Export thread

Briggs Vanguard 23hp Leaking Oil through Breather Tube

#1

S

SnapperOwner

Snapper YT2350 YT400 Series 50" Lawn Tractor (aka Riding Mower)
B&S Vanguard V-Twin 23hp
Model 386777
Type 0111-E1
Code 0705241
Part 2690752
Purchased February 2009
545 hours of use

Mow Two Acres in Ohio (grass and mole hills), April-October. We live in the county, nowhere near a town. Hometown USA. Dealer is a one-man shop. Send away or drive three hours for parts.

Done a lot of work over the past three months and have the mower starting again. New (all Briggs, using Parts List for this engine): carb, wiring harness to fuel solenoid (which is built into the new carb), fuel pump, fuel and vacuum lines, fuel + oil + air filters, PTO switch, dipstick tube, breather hose, o-ring seal on breather assembly, and gaskets on valve covers and carb. Valves were .004 when we checked. Compression readings were 130 and 120.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Thought we had it back and running again. First time using it since all the new stuff listed above was done. Starts great, with no smoke or sputtering. Managed to cut the grass for 25 minutes with no problems or miss, when it shot a small puff of white smoke out of the side from under the hood (not exhaust). Did one more circle, to see if it was just a one-time issue (have done a LOT of work on it), when it shot a large plume of white smoke from the same place. No subsequent loss of power or surge/miss, but I only drove about twenty feet to the garage and turned it off. Engine started with the soil stick at 1/2-way up the hatch (middle) and now is sitting right at the bottom of the hatch (Add). No smell of gas from the oil.

Here's what I found under the hood.


(All left/right mentions are me looking at the air cleaner on the front of the engine, standing in front of the mower.)

1) The mess on the back left side by the oil filter and cooler is a mystery to me (photos 1 & 5). The hoses look fine but aren't soft/flexible at all. Supposed to be pre-formed, hard tubes?

2) Photos 2 + 3+ 4 show the main leak. Oil was dripping from the bottom of the air-filter cover, and that's what soaked/puddled the tin to both sides. 1-2 Tablespoons of oil pooled inside the bottom of the cover when we removed it, filter and pre-filter soaked on the bottom near the puddle but not all over. Oil had backflowed through the breather hose (which is new and definitely not clogged) and covered a lot of the inside of the air-filter cover. Looks like there is oil in the front of the carb, too. Not dripping, but sitting near the front, like the breather tube tried to get out that way. The filter-cover-to-carb gasket is soaked in oil now. Just replaced the valve gasket covers, twice on the right-hand one.

Heeeeelp! I'm just a homeowner who's been learning a lot over the last three months. Please don't assume I know much more than what I've shared. I really need help here. Seems a shame to have come this far and be done in by an oil leak.

Thanks for your time, in advance.


October 11, 2021 (2)b.jpg Oil Leaks (12)b.jpg Oil Leaks (1)b.jpg Oil Leaks (3)b.jpg Oil Leaks (8)b.jpg


#2

R

Rivets

From the pics you posted and your description, I would be checking for a blown head gasket.


#3

B

bertsmobile1

What he said
It was most likely the cause of the original problems
The head gaskets are weak on Inteks on purpose so they blow to save the rods & crank


#4

H

hlw49

Not an Intek it is a Vanguard. Blown Head gasket or a crankcase breather valve. Pull the crank case breather cover off the #2 cylinder and check to see if the reed valve is broken.


#5

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

I think I would pull the blower housing off and take a look around. The pictures with the oil filter appear to have oil running down the side of the block. Possible top seal leaking.


#6

S

SnapperOwner

I REALLY appreciate all the replies! After nearly three months of my daughter "mowing" the two acres with a weedeater and me watching videos/reading forum threads, I'd like to think we're getting close here. I'm not an expert (not even a novice), but I only have a week or so before I need to winterize this puppy. I'd hate to put it away until spring without resolving this.

ILENGINE -- I've had the housing off so many times that I'm surprised the screws still work (smile). What would I be looking for now? What is the "top seal"? My Parts List shows five seals on the Crankshaft page: oil seal (magneto side), oil seal (PTO side), O Ring Seal (oil pump), Oil Gallery O-Ring (crankcase cover/sump or cylinder assembly), and a governor shaft seal.


#7

S

SnapperOwner

Thanks, rivets and bertsmobile1! I'm a bit stumped about the blown-head-gasket idea. (I only know what I've seen in the umpteen videos and blog/forum reading I've done, so please don't think I'm saying I know more than you. Guarantee that I don't! I just want to make sure I give what info I have.) Even though leaks here and there, no oil usage registered on dipstick until this thing leaked yesterday, and the oil that's missing could probably be accounted for by what was dripping and pooling everywhere. The smoke that I mentioned came out of the right-hand side of the hood; it never seems to come out the left side. Both times, it was one cloud, as described. Ran smoke-free the rest of the time.

Just thought of something else that happened about two months ago. After running out and finding another person out there going crazy with channel locks on the carb mixture screws (wildly screwing both back and forth in sweeping motions, with the machine backfiring all over the place), we turned it off and pushed the mower into the garage (without waiting the minute). After making the person leave, we started it up again. It made this really loud POP (like a bang) and a huge cloud of smoke surrounded the mower. We turned it off, let it cool down, and started it again. Has never done that again, and starts like a champ. Have only put about an hour TOTAL in trying to mow, as we were testing things after every replacement.

If I have to order the gasket kit, it'll take a while to get in. IF I have to do this, can someone please tell me what supplies you use to clean the piston head and gasket area? The videos I've seen just say "gotta clean this up, so I'll be back". I really don't WANT to have to change the head gaskets, but I'm not AFRAID to if I have to.


#8

S

SnapperOwner

hlw49 said:
Not an Intek it is a Vanguard. Blown Head gasket or a crankcase breather valve. Pull the crank case breather cover off the #2 cylinder and check to see if the reed valve is broken.
Click to expand...
Okay, I can do that. I'll come back once we've had a look. Hope "broken" is easy to assess.


#9

S

SnapperOwner

What should I do about that thin layer of oil in the carb? After three complete teardowns/cleans of the original carb, I decided to chunk out the $300 for a replacement carb so that I could take that out of the equation. If I have to go back to cleaning in there, I think I'll be depressed (smile). But I want to do the right thing.


#10

S

SnapperOwner

Just pulled the plugs. The spark plugs were brand new when we cranked this up for the 25-minute mow. Plugs are exact B&S part called for in manual. Bit of oily feeling to the tips, but not sitting in oil. Black tips, but they started silver two days ago.

Removed the #2 valve cover and found the rest of the "missing" oil. It was really full. Going to check the reed valve now.

Spark Plugs (4).JPG Spark Plugs (5).JPG


#11

S

SnapperOwner

Just took photos of the breather assembly opened up. Doesn't look like the parts diagram. There's only the one piece (with the two screws) that's slightly bent up, but the parts diagram shows a solid piece under that one. The diagram sometimes has errors, but I can't find anywhere online that shows you the parts to this. Also, what is that black plastic circular piece that you can see through the hole?

Sorry for the stupid questions. I've been told by two people that Vanguards rarely blow their head gaskets (as opposed to Inteks), so I should go back to looking at that breather assembly again.

Everything look all right here to those of you familiar with Vanguards?

Breather Cover (1).JPG Breather Cover (2).JPG Breather Cover (3).JPG Breather Cover (4).JPG


#12

S

SnapperOwner

SnapperOwner said:
Just took photos of the breather assembly opened up. Doesn't look like the parts diagram. There's only the one piece (with the two screws) that's slightly bent up, but the parts diagram shows a solid piece under that one. The diagram sometimes has errors, but I can't find anywhere online that shows you the parts to this. Also, what is that black plastic circular piece that you can see through the hole?

Sorry for the stupid questions. I've been told by two people that Vanguards rarely blow their head gaskets (as opposed to Inteks), so I should go back to looking at that breather assembly again.

Everything look all right here to those of you familiar with Vanguards?

View attachment 58635 View attachment 58636 View attachment 58637 View attachment 58638
Click to expand...
Disassembled the breather assembly that's part of the #2 Rocker Cover. Oil looks fresh

I see now what the "black piece" was. It was the second piece that I saw on the parts diagram. On top you see the bent piece (has to be factory bent) with the hole in it. The black thing you see through that is a solid second piece (see photos) of very thin sheet metal (?) that was "glued" down in a thick layer of oil. Not really glued, but the oil was definitely not allowing that puppy to open or close.

Do I need to wash all these pieces to completely de-oil them, or is wiping them down thoroughly enough?

So, if the breather assembly looks fine to you, we're back to figuring out why the oil's getting in there, right? This will be my fifth air filter + prefilter in two months ($27/each), so I'm pretty motivated to get this figured out.

Breather Assembly (1).JPG Breather Assembly (2).JPG Breather Assembly (3).JPG


#13

R

Rivets

Dont see anything wrong with that breather, back to what I said earlier, blown head gasket. You can purchase the gasket individually, no need to purchase a kit.


#14

S

SnapperOwner

If I opt to replace the head gasket, what other gaskets/seals could cause air to come in that would directly affect the breather assembly and cause a lot of oil to be drawn into the air filter cover and carb? If it were just the head gasket, wouldn't you expect to see more smoke all the time? Not trying to second-guess anyone here. Just wish the symptoms were a little more screaming for one thing or another. I'm turning into a parts-replacer instead of a troubleshooter, so I'm trying to regroup here.

Please take a minute to read through my other posts in this thread and offer suggestions. And -- thanks -- in advance.


#15

B

bertsmobile1

Head gaskets are around $ 10 a piece .
A leaking gasket over pressurizes the crankcase which overwhelms the breathers ability to allow the oil in the crankcase fume to drain back into the engine so it blows into the carburettor.
The cheap & nasty check is to run the engine for a couple of minutes then turn it off and pull the dipstick out .
If you see little whisps of whiteish smoke that is a symptom of a leaking head gasket .
The proper test is to do a leakdown
It is not a difficult repair on a tractor style mower where you have good access to the engine .
I regularly do them on site on the customers lawn ( leaks a bit of oil & degreaser spill )
Takes about 2 hours on a twin if none of the fasteners are rusted on solid.
So for a newbie should be a 1/2 day job if you want to slip in a round of golf or a weekend job if you are trying to avoid a trip to the mother in law


#16

B

bertsmobile1

SnapperOwner said:
If I opt to replace the head gasket, what other gaskets/seals could cause air to come in that would directly affect the breather assembly and cause a lot of oil to be drawn into the air filter cover and carb? If it were just the head gasket, wouldn't you expect to see more smoke all the time? Not trying to second-guess anyone here. Just wish the symptoms were a little more screaming for one thing or another. I'm turning into a parts-replacer instead of a troubleshooter, so I'm trying to regroup here.

Please take a minute to read through my other posts in this thread and offer suggestions. And -- thanks -- in advance.
Click to expand...
A cracked head or a holed piston
Occasionally a moved valve guide or broken inlet valve seal
Stop faffing around and pull the heads
Guide problems will become obvious when you remove the rocker covers.

Stop over thinking
These are the most simple engines it is possible to make not F1 race engine


#17

R

Rivets

I’ve read through the posts and like Bert said, stop over thinking the problem. You’ve been watching to many different videos and from my experience most aren’t worth the time it took to make them. Starting with a blown head gasket would have been the first and cheapest place to start with the problem you describe.


#18

S

SnapperOwner

Thanks, guys, for taking the time to respond. Wish it were that cheap (smile). "Times they are a'changin!" At $25/each for the head gaskets (842622), I'm going to go with the Valve Gasket Kit (842662) for $70. That way I might have the other parts I'll probably need and won't have to wait another week or so for the next round to arrive. Hopefully, I can find someone who can get the Kit in before the cold weather sets in.

No offense meant, but if it weren't for those videos and blog entries, I wouldn't know how to do ANY of this stuff. People on forums sure don'tsit and explain each step of a fix for you. They just say things like "blown head gasket" or "you got carb issues". I have no choice but to take that advice and go find someone in a blog or video who will show me how to do that. It's nice to have help from both sides, and I'm grateful for everyone's time -- forum and video alike.

Thanks, and I'll be back to let you know how it works out. After I find the parts (smile), of course . . . And thanks, bertsmobile1, for the humorous "half-day job". Still making us smile. Takes me 1/2 an hour to remove the Vanguard blower housing (smile). Done it so many times now, maybe I can shave a couple of minutes off this time. I'll have to time it . . .

Hope y'all get in a good afternoon of golf before too long!


#19

R

Rivets

You asked for help, now you criticize short answers??? You’ve had 3 very experienced service technicians give you answers as to where to look, but have not listened to them, because they don’t explain in depth how to do what you want. You just think that someone who’s trying to make money off their video are more knowledgeable than the service techs on this site. As a retired teacher I’ve seen this multiple times, students who want to put in the least effort possible. The techs aren’t going to put that much effort to take your hand and step by step walk you through the solution. That being said, hope you find that the head gasket is not the problem, so you can sit back and laugh at me. I’ll stop posting now, but will watch for the outcome.


#20

P

pwardxe126

To check to see if your crank case is being over pressured by a blown head gasket. Find the small hose that goes from the breather to the crankcase. Remove the end of the hose that fits in the breather. Start the engine and see if its blowing a lot of air out of it. If it does, blown head gasket. Good luck!


#21

E

efred

It's also possible that your rings are getting blowby, pressurizing the crankcase, and pushing oil through the vent tube into the carb, making a mess like you described. It's much more involved to inspect, but maybe do another compression check. By the way, what is the proper spec on the compression for this engine?


#22

S

SnapperOwner

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for later. Based on advice I got here, I decided to just replace them. Arranged to get three hours of time today (figuring I'm very new at this and might need more than the two hours--smile). Got someone to drive three hours and pick up the gasket kit for me so that I can do it while we still have nice weather (thankful someone in the state had it).

45 minutes later and the valve covers and blower housing are off (have to remove fuel pump and bracket, oil cooler, air assembly, and top of dipstick on this Vanguard). Gettin' pretty good at this, so I think we made good time!

But, whoa! Could you please look at the photos and confirm my suspicions here? This doesn't look like any other head removals I've seen (yep, watched videos). Looks like a couple of hours of removing a lot of other pieces that keep those heads from sliding out. Am I figuring this wrong? Do we need to dismantle all those brackets and surrounds?

Mower Engine Stuff 7.jpg Mower Engine Stuff 8.jpg Mower Engine Stuff 9.jpg Mower Engine Stuff 10.jpg


#23

S

SnapperOwner

efred said:
It's also possible that your rings are getting blowby, pressurizing the crankcase, and pushing oil through the vent tube into the carb, making a mess like you described. It's much more involved to inspect, but maybe do another compression check. By the way, what is the proper spec on the compression for this engine?
Click to expand...
The person who did the first compression test for me is no longer available. I was told, in the early days, that anything over 90 was good. But I don't really know. Might be piston rings, too. I don't know. I'm trying really hard to fix this and really appreciate EVERY bit of help and suggestions I get from EVERY source. Thanks for taking your time to answer. Right now, I'm staring at these photos and overthinking my problem.


#24

S

SnapperOwner

You win, Rivets. I'm done trying. The general lack of help/knowledge and size of the job is too much for me. I'll get rid of this the best I can and figure out how to mow the property in the spring. I'm going to say the rest of this stuff in case a future reader thinks I'm just one more of those . . . what was it someone on here said . . . "who want to put in the least effort possible" and have their "hand held".

For what it's worth, I'd like to say that we no longer have any small engine repair shops around here who are even writing new service tickets. The earliest I could an appointment at a mechanic 45 minutes away is SEVEN MONTHS from now. The dealers in our area are now only servicing machines they've sold, and our dealer doesn't have service anymore. Been told countless times that the old guys are retiring, and the young guys are too lazy to do menial work (their words, not mine). I had no option but to learn how to do this myself.

My daughter's been mowing our two acres all summer with a weedeater and is always tired and hurting. Five months ago, when I took on this task, I didn't even know where to find the carburetor, what it would look like or what a "rebuild" involved. Comments like "broken head gasket" sent me to youtube and blogs for 12-15 hours/six days a week for many months. Tore down the carb three times before being told that I wouldn't get anymore advice unless I replaced it. Another $300 (that solenoid wiring harness was a bit of a bear to snake around the flywheel), but it didn't fix the problem. The first time I saw "torqued" and "multimeter", I couldn't google fast enough. Boy, I sure was glad for all those videos and bloggers who explained it all and took the time to post torque specs and diagrams.

For anyone who hasn't bought parts since the springtime, they are next-to-impossible to find and the cost is exorbitant. My dealer has said twice "Are you sitting down?" before giving me part prices. Gone are the days of $10 head gaskets and $170 carbs for a Briggs Vanguard. And I got an e-mail from him that said, "Treat that main wiring harness with tender loving care. There are NO substitute parts available for this model."

Oh, and before I'm finished. How does one take a small-engine immersion course from point zero with little-to-no one-on-one help without overthinking? I'll admit that I probably am overthinking a lot of what seems basic to an experienced person. In fact, all I've done for nearly four months is think about these repairs. To the detriment of my family, actually. They'll be glad to have clean laundry and decent meals again, I'm sure, when they find out I'm no longer "overthinking" the mower repairs. My husband is a Stage 4 Cancer patient who is no longer able to help. Means that the rest of us have to care for him and do his work, too. And the cost of the parts is already crazy, so paying a mechanic (if we could have found one) $55/hour is out of the question.

I appreciate all of you who tried to help. And, Rivets, I'm not laughing. It isn't funny.


#25

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

@SnapperOwner If you can find a mechanic for $55/hr you better take him home with you. $70/hr is the more normal price with some in the $125/hr range. Parts prices are high. Just did a carb kit on a Vanguard 18hp a couple weeks ago, and the repair kit by itself was $160. And to answer your question about having to take all the sheet metal and brackets off to remove the heads. And the answer is Yes.

And as a dealer I have been waiting on backordered parts since March. Last backordered part took 11 months to get. And when going from no small engine knowledge to trying to diagnose a complex problem is can be easy to get put into overload.


#26

S

Stokdgs

SnapperOwner said:
You win, Rivets. I'm done trying. The general lack of help/knowledge and size of the job is too much for me. I'll get rid of this the best I can and figure out how to mow the property in the spring. I'm going to say the rest of this stuff in case a future reader thinks I'm just one more of those . . . what was it someone on here said . . . "who want to put in the least effort possible" and have their "hand held".

For what it's worth, I'd like to say that we no longer have any small engine repair shops around here who are even writing new service tickets. The earliest I could an appointment at a mechanic 45 minutes away is SEVEN MONTHS from now. The dealers in our area are now only servicing machines they've sold, and our dealer doesn't have service anymore. Been told countless times that the old guys are retiring, and the young guys are too lazy to do menial work (their words, not mine). I had no option but to learn how to do this myself.

My daughter's been mowing our two acres all summer with a weedeater and is always tired and hurting. Five months ago, when I took on this task, I didn't even know where to find the carburetor, what it would look like or what a "rebuild" involved. Comments like "broken head gasket" sent me to youtube and blogs for 12-15 hours/six days a week for many months. Tore down the carb three times before being told that I wouldn't get anymore advice unless I replaced it. Another $300 (that solenoid wiring harness was a bit of a bear to snake around the flywheel), but it didn't fix the problem. The first time I saw "torqued" and "multimeter", I couldn't google fast enough. Boy, I sure was glad for all those videos and bloggers who explained it all and took the time to post torque specs and diagrams.

For anyone who hasn't bought parts since the springtime, they are next-to-impossible to find and the cost is exorbitant. My dealer has said twice "Are you sitting down?" before giving me part prices. Gone are the days of $10 head gaskets and $170 carbs for a Briggs Vanguard. And I got an e-mail from him that said, "Treat that main wiring harness with tender loving care. There are NO substitute parts available for this model."

Oh, and before I'm finished. How does one take a small-engine immersion course from point zero with little-to-no one-on-one help without overthinking? I'll admit that I probably am overthinking a lot of what seems basic to an experienced person. In fact, all I've done for nearly four months is think about these repairs. To the detriment of my family, actually. They'll be glad to have clean laundry and decent meals again, I'm sure, when they find out I'm no longer "overthinking" the mower repairs. My husband is a Stage 4 Cancer patient who is no longer able to help. Means that the rest of us have to care for him and do his work, too. And the cost of the parts is already crazy, so paying a mechanic (if we could have found one) $55/hour is out of the question.

I appreciate all of you who tried to help. And, Rivets, I'm not laughing. It isn't funny.
Click to expand...

Snapper Owner, You, your Sweetheart, and your Family are All in my prayers of Faith...


#27

B

bertsmobile1

The problem we have is we have no idea about the level of competiance of the posters
When people say they have no idea then we walk then through the whole job bolt by bolt
However to do that in the diagnosis phase would take 500 lines of text and with the short attention span now days, most would zone out after the first 4 lines .
What we would expect posters to do is ASK for more detailed instruction or even do a search using "blown head gasket " and if they did they would find 25 mower manuals worth of information


#28

VRR.DYNDNS>BIZ

VRR.DYNDNS>BIZ

hlw49 said:
Not an Intek it is a Vanguard. Blown Head gasket or a crankcase breather valve. Pull the crank case breather cover off the #2 cylinder and check to see if the reed valve is broken.
Click to expand...
both a blown head gasket and a bad breather system will pressurize the crankcase ( in case of gasket ) or not create vacuum ( in case of breather ). One way to determine the culprit is a leakdown test. I suspect breather because you indicated the smoke came after a bit. Unless on a slope later when smoke appeared, the smoke from blown gasket would be same 5 seconds run time and after, where the breather needs time to push oil into the air filter cavity and get pulled thru the filter ( on some models ) or if tube mounts inside filter clean side, still takes some time but sooner than outside the filter.


#29

R

Richard Milhous

SnapperOwner said:
You win, Rivets. I'm done trying. The general lack of help/knowledge and size of the job is too much for me. I'll get rid of this the best I can and figure out how to mow the property in the spring. I'm going to say the rest of this stuff in case a future reader thinks I'm just one more of those . . . what was it someone on here said . . . "who want to put in the least effort possible" and have their "hand held".

For what it's worth, I'd like to say that we no longer have any small engine repair shops around here who are even writing new service tickets. The earliest I could an appointment at a mechanic 45 minutes away is SEVEN MONTHS from now. The dealers in our area are now only servicing machines they've sold, and our dealer doesn't have service anymore. Been told countless times that the old guys are retiring, and the young guys are too lazy to do menial work (their words, not mine). I had no option but to learn how to do this myself.

My daughter's been mowing our two acres all summer with a weedeater and is always tired and hurting. Five months ago, when I took on this task, I didn't even know where to find the carburetor, what it would look like or what a "rebuild" involved. Comments like "broken head gasket" sent me to youtube and blogs for 12-15 hours/six days a week for many months. Tore down the carb three times before being told that I wouldn't get anymore advice unless I replaced it. Another $300 (that solenoid wiring harness was a bit of a bear to snake around the flywheel), but it didn't fix the problem. The first time I saw "torqued" and "multimeter", I couldn't google fast enough. Boy, I sure was glad for all those videos and bloggers who explained it all and took the time to post torque specs and diagrams.

For anyone who hasn't bought parts since the springtime, they are next-to-impossible to find and the cost is exorbitant. My dealer has said twice "Are you sitting down?" before giving me part prices. Gone are the days of $10 head gaskets and $170 carbs for a Briggs Vanguard. And I got an e-mail from him that said, "Treat that main wiring harness with tender loving care. There are NO substitute parts available for this model."

Oh, and before I'm finished. How does one take a small-engine immersion course from point zero with little-to-no one-on-one help without overthinking? I'll admit that I probably am overthinking a lot of what seems basic to an experienced person. In fact, all I've done for nearly four months is think about these repairs. To the detriment of my family, actually. They'll be glad to have clean laundry and decent meals again, I'm sure, when they find out I'm no longer "overthinking" the mower repairs. My husband is a Stage 4 Cancer patient who is no longer able to help. Means that the rest of us have to care for him and do his work, too. And the cost of the parts is already crazy, so paying a mechanic (if we could have found one) $55/hour is out of the question.

I appreciate all of you who tried to help. And, Rivets, I'm not laughing. It isn't funny.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there's a general presumption here that everyone is a wrench of some kind, because that's who asks questions. No one has the guts to start from the bare basics anymore. It's a long, painful road to endless disappointment... but you do what have to do.

Like mowing two acres with a weedeater. Dang. I mowed a half acre like that. Once.

You'll need a new weedeater.


#30

L

lbrac

I don't know what the compression test pressure should be on your engine, but you indicate that both cylinders are very nearly the same pressure. It is likely that a leaking head gasket, valve, rings, cracked head, etc., on one cylinder would cause a pressure imbalance between cylinders. Overfilling with motor oil could cause oil to be forced into the breather hose and pushed up through the vent hose, although you indicate it was halfway between add and full. I don't have experience with your engine, so I'm not going to offer anything else that could just confuse the situation further. B&S has information and videos on their website, www.briggsandstratton.com, but I don't know how helpful it would be under the circumstances. Might be worth a try.


#31

M

mechanic mark

Amazon.com: Briggs & Stratton 272144 Vanguard V-Twin OHV Repair Manual : Industrial & Scientific

Buy Briggs & Stratton 272144 Vanguard V-Twin OHV Repair Manual: Potentiometers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
This Manual is a must have for Vanguard owners. Your engine takes 48oz. of oil at oil & filter change. I prefer using Full Synthetic 5w-30 because that is what my Engine Manual suggested..

Results

www.briggsandstratton.com www.briggsandstratton.com


#32

S

Stokdgs

Stokdgs said:
Snapper Owner, You, your Sweetheart, and your Family are All in my prayers of Faith...
Click to expand...

Snapper Owner - Have offered many times, prayers of Faith for you and yours..
And will continue to do this..

Just want you to know that all your posts, especially all your pictures, were probably the best I have ever seen on this Forum ! Thank you for going to that much detail and work..

Have an idea - Do not know where you live, but perhaps, someone on this Forum lives close by and will be willing to stop by and lend you another pair of hands with this...

I am not very good at small engine repair (and that is why I have been here), but I am very happy to offer to come and help you.. I live in Northern California, off of Highway 70, close to Marysville, Yuba City, California..
Am willing to drive with tools, anywhere around these parts to try to assist..

Perhaps, others on this Forum may also want to help..

What do you think ?
Stokdgs-


#33

M

mechanic mark

I'm pretty sure a Small Engine Tech School with Instructor would want a project like yours for learning, meaning no labor charge you just pay for the parts.


Footer Links 1

Top