Okay, I can do that. I'll come back once we've had a look. Hope "broken" is easy to assess.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.
Disassembled the breather assembly that's part of the #2 Rocker Cover. Oil looks freshJust 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?
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A cracked head or a holed pistonIf 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.
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.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?
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.
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.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.
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.
Snapper Owner, You, your Sweetheart, and your Family are All in my prayers of Faith...