisters DLS3500s 20hp Intek smoke when I started it this year, choke was stuck half on and it was burning off some oil that seeped into the cylinder. Im sure the neighbors loved the mosquito fog...
Originally Posted By: JTK
Given this is a vertical shaft OHV Kohler, the vast majority of the time smoking on this style setup is nothing more than being slightly overfull on oil. Parking these or operation them nose-down can also result in a plume of smoke on startup. Because of the orientation of the sump to jugs, oil gets in the combustion chamber very easily.
Joel
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
Given this is a vertical shaft OHV Kohler, the vast majority of the time smoking on this style setup is nothing more than being slightly overfull on oil. Parking these or operation them nose-down can also result in a plume of smoke on startup. Because of the orientation of the sump to jugs, oil gets in the combustion chamber very easily.
Joel
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: JetStar
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
That's exactly it. I've also experienced it with a 17hp Kawasaki single we had in our JD GT262 rider. If you parked it hot, nose down, you'd on occasion get a plume so bad on restart it would scare the heck out of you. It didn't consume enough to notice between OCIs. The 17.5hp Briggs I had in a ~2003 MTD rider would also do it on occasion. Other than that, they all puff a little bit on startup. Kohlers always tend to smell rich to me. Not as bad as the Kohler-K 10hp in my Case though. I can feel the ozone deplete over my head any time I operated it and it doesn't blow much visible smoke at all. Boy does it stink though.
Joel
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
That's exactly it. I've also experienced it with a 17hp Kawasaki single we had in our JD GT262 rider. If you parked it hot, nose down, you'd on occasion get a plume so bad on restart it would scare the heck out of you. It didn't consume enough to notice between OCIs. The 17.5hp Briggs I had in a ~2003 MTD rider would also do it on occasion. Other than that, they all puff a little bit on startup. Kohlers always tend to smell rich to me. Not as bad as the Kohler-K 10hp in my Case though. I can feel the ozone deplete over my head any time I operated it and it doesn't blow much visible smoke at all. Boy does it stink though.
Joel
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Rotells is a HDEO not a diesel oil . Does it stop smoking ?
Rotella is the most recognized diesel motor oil in the world.
Rotells is a HDEO not a diesel oil . Does it stop smoking ?
Rotella is the most recognized diesel motor oil in the world.
Brett, I think Steve S was trying to be technically accurate ... Rotella is approved for both gas and diesel engines ... not strictly diesels.
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: JetStar
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
That's exactly it. I've also experienced it with a 17hp Kawasaki single we had in our JD GT262 rider. If you parked it hot, nose down, you'd on occasion get a plume so bad on restart it would scare the heck out of you. It didn't consume enough to notice between OCIs. The 17.5hp Briggs I had in a ~2003 MTD rider would also do it on occasion. Other than that, they all puff a little bit on startup. Kohlers always tend to smell rich to me. Not as bad as the Kohler-K 10hp in my Case though. I can feel the ozone deplete over my head any time I operated it and it doesn't blow much visible smoke at all. Boy does it stink though.
Joel
Remember when BMW came out with the K series bikes back in the mid 80s? It had the three cylinder, longitudinal, horizontal, liquid cooled engine in it. When the bike was parked on it's side stand after a run, it would smoke quite a bit upon start up due to residual oil seeping into the cylinders. Too bad they put the cylinders on the low side of the bike.
Sounds like a similar set of circumstances.
Originally Posted By: JetStar
I've experienced this occasionally with three different vert shaft Kohlers with all kinds of oil. They never did it all the time, just once in a while.
That's exactly it. I've also experienced it with a 17hp Kawasaki single we had in our JD GT262 rider. If you parked it hot, nose down, you'd on occasion get a plume so bad on restart it would scare the heck out of you. It didn't consume enough to notice between OCIs. The 17.5hp Briggs I had in a ~2003 MTD rider would also do it on occasion. Other than that, they all puff a little bit on startup. Kohlers always tend to smell rich to me. Not as bad as the Kohler-K 10hp in my Case though. I can feel the ozone deplete over my head any time I operated it and it doesn't blow much visible smoke at all. Boy does it stink though.
Joel
Remember when BMW came out with the K series bikes back in the mid 80s? It had the three cylinder, longitudinal, horizontal, liquid cooled engine in it. When the bike was parked on it's side stand after a run, it would smoke quite a bit upon start up due to residual oil seeping into the cylinders. Too bad they put the cylinders on the low side of the bike.
Sounds like a similar set of circumstances.
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