B&S 2HP Leaking Oil

[lrjammie]

I just purchased a 2HP B&S engine on a McLane edger. Engine model number is 60102 built in 1988 I guess. I just noticed a couple of 6" oil spots on the garage floor. I knew it was leaking or blowing oil from somewhere because the engine had alot of oil film on it. I cleaned and dried the engine last week so I could try and see where the oil was coming from. Today I put it up on the bench and looked at the bottom of the edger and the oil seems to be coming from 3 of the 4 bolts that hold the engine to the edger frame. I'm sure these bolts go up into the bottom of the engine. It looks like the oil is coming down the threads of these bolts and then dropping on to the floor. Could the fix be as simple as taking the bolts out and reinstalling with sealer of some sort. I have never worked on a small engine before so I was hoping to get some comments from the experience experts on this forum. Thanks for any help.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I doubt the bolts go into the crankcase. First place to look at is the crankcase gasket then the crank seal. Check the crankcase breather tube.
Clean engine really good and then clean the area of the crankcase gasket with brake clean. Let set for a day and look fo the leak. Oil leaks don't travel uphill. Find the highest spot on the engine wet with oil and you will find the leak.

 

[lrjammie]

You are correct the bolts don't go into the crank case. I did clean it up again and checked all of the bolts that hold the crankcase cover on and found that they could all take nearly 1/4 turn. As of today it has sat there for 2 days and not a drop of oil on the cardboard. I suspect, as you suggest, that the gasket is probably in need of replacement and I'm guessing that isn't a big job. Probably something I can get down this winter. I'll only use the edger once more this summer/fall. Thank you for your comments. Appreciate the help. Larry