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Repair guides and support for a wide range of small engines.

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I put new oil in my Lawn Mower now it smoking white

I have Cub Cadet riding lawn mower LTX1045

I was putting new oil in it and then started it up. It started smoking white smoke. I then checked oil level again and drained some out cause it was too full on the stick it said although I thought added under what the store even told me to add when changing the oil.

After checking level again I tried to start it. It would not start. It tried to turn over few times but then would not start at all. I am not sure what to do. Oil was in my air fliter so I ordered a new part to change it but I cleaned it up cause wasn't very much. I also ordered a new oil filter in case needed that. Should I try something else?

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Hello, I have the same issue with my Craftsman riding mower. It is spitting oil out of the muffler and out of the oil reservoir, also the white smoke. Could it be the head gasket?

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Yeah I have the same issue with my tb320 it’s blows white smoke . At first it’s blows a lot of white smoke out then the smoke just stops blowing while the lawnmower is still functioning . My question is it still operable to use while the smoke is still blowing ? Or should I just leave it alone for a bit ?

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We have a ltx1045 spewing oil and white smoke when starting. No problem starting though and runs fine. But it is obviously leaking oil. What could be the problem. Thanks in advance for your help!!!!!

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Mine is blowing white smoke and idling very high....

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You may need a new ring on the piston? Probably not sealing in the piston shaft.

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its because you put to much oil in.no big deal..double check that you have right amount in do this first...

pull spark plug make sure its clean, reinstall

use some carb cleaner clean out air box and since you bought new filter throw it in..you might be able to clean old filter depending on what type it is in a pinch..but new filters are cheap enough..

it should start it may smoke for a little but if it doesn't quit you may need to repeat steps..including checking oil level on dipstick.

the motor will dump oil into the carb if it gets tipped over to kill engine..or if you put to much in..

hope this helps.

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My lawn did the same thing but oil in my carb

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Also if you tip mower to clean deck etc. Its possible to drain oil into carb which will saturate air filter..

Solution: clean or replace filter and spark plug. Check oil. Add if needed.

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Bad information on specifications of oil capacity for cub cadet. I put 2 1/2 quarts in and traffic stopped on my street because they thought something was on fire. I turned it off and emerged out of the white cloud. I googled why and found this website. Thank God I didn’t do any damage Because my rider is not that old. Thanks to the guy on this site who solved my problem

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Mine is doing the same exact thing. I got the fire Department called. I know I put too much oil so I drained it out to the proper amount. Did you clean the air filter? Or how did you fix?

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Mine did the same thing and I replaced the Carburetor. Still did the same thing. Turned out the old carb leaked gasoline into my oil crankcase. This is a common problem so check the oil first to see if it has gas in it. I drained out the oil crankcase then replaced it with oil. Now it's working much better.

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the breather is clogged which is the reason mower will not start. White smoke is an indicator of a blown head gasket and/ or moister in the fuel related components. Blue smoke would indicate high oil consumption, clogged breather, oil soaked filter, or worst case, piston ring failure, and/ or seal leakage which would require an engine rebuild. So, thank goodness it's white and not blue smoke.

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I have a mix of both sometimes its blue other times its white, it fires up and there's a big puff of white smoke then turns off

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First, make sure you are getting fuel to the engine. If your engine has a fuel pump which is a small black circular mechanism mounted to the engine itself. It has 3 fuel line bibs. One runs from the fuel tank to the suction bib on the pump, the fuel line bib on the bottom of the pump runs to the intank/ valve cover-this line is usually very short and must be fitted snuggly inside the cover, the 3rd fuel line bib run from the pump to the engine/ carb. You can check if your pump is working properly by disconnecting the fuel line from the discharge side of the pump and turning the key cranking the motor. fuel should flow under pressure as motor is turning over. If not it is possible the pump has lost prime due to a dirty fuel filter. you can prime the pump by disconnecting the suction line and putting it under vacuum using a small vacuum pump or simply blowing air back into the tank creating back siphonage. When fuel begins flowing from the line quickly reconnect. I should say before going through all this make sure there is a fuel problem by spraying starting fluid into carb. If engine starts and the dies it is not getting fuel. Also check the plugs for fouling. I hope I didn't overcomplicate matters. Just trying to help.

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if he wasn't getting fuel it would not start to create the big puff of smoke ... just saying

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With a level intake, when the float needle(in the carb) leaks it gas will leak into the intake and the engine. As it's just sitting there it fills the engine with gas. Sometimes it will leak so much that your mower will start leaking oil. It thins out the oil and your engine will end up blown up.

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Ok brother (sis), first off it sounds to me that the air filter got saturated with oil. That means its starving for air, and then the spark plug is fouling because of over rich oil, fuel mixture. Generally its not a good idea to overfil oil because it saturates the oil pan gaskets and causes them to fail. Plus it produces drag on the crankshaft, and bearings (too much weight). So I suggest to make sure theoil is proper weight, and not overfull, second clean air filter and spark plug for deposits. Next check to make sure carbuerator is getting enough air flow so its notstarving for air. That is 1 of the main reasons for smoke.secondly did you accidentally spill any by the exhaust? If so it will smoke more than anything, and die. Also after you get it started kill choke right away and if in a semi clean enviroment pull air filter. If stillsmokes bad its the mixture, if not replace itas its not ok to run an engine without an air filter. Hopefully its just a small leak on exhaust or over saturated air filter starving the carb.I hope I didnt come off speaking greek to you. Also I agree with everyones answers all have a possibility for being the culprit. Thank you

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I saw a mistake in my answe, if its a spill on exhaust it will smoke not die. Thank you

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I found a simple explanation/solution The oil reservoir cap was not secure. My lawnmower (toro) is rather old but still runs fine. The oil cap:rim can get a bit messy; it’s easy to miss that final notch that keeps the cap snug. No more air in oil reservoir = no more smoke

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DIAGNOSIS: sometimes the needle in the carb can get stuck open..if its a gravity fed fuel system the carb, especially when engine not running, is letting gas drain through the crankcase breather tube which will add gas to your oil, overfilling it. Wich will pump the oil into your carb when you try to start it.

If you put up the mower with gas in tank and come back in a couple days and its empty its probly in your oil or leaked through the air filter.. check oil if its overfull and smells like gas and feels thin and or you may notice if you pulled on it long enough it may get hard to turn the motor over..thats an indication the oil has lost its ability to lubricate properly.

SOLUTIONS: Metal polish and elbow grease will solve a metal needle sticking. or a rebuild kit or new carb. Get a new or clean sparkplug and air filter.

Drain out all oil, add new oil at proper level.

Prime if carb is able to. should fire right up!

( most common small engine carbs are under $30 hard to beat a bolt on ready to go carb...i usually get 2-3 frustration free years out of the cheap carbs. Airfilter and plug might be another $10)

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oh man, this sounds spot on to my situation. Thanks for posting, Grady!!!!!!

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This exact thing happened to me too. Now it starts up, but has been smoking a lot when it runs. Should I be concerned about the smoke?

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I am working through the exact same situation right now. I replaced the carb float, float needle, and bowl. After I put it back together the mower only ran for about 10 seconds then it stopped. A friend told me to replace the oil. The oil had LOTS of gas in it. Now the mower starts great and runs. BUT after about 10 seconds white smoke starts coming out of the exhaust slowly, then it gets thicker and thicker. Trying to figure out whats going on.

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This happens to my mower often, for me, if you just let it sit for a few hours, it should begin to work normally again.

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Same here...first start up of season new fuel on old , starts up intermittent white smoke but doesnt cut out. Left it for 3 days start it up ...good as gold!

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Is it harmful to the mower, walk behind type, when the smoking won't stop and I continue to mow?

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Put in New spark plugs

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I bet the fuel needle in the carb is off the seat and letting the fuel dump into the crankcase. It will hydraulic the piston and not let the engine crank. If the oil looks milky white it is getting fuel in the oil.

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My mower was smoking upon start, but would not start (grey/white smoke). I noticed it was low on oil. I simply changed the spark plug and added lawnmower oil SEA 30 (Walmart - plastic blue 20 fl oz container). Started up on the third pull and smoked a bit, but then was all good. No smoke! All the other recommendations are great, but you may find that it is easier than you think.

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[image|1461783] Bad Spark Plug

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I have been dealing with the same issue on my 2003 White Outdoor (MTD) lawn tractor. After replacing the head gasket and carburetor with no results, I took it to a repair shop. They told me the fuel pump had malfunctioned and was dumping gas through the vacuum line into the crank case which was causing the extreme smoke. They also told me it needed a coil which was contributing to the ignition problem (my tractor would smoke, run for 30 seconds and not start again). Since they have replaced the fuel pump and coil it is running great and smoke free. I hope this helps!

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Got A John Deere rider mower...cutting grass then all a sudden whitish smoke comes out like a campfire but no noises i.e. knocking/metal on metal noises....im FREAKING OUT....oil is NOT milky....I hope it's something simple....HELP...port saint Lucie, fl

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I had the same problem. It was simply a bit too much oil in the crankcase after changing the oil and the oil filter. Drained off a small amount and she was fine. From now on when I change the oil I will add exactly the specified amount and not just guess. With fresh oil is difficult to gauge the amount by what's on the dip stick because it a very light colour, unlike when it's been in use for 20 hours and develops some colour.

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