OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Tecumseh / Kirby Engines 4 stroke Tecumseh Oil leak.

Hey Guys,
I recently picked up this Tecumseh 5hp engine as a trade. The mower was a bit of a mess when I picked it up and hadn�t been maintained in a very long time.
The guy who traded it said it was using a bit of oil however he had kept it toped up.
So far I have:
Cleaned the carb � replaced all o rings on the emulsifier as they crumbled upon cleaning
Replaced the air filter
Replaced spark plug and the blades.
The mower had a good clean and I took it out today in the paddock for a tune first up to get the idle and full speed adjustments correct. This went pretty standard and wasn�t too difficult to get running correctly. Note: I have the mixture screw on the carb 1.5 turns out.
The mower blows a little smoke upon start up however that soon cleared up and generally it mowed reasonably well. The engine is a little down on power compared to similar engines but overall it performed reasonably well. The engine starts on the first pull and is reasonably easy to use.
After giving it a good run today I noticed an oil leak which appears to be coming from the engine breather � see my photo�s. I thought it might be coming from the top seal however I am reasonably confident it�s coming from the breather. I might be wrong through.
I have never encountered this type of problem before so I would appreciate some more experienced peoples thoughts. The photos show the engine details.
Note I cleaned around the breather before taking the photo.
Cheers
Peter

Hi Pete, pull the flywheel off and make sure the rubber is seated correctly. It should be fairly tight in there. If it's loose or sated and still leaking either replace it or put some silastic around it.
Also make sure it's venting correctly, put your finger on the end and make sure you get some pressure there, while the motor is running.

I agree with bigted. I have one and fixed the leak. The best mower I have. It starts that easy that my wife said it was hers. I am stuck with my victas and bns

Thanks Ted,

I got the flywheel off and the breather cover deffinately wasnt tight so I used some silastic around the edges and re-installed in today. Because its so damm cold in Canberra I thought it best to let it cure for 24 hours before re-starting the engine. I am pretty confident it will be all good however I will reserve my judgement for tomorrow after work when I give it a run.

I have done a fair few tecumseh's now and havent encountered this problem before. Is it rare or reasonably common?

Seperate question - I dont have a tecumseh flywheel puller so I used my 3 arm puller to remove the flywheel which I know I shouldnt do. Ive got a briggs puller that I use regularly just wanted to opinions on how to best remove the tecumseh units for the future. I have included some pictures before for the thread.

Just by looking at the photo Peter, and the placement of the oil on and aroung the higher castings in the block, i would take an educated guess and say that the top seal is the culprit here. Might pay to change that too while you're at it.

Good suggestion.

Its all fixed now and back together. It is still starting easily on the first pull of the starter cord so its deffinately ready for a new home.

Thanks for the the suggestion re the breather. Its now sealed up very nicely and not leaking any oil.

Hopefully this thread can help others in the future.

What do you want for it Jaffa J?

Gday SeanW,
Send us a PM if your interested otherwise I think the moderators can close this thread.