I made a log splitter back in the 1990's and it has an old 11HP Briggs with a 16HP V twin carb on it. I bought the engine without a carb and used what I had. It has run for years with no problems till today. The crankcase vent isn't attached to the card and when I finished splitting wood today I went to the back of the splitter and the ground was covered with oil. I shut it down and checked the oil level and none was showing on the dip stick. It was full when I started. What would cause it to suddenly start blowing oil out. I noticed the dip stick had been pushed up out of its tube also. It is held in with a tight rubber gromet.
Most likely it has broken compression rings or a badly worn cylinder allowing too much pressure back into the crankcase. A failed breather is possible, but that is rare.
