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Kawasaki FH721V blowing smoke
#1
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
My 2012 (I believe) Z4 ran fine last year with 334 hrs and just a couple of weeks ago and then tried to start and it would run for a few seconds but blow a lot of white smoke and then die. All this smoke was more relevant for a water cooled motor with blown head gasket but not air cooled motor. So disgusted and tried started couple of more times, still huge clouds of smokes, let it sit for days while I looked online for an answer. The oil looks spic and span, haven't changed it yet for the new season but frankly shocked it looked so clean. But I only used it late August, Sept, Oct of last year on under 4 acres. It doesn't seem to be making any noises out of the ordinary and now its starting and running ok but a little blue smoke out of exhaust that was not there last season. Kind of afraid to run it. Guess I should do compression check to make sure valve seat or guide or valve itself is not causing issue. Before, when it was smoking real bad, it was barely running and saw some oil drops blowing out of exhaust pipe. ???? Anyone??? This really could be anything like rings but I'm baffled and really disappointed about what I'm reading about Kawasaki motors.
#2
S
slomo
Sounds to me like over filled oil last season and or a blown head gasket. Make sure the oil level is proper first with aired up tires on flat ground.
Haven't read about any maintenance done on her in 12 years. Valves ran? Cooling fins cleaned yearly or sooner?
S
slomo
Um they make some of the best out there. Most problems are from poor or lack of maintenance. It ran great when it was new right? You loved Kawi then right?I'm baffled and really disappointed about what I'm reading about Kawasaki motors.
She's getting old.My 2012
Do you check the oil level with the stick screwed all the way into the dip stick holder? Or do you park the stick on top of the dipstick threads, then pull for a reading? Big difference here.The oil looks spic and span
Pull the oil dip stick out. Smell for fuel. You said the oil was clean, long shot here.now its starting and running ok but a little blue smoke out of exhaust that was not there last season.
Sounds to me like over filled oil last season and or a blown head gasket. Make sure the oil level is proper first with aired up tires on flat ground.
Haven't read about any maintenance done on her in 12 years. Valves ran? Cooling fins cleaned yearly or sooner?
#3
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
Um they make some of the best out there. Most problems are from poor or lack of maintenance. It ran great when it was new right? You loved Kawi then right?
She's getting old.
Do you check the oil level with the stick screwed all the way into the dip stick holder? Or do you park the stick on top of the dipstick threads, then pull for a reading? Big difference here.
Pull the oil dip stick out. Smell for fuel. You said the oil was clean, long shot here.
Sounds to me like over filled oil last season and or a blown head gasket. Make sure the oil level is proper first with aired up tires on flat ground.
Haven't read about any maintenance done on her in 12 years. Valves ran? Cooling fins cleaned yearly or sooner
#5
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
I bought the mower last year used from a reputable Hustler dealer who said it was owner's personal mower traded in on a larger model and he was a service manager who used dealer shop for maintenance. Oil was super clean as well as the mower. I used it end of last season. Just drained oil tonight and smelled like gas and its very thin, like oil has been diluted. I tried to find and initial response on internet that carb could have flooded and diluted oil in crankcase but haven't been able to find that article again. Before changing oil I've run the motor for under a minute a few times - initially I was having the heavy smoke and now that's gone away it was starting better but was concerned about damaging motor until I find problem. So maybe the float was stuck causing that white smoke? then straightened out but diluted crankcase oil. So putting in fresh oil/filter. and will start over in AM to run it and see if its still smoking with the fresh oil. Hope cylinder walls haven't been scored or worse, bearings scored. I thought if carb was flooding, motor would run rich or not at all. Still baffled. By the way, fins are clean, I blow mower off after mowing and when cool, I'll sometimes hose it down. I'm cognizant of motor and trans cooler must be kept clean and in top shape for longevity. Appreciate all comments and always learning so don't hesitate to hit me with you thoughts. I'll continue to update this thread for the record.
#6
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
I bought the mower last year used from a reputable Hustler dealer who said it was owner's personal mower traded in on a larger model and he was a service manager who used dealer shop for maintenance. Oil was super clean as well as the mower. I used it end of last season. Just drained oil tonight and smelled like gas and its very thin, like oil has been diluted. I tried to find and initial response on internet that carb could have flooded and diluted oil in crankcase but haven't been able to find that article again. Before changing oil I've run the motor for under a minute a few times - initially I was having the heavy smoke and now that's gone away it was starting better but was concerned about damaging motor until I find problem. So maybe the float was stuck causing that white smoke? then straightened out but diluted crankcase oil. So putting in fresh oil/filter. and will start over in AM to run it and see if its still smoking with the fresh oil. Hope cylinder walls haven't been scored or worse, bearings scored. I thought if carb was flooding, motor would run rich or not at all. Still baffled. By the way, fins are clean, I blow mower off after mowing and when cool, I'll sometimes hose it down. I'm cognizant of motor and trans cooler must be kept clean and in top shape for longevity. Appreciate all comments and always learning so don't hesitate to hit me with you thoughts. I'll continue to update this thread for the record.
#7
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
Btw, I'm hoping that dealer wasn't feeding me a line about that mower because my closest Hustler dealer doesn't seem to have a competent staff to maintain or even sell as I've been there to rent Hustlers in the past and had problems with one which I returned the following day and was not compensated with another model to use. Additionally, I had been in to look at different models a few times and they showed no interest in showing me any models. The other dealer, 25 miles away, had many in inventory and always had a couple used models to sell. They were also more keen to meet me face to face when I was looking and asking if I had questions etc.
#8
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
Very common fault
A tiny it of crud gets stuck under the float valve so the fuel tank can syphon into the engine .
Usually simply removing the float bowl and allowing the fuel to pour out the carb will clear the obstruction
If the valve is good with you figer holding the float parallel to the floor of the carb and the engine crankin it shouls stop the fuel flow.
If the flat goes up & touches the carb body then it is time for a new float valve
A tiny it of crud gets stuck under the float valve so the fuel tank can syphon into the engine .
Usually simply removing the float bowl and allowing the fuel to pour out the carb will clear the obstruction
If the valve is good with you figer holding the float parallel to the floor of the carb and the engine crankin it shouls stop the fuel flow.
If the flat goes up & touches the carb body then it is time for a new float valve
#9
F
floyd r turbo
F
floyd r turbo
Just an update on this thread - I changed oil and filter after leaving drain open and flushing with some fresh oil to hopefully remove any fuel residue in crankcase. Put in 1.6 liters of 10w-30 as specified. When I started the mower it was still blowing oil smoke. Decided to cut 3/4 of acre and see what happened. After completing the yard, no more smoke so it sort of self cured?? Seems to run as it should. Thank you for all your help and suggestions. Will have to keep a close eye on motor, change fuel filter, air filter, and look into adjusting valves along with transmission components.
#10
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
Thanks for coming back.
The thin oil ends up inside the muffler so can take a while to burn off
The thin oil ends up inside the muffler so can take a while to burn off
#12
S
smallenginerepairs
S
smallenginerepairs
The float in the carb will overflow the carb, will enter the cylinder and end up in the oil. I put a gas shut-off valve on all my riders and never have to worry about that issue. It also helps when putting it away for the season. I leave the fuel shut off and run the engine until it dies. I then empty the fuel tank and I don't have to clean my carb each new season. Unleaded fuel begins to breakdown after 3 months. If you leave fuel in your mower at the end of the summer cutting season, your carb will need cleaning in the spring. On all my equipment:rider mowers, push mowers, chainsaws, weed whips etc., i always drain the fuel tanks and run the engines till they die, to drain the carbs, and when I put new fuel in them in the spring, I never have a carb problem with them !!I bought the mower last year used from a reputable Hustler dealer who said it was owner's personal mower traded in on a larger model and he was a service manager who used dealer shop for maintenance. Oil was super clean as well as the mower. I used it end of last season. Just drained oil tonight and smelled like gas and its very thin, like oil has been diluted. I tried to find and initial response on internet that carb could have flooded and diluted oil in crankcase but haven't been able to find that article again. Before changing oil I've run the motor for under a minute a few times - initially I was having the heavy smoke and now that's gone away it was starting better but was concerned about damaging motor until I find problem. So maybe the float was stuck causing that white smoke? then straightened out but diluted crankcase oil. So putting in fresh oil/filter. and will start over in AM to run it and see if its still smoking with the fresh oil. Hope cylinder walls haven't been scored or worse, bearings scored. I thought if carb was flooding, motor would run rich or not at all. Still baffled. By the way, fins are clean, I blow mower off after mowing and when cool, I'll sometimes hose it down. I'm cognizant of motor and trans cooler must be kept clean and in top shape for longevity. Appreciate all comments and always learning so don't hesitate to hit me with you thoughts. I'll continue to update this thread for the record.
#13
C
Cajun power
C
Cajun power
334 hrs
past time to do the valve clearance maintenance. get the kawasaki service manual. And be aware there is a KNOWN error in the service manual with respect to valve clearance gap! If you have questions about this, you will not be the first person to notice there is an error in the kawasaki manuals and even the service manual. So get good advice from people who know what the valve clearance should be and some tips and tricks on how to find proper Top Dead Center. on my FR691V's (I have 3 mowers with that engine, the gap is .004 inches..both exhaust and intake. and top dead center is located PER THE SERVICE MANUAL by rotating the flywheel CLOCKWISE (as you are looking at it from above the flywheel standing over it). In the service manual, there is a diagram showing where top dead center is in relation to the flywheel magnet and the coils assembly. Follow that. Some will advise a gap slightly larger for the intake at .005 inches. You mileage on that advise will vary. I use .004 inches for both and it passes leak down every time, so that is good enough for me.
according to the service manual and also my experience, it is a good idea to remove the cylinder heads and clean all the soot and relap the valve and inspect them to make sure the valve seats are not damaged or valve stuck open and REPLACE the cylinder head gaskets. I use ONLY copper gaskets...it's better heat transfer, a better fit, and better squish and cheaper than the junk kawasaki OEM head gaskets...even over the so called "improved" kawasaki composite head gaskets (simple stamped aluminum with the fiber embed). Use a torque wrench and sequence to tighten the head cylinder. Don't guess. (you may also want to cheap for head cylinder warp on mating surfaces per the manual too. A simple metal straight ruler in the dark with a flashlight is all you need to find out of plane mating surfaces. If you see light, you have a problem. Do this across several angles over each mating surface. While rare, cylinder heads can warp...especially when they run really really hot and you get stuck in a unexpected cold rain down pour..or your idiot cousin insists on washing down a very hot engine with the hose every time he mows (don't ask!)
For my kawasaki engines I use 10w-40...for the high hour machines, it's 10W-50. Synthetic. If you run them hard, and often, do frequent oil and filter changes...I do it every 50 hours of operation. Oil and filters are cheap. These are air cooled engines. clean oil helps the life of these engines more than just about anything else.
I always shut the engine off using a fuel cutoff valve. I do this because fuel in the carb during storage causes problems with gumming. Installing a fuel shutoff valve is easy. I put it right before the fuel pump.
past time to do the valve clearance maintenance. get the kawasaki service manual. And be aware there is a KNOWN error in the service manual with respect to valve clearance gap! If you have questions about this, you will not be the first person to notice there is an error in the kawasaki manuals and even the service manual. So get good advice from people who know what the valve clearance should be and some tips and tricks on how to find proper Top Dead Center. on my FR691V's (I have 3 mowers with that engine, the gap is .004 inches..both exhaust and intake. and top dead center is located PER THE SERVICE MANUAL by rotating the flywheel CLOCKWISE (as you are looking at it from above the flywheel standing over it). In the service manual, there is a diagram showing where top dead center is in relation to the flywheel magnet and the coils assembly. Follow that. Some will advise a gap slightly larger for the intake at .005 inches. You mileage on that advise will vary. I use .004 inches for both and it passes leak down every time, so that is good enough for me.
according to the service manual and also my experience, it is a good idea to remove the cylinder heads and clean all the soot and relap the valve and inspect them to make sure the valve seats are not damaged or valve stuck open and REPLACE the cylinder head gaskets. I use ONLY copper gaskets...it's better heat transfer, a better fit, and better squish and cheaper than the junk kawasaki OEM head gaskets...even over the so called "improved" kawasaki composite head gaskets (simple stamped aluminum with the fiber embed). Use a torque wrench and sequence to tighten the head cylinder. Don't guess. (you may also want to cheap for head cylinder warp on mating surfaces per the manual too. A simple metal straight ruler in the dark with a flashlight is all you need to find out of plane mating surfaces. If you see light, you have a problem. Do this across several angles over each mating surface. While rare, cylinder heads can warp...especially when they run really really hot and you get stuck in a unexpected cold rain down pour..or your idiot cousin insists on washing down a very hot engine with the hose every time he mows (don't ask!)
For my kawasaki engines I use 10w-40...for the high hour machines, it's 10W-50. Synthetic. If you run them hard, and often, do frequent oil and filter changes...I do it every 50 hours of operation. Oil and filters are cheap. These are air cooled engines. clean oil helps the life of these engines more than just about anything else.
I always shut the engine off using a fuel cutoff valve. I do this because fuel in the carb during storage causes problems with gumming. Installing a fuel shutoff valve is easy. I put it right before the fuel pump.