d white smoke & motor running hot. Let cool down and drove it to my garage. Noticed I was low on oil, topped it off and let sit over night. went to start today to which it will not start. Checked plug ok. What now??
Garden

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Hello Michael.Sounds like your burning oil. For any engine repair I start with the main three things: Compression, spark and fuel. Without these three things an engine will not run. Compression testors can be purchased at any parts store and are easy to use. You simply thread them into the spark plug hole and crank engine until needle stops moving then observe. Spark testors connect inline between your spark plug and rubber boot. Simply turn the starter over and watch siteglass to see if there is spark or not. Checking fuel, make sure your getting fuel to the carb. If your getting fuel to carb but only starts with starting fluid, you know you have a dirty carb. Although I believe your problem lies with compression, that’s where I would start. You should have at least 75 psi and reading should hold and not fall quickly. Let me know what you find after doing this and I can help steer you in the right direction from there. Good luck!

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White or blue smoke may indicate an oil spill on the engine.

If you`ve recently changed the oil in your mower and the engine is emitting white or blue smoke, it`s possible that some of the oil spilled onto the engine.

Blue or white smoke coming from your engine usually indicates burning oil, which can be caused by: Overfilling the crankcase with oil. Incorrect oil grades. Operating engine at greater than a 15 degree angle.
John Deere recommends you check your oil level before each use and to change your oil once a season. That`s about every 50 hours of lawn tractor use.
Oil that is a whitish milky color is contaminated with water, while oil that is a greenish milky color contains antifreeze. If the water is the result of normal condensation in the engine, the milky color will disappear once the lawn mower engine warms up.
Blue or white smoke coming from your engine usually indicates burning oil, which can be caused by: Overfilling the crankcase with oil. Incorrect oil grades. Operating engine at greater than a 15 degree angle.
White Smoke

It usually means that coolant is being burned in the engine, which means that something is drastically wrong. The most common cause of this is a blown head gasket, which can quickly lead to an overheating engine.

White smoke from the exhaust can spell big problems with your engine, and the smoke`s white color tells us that it`s water vapor (blue = burning oil, gray or black = fuel). Specifically, coolant is escaping from the cooling system into the combustion chamber.
Too much oil in a lawn mower crankcase causes the vapor released via the ventilation valve to become oil-rich, which clogs the air filter, creating an overly rich air-to-fuel ratio that fouls the spark plugs and causes the engine to smoke and run poorly. Extreme over-oiling will stall the engine.
White smoke from the exhaust can spell big problems with your engine, and the smoke`s white color tells us that it`s water vapor (blue = burning oil, gray or black = fuel). Specifically, coolant is escaping from the cooling system into the combustion chamber.
White Smoke

In extreme cases, you will need to replace your head gasket. At the first sign of white smoke you can try head gasket repair treatment to seal the leak before you do serious damage to your engine.

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Changed oil last week on my 2003 JD L100d. Mowed side lot this week w/ no problem. went to mow 2nd side lot and mower mower quit on me. Noticed white smoke & motor running hot. Let cool down and drove it to my garage. Noticed I was low on oil, topped it off and let sit over night. went to start today to which it will not start. Checked plug ok. What now??
ANSWER : Hello Michael.Sounds like your burning oil. For any engine repair I start with the main three things: Compression, spark and fuel. Without these three things an engine will not run. Compression testors can be purchased at any parts store and are easy to use. You simply thread them into the spark plug hole and crank engine until needle stops moving then observe. Spark testors connect inline between your spark plug and rubber boot. Simply turn the starter over and watch siteglass to see if there is spark or not. Checking fuel, make sure your getting fuel to the carb. If your getting fuel to carb but only starts with starting fluid, you know you have a dirty carb. Although I believe your problem lies with compression, that’s where I would start. You should have at least 75 psi and reading should hold and not fall quickly. Let me know what you find after doing this and I can help steer you in the right direction from there. Good luck!

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I have a Poulan push mower that after mowing in a ditch started making a loud noise and running rough. It almost sounded as if metal was hitting metal. The mower was vibrating more than normal. I checked under the mower and nothing is hitting. After a few times of stopping the mower engine because it sound as if it is going to die down the mower will not start now. The shaft does not appear bent and the blade appears ok. The mower has oil, a good spark plug and a clean air filter. It was running fine until that moment. I did not see anything that I hit but it is possible I hit something in the ditch like a pine cone or branch. What could the problem be and how would I go about fixing it?
ANSWER : If you are sure the oil level is correct then it sounds like it’s about to die, unfortunately. A pine cone shouldn’t cause any damage, but a large branch may do so. Was it smoking before you shut it down? The vibration could be caused from a bent blade. It could also be caused from a part breaking in the motor. I wish I could have given you better news!

Good Luck,

Jim

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Lawn scarifier motor runs slow than starts to smoke
ANSWER : What sort of scarifier is it?

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Dont know what type of oil to use – Toro Power Lawn Mower
ANSWER : Put straight 30 weight motor oil in it. Not 10W30 or any multi-viscosity oil. Straight 30 weight motor oil. If you’re doing a complete oil change, then you may want to use Synthetic 30 weight, which will last longer between oil changes and also make your engine last longer (but it costs more too). Best of luck to you.James

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I understand what you are saying about burning oil out of the cylinder. But the weird thing is that it runs fine at slow and full throttle, doesn’t smoke, but when you put the blades in gear and run for a few minutes, a blue cloud starts, so we shut it down, wait a while and try again, four times we have done the same thing. I’m talking major blue smoke. Wait a while and it ok until mower is enguaged. I’m affraid to keep running after the smoke starts. And remeber, I did tilt the mower when I changed the oil and filter.
ANSWER : Did you overfill the crankcase, sounds to me like the problem, did it do this before you changed the oil ?

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YARD MACHINE MOWER NOT A YEAR OLD YET AND IT CRUDDIES UP EACH NEW SPARK PLUG AND SMOKES, NOT RUNNING WELL. ITS RUNS REAL FAST AND THEN REAL SLOW, SPUTTERS. I HAVE ALWAYS KEPT AIR FILTER CLEAN AND OIL CHANGED. WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM? MY SON THINKS ITS THE RINGS AND SAID I SHOULD TAKE IT BACK TO HOME DEPOT BUT I’VE HAD IT FOR 11 MONTHS. WHAT SHOULD i do??
ANSWER : Return the mower if possible for warranty repair or call MTD with the issue. MTD mowers typically are good quality and should run like new for a long time with proper care. Depot may give you a 1-800 number instead of customer service so before you load up the mower talk to them. It does sound like a bad valve seat or rings either one is not typical wear and tear.

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Craftsman lt1000 starts up and blows white smoke it stays started for only a short time
ANSWER : Hi, replace the fuel as it may be contaminated, also change the oil as it may be diluted with fuel (you can smell it on the dipstick if this is the case). Regards Phil

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Lawn mower will start and run for 5 seconds and shut down
ANSWER : Will it stay running with your choke on? if so then clean your carb. if not then look for a blockage from tank to carb. ie fuel shut off, deteriorated fuel line. plugged filter etc

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