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One month old, Model 21199 30" Toro Timemaster with 223cc Briggs & Stratton. Leaking what appears to be oil, but could be gas, as indicated on attached photo. Anyone else have this problem with this gasket? I know I should have it repaired under warranty but I bought it at Home Depot so I would just as soon fix it myself if possible. Thanks for any advice you may have.

To me it just looks like something was drip on it. Because we don’t know what it is, kind of hard to tell you how to proceed. My suggestion is to whip everything completely clean, as well as the area directly about where the spill starts and see if the liquid reappears. If it doesn’t, problem solved. If it does, take a picture from the side so we can see what is directly above it.

Looks like carb needle and seat time.

Pull the oil dipstick and smell for fuel.

Rivets said:

To me it just looks like something was drip on it. Because we don’t know what it is, kind of hard to tell you how to proceed. My suggestion is to whip everything completely clean, as well as the area directly about where the spill starts and see if the liquid reappears. If it doesn’t, problem solved. If it does, take a picture from the side so we can see what is directly above it.

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I had it wiped off (it was a larger oily area) and today it leaked again from directly above, click the picture and you can see where I put the red arrow. There seems to be a gasket there that is slightly wet.

slomo said:

Looks like carb needle and seat time.

Pull the oil dipstick and smell for fuel.

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Are you serious? Could that even be possible on a brand new motor? I'll take the damn thing back if there is gas in the oil. Hard to smell it though everything smells like grass and oil.

JPK Omaha said:

Are you serious? Could that even be possible on a brand new motor? I'll take the damn thing back if there is gas in the oil. Hard to smell it though everything smells like grass and oil.

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Yes.

New doesn't mean it works. As in your mower now.

If you smell gas on your oil dipstick, take it back. Unleaded is easy for me to smell. Stuff wreaks like, gas.

Rivets said:

To me it just looks like something was drip on it. Because we don’t know what it is, kind of hard to tell you how to proceed. My suggestion is to whip everything completely clean, as well as the area directly about where the spill starts and see if the liquid reappears. If it doesn’t, problem solved. If it does, take a picture from the side so we can see what is directly above it.

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good advice here

Just caught this from OP. Said it's leaking where his red arrow is. Looks like the carb again to me.

Might turn your phone to take pictures. Sliver cam is so 1989.

I did click on the picture, which tells me nothing. I asked for a picture of the side, 90 degrees to the right, to get a perspective. The pic you posted doesn’t tell me what’s above the drip.

Rivets said:

I did click on the picture, which tells me nothing. I asked for a picture of the side, 90 degrees to the right, to get a perspective. The pic you posted doesn’t tell me what’s above the drip.

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Here's 2 more photos, one from the right, and another closeup with a red arrow showing where I think it is leaking.

The drip is coming from the air filter housing which looks like has been done up too tight & is now warped.
The drip is caused by oil coming from the crankcase via the breather.
This happens because the crankcase is over full or the head gasket has blown or the breather check valve has failed

The first one is not a warranty claim regardless of weather it was caused by the owner putting too much oil the engine or the carb float valve has failed and fuel is entering the engine diluting the oil and that is considered again to be an owners fault from using bad fuel, or contaminated fuel .

Thanks bertsmobile for your response. I never touched the air filter housing until today when I took it off to take the pictures. I put the one bottle of Toro oil in the lawnmower that Toro provided in the crate with the lawnmower, so I did not overfill it. I used fresh fuel the several times I fueled it. So of the things you listed it sounds like the breather check valve might be the problem. Is the breather check valve the black plastic thing under the air filter? Could a bad breather check valve cause gas to get mixed with oil in the crankcase?

JPK Omaha said:

I put the one bottle of Toro oil in the lawnmower that Toro provided in the crate with the lawnmower, so I did not overfill it.

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Did you check the oil level after dumping in said oil? Or just toss the entire bottle in and call it good?

Take your finger. Drag it through the spilled liquid. Smell what it is for us? Run the liquid through your fingers. Is it slick like oil or does it smell like gas? We can't be there with you.

JPK Omaha said:

Thanks bertsmobile for your response. I never touched the air filter housing until today when I took it off to take the pictures. I put the one bottle of Toro oil in the lawnmower that Toro provided in the crate with the lawnmower, so I did not overfill it. I used fresh fuel the several times I fueled it. So of the things you listed it sounds like the breather check valve might be the problem. Is the breather check valve the black plastic thing under the air filter? Could a bad breather check valve cause gas to get mixed with oil in the crankcase?

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Well there are several problems
1) the seal between the air filter and the carb is not sound because the oil should not be able to leak out of it .
2) Too much oil will cause oil to be spewed out of the breather & into the filter housing Was it a 450ml bottle or a 1 liter bottle ( good for 2 oil changes ) ?
3) have you checked the oil level on the dip stick ?
4) the breather will be at the other end of the rubber tube on the back of the air filter box
5) No a bad check vale causes oil to spew out of the breather which ends up being sucked into the carb & create lots of smoke .

slomo said:

Did you check the oil level after dumping in said oil? Or just toss the entire bottle in and call it good?

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Oil capacity is 18 oz. Toro provided an 18 oz. bottle of oil, that's what I put in. I did check the oil level at the beginning, and it is still just over the top mark. I plan to do the recommended 5 hour oil change this weekend.

bertsmobile1 said:

Well there are several problems
1) the seal between the air filter and the carb is not sound because the oil should not be able to leak out of it .
2) Too much oil will cause oil to be spewed out of the breather & into the filter housing Was it a 450ml bottle or a 1 liter bottle ( good for 2 oil changes ) ?
3) have you checked the oil level on the dip stick ?
4) the breather will be at the other end of the rubber tube on the back of the air filter box
5) No a bad check vale causes oil to spew out of the breather which ends up being sucked into the carb & create lots of smoke .

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Thanks bertsmobile.
1) The seal on the bottom of the air filter appears good and is dry. The air filter is dry. The air filter housing is dry.
2) Toro provided a 18 oz bottle of oil, (photo attached). Presumably that's what they intend to go into the motor. Motor oil capacity is 18oz. Yes I checked the oil level before I started the motor.
3) The oil on the dipstick is still slightly above the top mark.
5) The motor has not produced any smoke in the 5 or 6 hours I have operated it.

At this point I don't want to keep it if there has been gas introduced into the oil in the crankcase. But I can't tell if that has happened. The dripping onto the deck appears to be oily. The dipstick smells mostly like oil but hard to say for sure. I'm also wondering if this is a common problem with these $1500 lawnmowers.

slomo said:

Take your finger. Drag it through the spilled liquid. Smell what it is for us? Run the liquid through your fingers. Is it slick like oil or does it smell like gas? We can't be there with you.

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Thanks for your reply. The dripping fluid appears oily. It is wet and shiny and slick. If it was just gas it would evaporate. I can't really detect a smell but I can't say that it smells like gas.

Having worked on these Toro mowers since they came out, oil level slightly above the full mark on the dipstick is not something I would worry about, unless it smells like fuel.

JPK Omaha said:

I did check the oil level at the beginning, and it is still just over the top mark.

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Oil is over filled.

Just over, over, Roger over, over and out. All of those mean over filled. Over and out.....

JPK Omaha said:

I plan to do the recommended 5 hour oil change this weekend.

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THIS I do agree with. On a new mower engine, I would mow 5 times. Change the oil hot after every mow. Get all that break in metal out. Oil is cheap. Get a gallon of Supertech SAE 30w for $12.86 at wallys mart.

JPK Omaha said:

also wondering if this is a common problem with these $1500 lawnmowers.

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Common to over fill the oil, yes. It's critical you do not over fill the oil.

If you can't smell the oil dipstick checking for fuel, get someone else to sniff it. Let's confirm there is no gas in the oil.

You have a great machine sir. I want to get you mowing grass. Let's keep top notch care with it.

Rivets said:

Having worked on these Toro mowers since they came out, oil level slightly above the full mark on the dipstick is not something I would worry about, unless it smells like fuel.

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Well why then put a full mark on the stick? You sure don't do this behavior on a full pressure lubed engine. Sorry, I'm anal about some oil.

If it’s no smoking during operation, I would replace that gasket between the carb and filter cover and the if no more drips I would not worry about it. The OP has not said the the oil level increases, just that it is above the high mark. If it continues to drip or starts smoking, then it would be time to hit the repair shop. To be honest, but I’m not there and from the OP’s description, I don’t see anything which would be covered by warranty. The OP can do as he pleases and what works best for him. He asked for help and I’m not going to get in an argument over a line on a dipstick.

Reported multiple threads.