I had a strong gas smell from the oil when I change it. I read that the leading cause is leaving the fuel shutoff valve open in storage. So I changed the oil and made sure to always close the valve. After a few cuttings, I have a gas smell again in the oil which is translucent brown, not black. So I am wondering what the second leading cause of gas in oil? Here are my observations:
- The engine has 1000 hrs on it
- Two, maybe three years ago one of the pushrods bent like a hockey stick. Don't know what caused that, the valve moved freely and hasn't reoccured.
- The compression is 100 psi in one cylinder and 90 psi in the other. The manual says 57psi and that higher readings could be from carbon buildup.
- Under no load, the engine runs fine on the 100 psi cylinder only and runs poorly on the 90 psi cylinder only.
- Sparkplugs from both cylinders look normal, dry with no oil or other deposits.