oil leak- MTD rider, tecumseh 13HP

[rigoletto]

Thanks Ile! Will come in handy at time of assembly. But, now- trouble: I did get the pulley bolt off with help of the strap wrench, but now pulley wont drop down. Even tried to gently pound on it downward (hard to do). Should I try a long pry bar and keep prying downward? I was hoping to maybe find/feel for a set screw/key stop, but nothing.....

Thanks!

 

[rigoletto]

There has to be some kind of shop manual for this mower......Im still searching..........

 

[rigoletto]

OK, sprayed PB blaster, jiggled back and forth, up/down. pulley came off. Then, peeked up there and could not see any sign of oil. Dang.

So, I ran the engine at idle for about 5 minutes, and waited another 5 min, and no signs of oil drips at the oil seal!! Geez, maybe its not the seal!

Peeked around, and there is black crud around head gasket. Maybe its that. But again, no "oily" drips from head area. Where am I loosing oil from? I have no choice but to put pulley back on, clean/pressure wash the entire engine/deck/rider, and start from scratch. I will mow maybe for 10-15 min, then inspect closer with uv light/Flash Gordon glasses. I doubt it comes from the head, right? Cuz leaky head shouldnt ooze oil anyway- just loose power/hard starting. I dont have that.



Any tips still appreciated, as I have not solved this mystery, guys.

Thnaks

 

[rigoletto]

heres a picture of the leak so far- note the tip of the silvery awl point. that is the oozed oil leak so far with dye. That oil spot is drivers side, rear engine. Not far behind the oil filling tube (no leaks around tube/base of tube)

 

[rigoletto]

OK, heres the link to a bigger picture- easier to see the oil/dye:

oops. sorry- trouble with picture.....Oh well, hope small picture is adequate....

 

[reynoldston]

It looks like you did all the hard work. A seal is cheap and easy to change so why in the world would you not change it. This would at the lease give you a new lower crankshaft seal for less then five dollars.

 

[rigoletto]

It looks like you did all the hard work. A seal is cheap and easy to change so why in the world would you not change it. This would at the lease give you a new lower crankshaft seal for less then five dollars.

Geez, your right, reynold. I have no problem with that. Still, nagged about why the oil sela looks "dry" with the oil slopped around. I will yank the seal/put new, and go from there.

Thanks, Man.

 

[reynoldston]

As far as the oil leak goes. Could it be leaking from the crankcase vent, or could the vent be pluged. Also another spot is the crankcase split or have a cover. Could the bolts be loose to this. Could the top crankshaft seal be leaking. Realy not that many places on a small engine that can be leaking oil. I had a older tecumseh leaking oil in my repair shop this pass fall that the valve cover case was broken but I don't think you have the same model engine.

Good luck Nick

 

[rigoletto]

As far as the oil leak goes. Could it be leaking from the crankcase vent, or could the vent be pluged. Also another spot is the crankcase split or have a cover. Could the bolts be loose to this. Could the top crankshaft seal be leaking. Realy not that many places on a small engine that can be leaking oil. I had a older tecumseh leaking oil in my repair shop this pass fall that the valve cover case was broken but I don't think you have the same model engine.

Good luck Nick

Thnaks, Nick. I need all the tips I can get. Update: I popped in a new bottom seal. Im back to square 1. test drove it (mowed about 5-10 minutes), and stopped, looked, and dang, oil leak at the same spot!!!

Now, I undid the pulley assembly again(easy this time), and no leakage at the main seal! Only spot with oil collecting was at that spot I pointed out in my photo!! Yeah, right at the tip of the point of the aluminum awl I placed for reference. I cant figure it out. There is no engine "split" there, and no other oil leakage/seepage/migration (not even from the filler tube area).

Take another look at that photo. its between the engine and the frame base. AND, its not coming from the lower crank seal.

This is an unsolved mystery, people..........

 

[rigoletto]

Oh, just for the heck of it, is that vent near the carb? Still, if so, no leakage anywhere visible there that would eventually run to the area where I see the oil collect- like I said- mystery.