Help! The mower is blowing smoke

[Huntingdonhavoc]

I'll be the first to say I dont know jack when it comes to engines so I'll need a little help here. The mower is a year old troy built w/ a briggs & stratton engine. I started her up and it started spewing white smoke and 2 small oil drips landed on the mower deck. I let it smoke out the backyard for about a minute before shutting it down. Tried once more and same results. I did some research and found it could be from having the mower tilted while sitting which it was. I also read that it could be the spark plug which I don't know what to check. Should I try and let it burn off the smoke or would that be a bad idea? Any help would be much appreciated.

[Whiskey Delta]

First, check the oil level. Small engines will suck oil out of crankcases when they are over filled.

IF you got oil up in the carb area from tilting it, it will resolve on its own, but just running it will cure it in a few minutes.

[Evolution]

I have the same issue... except. When I start mine up it spins for a second and it smokes and shuts off right away. I usually have to prime it about 10 or so times to get it to start. I also had my mower semi tilted due to lack of space in the shed. Maybe cleaning the carb will fix this?

[SteveXD]

Mine does that after I tilt it.

[Huntingdonhavoc]

After trying to run it again a few minutes ago it started leaking much more oil all over the deck. When it started it didn't blow any white smoke but after about 20 seconds of running it started smoking again.

[P-11 shooter]

If it's leaking AND smoking it sounds like a bad gasket.

I have a motorcycle with a bad head gasket and it does the same thing. It dosn't smoke, but it does run rich.

Anyway, does it leak from a seam in the block?

[Huntingdonhavoc]

It is leaking from the same place that the exhaust comes out (carburator?). The second time I ran it it lost about a table spoon worth of oil. It still has a year on the warranty, so I guess it looks like its time for service. Just to know what would cause the head gasket to leak?

[Lucas]

I spent 7 years turning wrenches at a John Deere dealership. Seen this an awful lot. Sounds like you had some oil in the cylinder. If you had it tilted with the cylinder down, even slightly, you can get the results you have. Remove the spark plug, turn the engine over a few times to push any excess oil from the cylinder. Reinstall the plug, start the engine, let it run for a while. It'll clear up. I had new mowers blow smoke for 4 or 5 minutes after being on our display rack (cylinder end of engine was slightly down) for a couple days. Try that, and let us know. Worst case scenario is a blown head gasket. Usually a quick fix, so long as the mechanic checks the aluminum head for warpage.

[str8shooter]

I'll be the first to say I dont know jack when it comes to engines so I'll need a little help here. The mower is a year old troy built w/ a briggs & stratton engine. I started her up and it started spewing white smoke and 2 small oil drips landed on the mower deck. I let it smoke out the backyard for about a minute before shutting it down. Tried once more and same results. I did some research and found it could be from having the mower tilted while sitting which it was. I also read that it could be the spark plug which I don't know what to check. Should I try and let it burn off the smoke or would that be a bad idea? Any help would be much appreciated.

I just went through the process of buying a new mower and Troy Built was on the short list because of their reputation. From what I've seen, the minimum warrantee was 2 years, so I'd check what I could based on the advice in previous posts, but I wouldn't touch a thing if it's still under warrantee. Call them and find out how to handle it, but even Sears comes to your home for mower repair service if it's still under warrantee, so I would hope Troy Built does at least that much.

[P-11 shooter]

while growing up all we had were mowers with Briggs and Stratton engines. I thought they were the bes things going. But the newer ones aren't as robust as the oldies. Nowadays I'd take a honda first, then a briggs.


I have however been using a Toro mower that I was seriously "hating on" until I used it for a few weeks. That little toro is a beast.