I have a 3 year old Johnny Deere LA-115. Only 70 hours, well maintained and it started burning oil. Lightly at idle heavily under load. This shouldn't happen!
This morning I put in a new Breather Reed. Old one looked fine drain hole clear. This was not the problem. I think my next step will be a new head gasket.
Am I moving in the right direction...Oh, it sees to be running fine.
FMJ
Welcome to the Mower Forum. If you pulled the head you could see the top of the piston and may find some scoring on the cylinder as you rotate the engine through a couple of cycles by hand. But to check ring gaps and hone the cylinder to make the new rings reset would require dis-assembly. Do that only as a last resort. Before I pulled the head I would run a compression test to see if it had adequate pressure. Most cases I've seen of oil burning are 1) too much oil in the engine 2) worn valve guides sucking oil down between the guides and valve stems. 3) bad rings on the piston causing blow by. 4) Crankcase not venting properly could cause oil pressure to build in the crankcase and it will come out somewhere. Odd how it just suddenly started smoking. It may not be anything major, and just a minor issue.
Thanks for the quick response. I gave my compression tester to my son (Halls Crossroads TN) and I'm in MI. I guess I'll stop by Harbor Freight in the morning.
