184 Burning Engine Oil

[tucker86]

Well you said it is burning oil (not leaking oil). I suppose a leak would be very evident as it would show up on the mower deck.

I have the tractor parked on a concrete floor and there are no drips on the mower or the floor. I've looked over the motor thoroughly for leaks. The front main seal looks good, there was initially a slight leak from the rear of the tappet cover (re-torqued the bolts and solved this), the rear main seal appears to be seeping but is minor at this point and no way would explain the 3/4 quart I have already gone through.

If all the above fails try a 30 wt motor oil. This may stop the burning oil and give you more time to plan a possible rebuild. It’s good to have a plan.

Note, with my cub cadets I was using 10/40wt oil the top shelf Mobil super oil I used all my life, mowing my two acres(cadet) I was going thru a quart of oil every second mowing. I switched to a 30wt oil and it stopped using oil.

Interesting experience on your Cub Cadets, I'll keep this in mind. This would also be a good low cost option to try yet this mowing season. Were you using straight 30 weight, or multi-viscosity?

[BigBill]

Straight 30wt. They suggest straight 30wt for the hot weather in the Kohler s.

[tucker86]

I ran the compression test today and found the following:

Cylinder #1: 100 psi (-23.1%)
Cylinder #2: 110 psi (-15.4%)
Cylinder #3: 115 psi (-11.5%)
Cylinder #4: 100 psi (-23.1%)

I am not really sure how good these results would be considered to be. It is down from design specification, however, would these readings be considered to be ok, marginal, or poor for the C60 engine? One thing that is noteworthy was I had put in new spark plugs approximately 15 hours ago of operation. The spark plug for cylinder 1, 3, and 4 all looked very clean still. The spark plug for Cylinder 2 was dark and looked like it had oil residue on it.

[Glen]

Hi,
Your compression test readings are good.
The Cub service manual says a Cub engine has 120 lbs of compression, that is probably for a new engine.
They work with less, over 90 lbs is ok.
The numbered series LoBoys might have a different compression, I don't have a service manual for them telling the compression.
I don't know if you meant to number the readings 1,2,3,4, it says 1, and 2.

The oil rings can get stuck, and the compression rings can still be working better, that could be why the engine has good power, and smokes. Blue smoke is from oil burning.
Or the oil rings could be wornout, and the compression rings still good.

I would use the oil additive for some time, running the mower, it might help. I have had success with using an oil additive in a Cub engine.

Hopefully you opened the throttle fully when doing the compression test, the engine has to get air for the test.

[tucker86]

The Cub service manual says a Cub engine has 120 lbs of compression, that is probably for a new engine.
They work with less, over 90 lbs is ok.
The numbered series LoBoys might have a different compression, I don't have a service manual for them telling the compression.
I don't know if you meant to number the readings 1,2,3,4, it says 1, and 2.

The service manual I have for the 184 says 130 psi for the compression. My apologies for the numbering, I was copying and pasting. I updated the cylinder numbering in my original post.

Were you referring to SeaFoam as the oil additive?

[Glen]

Hi,
I used Rislone, I think I started using it before finding this website.
The people on here say Seafoam works good.

The additives may take some hours of use to help, but are easier than an engine rebuild.

Stuck piston rings can be just a result of engines being run, combustion is not totally clean. Over time some goop can build up on rings, and the rings get stuck in the pistons.
Or it can happen from an engine sitting also.

[BigBill]

Glen, how did the rislone work out. We used Mobil upper lube and rislone for years. In the gas station. We used cd-2 for stuck hydraulic lifters at t the dealer caused by not changing your oil. Great results from seafoam. Mystery oil good results too much like a upper lube.

I was using stabile during the winter storage and it failed in my bikes. Went to seafoam and never looked back since. The gas was changing to ethanol back then.

I tested seafoam in a sticky carb in a generator I added it, ran it, let it sit, it cleaned the gum in the carb


Engine assembly lube moly.

[tucker86]

I gather from the replies that the compression should be satisfactory. I think I will go ahead and give the SeaFoam treatment Bill suggested a try since I already have a can of it. After running it for a while, I'll switch over to a straight 30wt oil. How long has the forum found it takes for the oil and fuel additives to to work? A couple operating hours, or more?

[Don McCombs]

My experience has been at least two oil changes and two tanks of fuel. It really depends on the extent of the fouling, however. It’s also important to work the tractor hard during the period of use of the Seafoam. Riding around the neighborhood doesn’t cut it. Extended mowing does.

[tucker86]

Half a can of seafoam in the gas tank, the other half in the crankcase oil. Run it for a while. I mowed almost two acres when the idle became higher from the seafoam.

I'm going to start the SeaFoam treatment BigBill recommended this weekend. I only use the tractor for mowing grass and I usually mow with around 50% - 75% throttle depending on the length of grass. In the experience of the forum, is this a sufficient amount of throttle for the SeaFoam treatment or would it be better to run closer to 100%?

[Don McCombs]

That should be fine. You just need to do something that puts a load on the engine.

[Gary Dotson]

Personally, I'd spin it on up but then again, my policy is always full throttle when mowing.

[Dale Finch]

[tucker86]

Personally, I'd spin it on up but then again, my policy is always full throttle when mowing.

Alright, I'll open her up! Fingers crossed on seeing some improvement. I think I'll swap back to my old set of spark plugs first so I don't foul up the new ones.

[BigBill]

Don’t forget to washout the breather cap in kerosene let it soak to get the crusted oil out of it so it can breathe again.

I grew up serving the old cars that had washable breathers.