SnapperOwner
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- Aug 28, 2021
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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.
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.
