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Hello guys I am new to the forum. Hopefully someone can help me :smile:

I just acquired an older Husqvarna YTH1542XP, for free :biggrin:

It has a Kawasaki 15hp xp series engine, and it starts up great. However, it smokes enough white/bluish smoke to clear mosquitos for miles.

The guy that gave it to me said the rings are worn out and need to be replaced. Now, I have done a little research and have found that rings aren't always the issue.

Clogged breather? Bad fuel pump?

I don't know where the breather or fuel pump is so I have not checked or diagnosed anything.

The tractor has 1001 hours on it. Would it be worth fixing or should I just replace the entire engine?

Thanks for any insight, looking forward to hearing responses.

With over 1000 hours I would say it probably needs more than just rings. I would look more at just replacing the engine if the rest of the mower is in good condition.

Most likely, I will replace the engine.

But before I drop $400 on a new B&S, I would like to try cheaper alternatives to fixing the engine; such as checking the breather and fuel pump.

Can someone tell me where these are located?

It would be great if it were just a simple issue.

does the smoke go away after a few minutes might also be valve guides just look at everything befor you decide

Smoke does not go away.

Do you guys think taking every apart and giving the insides a good cleaning will help? With 1001 hours, there's got to be a lot of carbon and gunk built up.

I personaly would love to tear this engine apart with my team. I would use it as a learning tool. I work for the university of arkansas, when i started I took two "condemend" engines and made them "sing" again

Shackelchevy77 said:

I personaly would love to tear this engine apart with my team. I would use it as a learning tool. I work for the university of arkansas, when i started I took two "condemend" engines and made them "sing" again

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That's what it looks like im doing in the next week or two. Can't wait to find all of the goodies inside :laughing:

In the mean time, I need to find an engine to slap on the tractor so I can plow.

Make sure the engine is not fouled with gasoline - this will make the same white oily smoke

MrPlow said:

Most likely, I will replace the engine.

But before I drop $400 on a new B&S, I would like to try cheaper alternatives to fixing the engine; such as checking the breather and fuel pump.

Can someone tell me where these are located?

It would be great if it were just a simple issue.

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If you can drop in a Briggs for 400 dollars you should do it. Parts for a Kawasaki are very expensive and to do a PROPER overhaul it will cost way more then 400 dollars. The only problem you are going to have is that going from a Kawasaki to a B&S you are going to find nothing fits right. Also breather and fuel pump has nothing to do with burning oil but sure wouldn't hurt to check them being a very simple job. When I say a proper OH that includes machine shop work but when you are done it will be as good as new and plan on spending money. Also maybe you could find a good used Kawasaki engine at a mower salvage yard.

The Kawasaki was toast.

After some fresh oil, it started producing a knock and then it finally went.

If I wanted to rebuild it, I could as I have all of the tools and machinery to do so but I won't be doing that.

I have two Briggs' sitting around and I'm putting one on now as we speak.

MrPlow said:

The Kawasaki was toast.

After some fresh oil, it started producing a knock and then it finally went.

If I wanted to rebuild it, I could as I have all of the tools and machinery to do so but I won't be doing that.

I have two Briggs' sitting around and I'm putting one on now as we speak.

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Why in the world would you just run the Kawasaki into the ground if you had the use of a complete machine shop? You sure would of been better off then one of the B&S engines. Of course with all your equipment you shouldn't have any problems making the B&S fit. You are very lucky because very few people have that option. What was the 400 dollar B&S a new one?

reynoldston said:

Why in the world would you just run the Kawasaki into the ground if you had the use of a complete machine shop? You sure would of been better off then one of the B&S engines. Of course with all your equipment you shouldn't have any problems making the B&S fit. You are very lucky because very few people have that option. What was the 400 dollar B&S a new one?

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I can still salvage the Kawasaki for future projects and eventually a rebuild. I didn't intentionally destroy it. Before I took it off the tractor to diassemble it, I wanted to try fresh oil because when it smoked, it smelt of gas, so I thought the oil might've been contaminated. Right as I started it up it started knocking and that was it for the engine. Oil was seeping out of where the head is bolted to the block.

My original plan was to take it apart and fix it anyways. Now it will give me something to do when I have some free time.

As we all know, Kawasaki parts are quite expensive. And around here parts for small engines are scarce which makes them more expensive. Even though I can machine a majority of parts, there are still parts I am going to need to order which would cost me around $450. Since the tractor was free, I'm really not too concerned of not getting it fixed right away. For all I know, with 1001 hrs it has on it, I could spend the $500 or so on the engine and then have the tranny fail. That's why I'm trying not to go deep into my wallet.

The $400 Briggs' is a buddy of mine that has one for sale; it is used but is very well taken care of with not too much use. I opted not to buy it now, because I'm going to tinker with the 6hp Briggs' I have. If it doesn't work, I'll buy his Briggs.

You can see that thread here on the engine swap. I havent had too much time to work on it; it's a slow work in process.:

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/small-engine-mower-repair/6735-engine-swap.html