Fix a Lawn Mower that was Over-Filled with Engine Oil (How to Mower Repair) Smokes! | Easy Solution

[@tammysmith9727]

Hey an older single female that found your video to be the most helpful. You went thru each step & explained why & what to see & expect. Most importantly you didn't leave out any steps, no matter how small, which was the problem I was having with other repair videos leading me into rabbit hole after rabbit hole since I didn't actually overfill it I just tipped it the wrong way to check & clean the carburetor (from bad fuel) & must have gotten oil in the crankshaft as I noticed oil had spilled out from somewhere & in my air filter. At least I'm hoping that's the source of my problems. I have copious amounts of white smoke. However, if you happen to see this comment now in 11/24 after smoking for a minute still running I notice a hot burning smell & so turn it off. Do you know if that is the excess oil burning off or something else i have to track down. Anyway great video thank you 👍

[@tammysmith9727]

Must add that I did change oil, gas, air filter & spark plug. Thx!

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@tammysmith9727 thanks for the complimentary comment. Is it running poorly when you smell that burning smell? Sometimes if mowers sit outside leaves or mice/nests can get in behind the recoil/pullcord shroud and make some less than desirable smells.

[@jefedubois5333]

This video was the most helpful of all the videos I watched. Mower stopped smoking

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@jefedubois5333 awesome! Glad to hear it. Thanks for watching

[@blessedinsmallplaces522]

Thank you for making this video! I'm a single female who made the mistake of putting too much oil in the lawn mower. Got it fixed and saved me some $$$ thank you 😊

[@backcountrybuilds]

Awesome! Power to you for getting it done. Best of luck and thanks for watching.

[@jgestess2449]

Very helpful. Fixed my mower. Thank you for making this video.

[@backcountrybuilds]

Great! Thanks for watching.

[@noahfreeman97]

You saved me bout 150.oo with the video. Thanks

[@backcountrybuilds]

That’s awesome to hear! Thanks for watching

[@stansilver5863]

Wasn’t sure I was allowed to flip a lawn motor on its side without breaking something, thanks for showing me you can! Helped me fix it lol

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@stansilver5863 awesome! Glad to hear it worked out. Thanks for watching.

[@XGHAFGHAFGH]

6:46 Legend. Just restored an 8 year old Victa (used to be Australian-owned, but the drongos sold to Briggs and Stratton). Stripped the rust, applied rust converter, sanded and painted it with black hammered finish spray paint. Looks so much better than the bright blue it was… but I overfilled it with oil. That tip with taking the spark plug out, and cranking it to get the excess oil out I wouldn’t have thought to do. Gonna try it out and see what happens. Cheers 🇦🇺

[@backcountrybuilds]

Good luck! Thanks for watching.

[@ramongarcia4352]

Thank you for your advice I did what you suggested and it worked. You just saved me from spending a couple hundred dollars on a new machine.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@ramongarcia4352 awesome! Thanks for watching. Appreciate the feedback.

[@katrenahunter1750]

This was very helpful! Thank you . I'll be trying this tomorrow. I'll come back and leave another review. Hopefully, I didn't do too much damage when I overfilled my mower with oil.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@katrenahunter1750 best of luck. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[@katrenahunter1750]

@backcountrybuilds will do! Thank You!

[@Itscoltonmartin]

Thanks!! I hope this fixes the problem. Idk why I figured it needed so much oil but I filled it up like a gas tank. Whoops!

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@Itscoltonmartin good luck. Thanks for watching

[@wchm88]

I did the same thing a whole quart actually.

[@torycrowe2475]

thanks, mower runs like new again. Great video

[@backcountrybuilds]

Awesome, glad to hear it! Thanks for watching.

[@backcountrybuilds]

Awesome, glad to hear it! Thanks for watching.

[@ramirovillafrancajr4199]

Thanks bro i like your style of video making and advice. I just got mine overfilled to the TOP by someone. I didn't know and tried starting it like 5 times. It would start then die out then oil started pouring out of the carburetor 😮 Gonna see if i can save it with your advice😂😅

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@ramirovillafrancajr4199 I appreciate that. Thanks for watching. Best of luck and tell me how it goes

[@PetraBlanchard-r2s]

Thank you for this cuz I had no idea

[@backcountrybuilds]

Thanks for watching! Glad it helped.

[@YardworkWithJohn]

I pulled almost the same mower out of someones trash but the refurb project has taken me all summer and into the fall. Ive tried almost everything and it just won't stop misfiring. Next I'm going to take the head off and check the headgasket to make sure its not damaged. Hopefully it is, because if it's not, the only thing left is a bad piston ring.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@YardworkWithJohn best of luck! I had one with a bad head gasket… replaced it and it ran great. The engines on these mowers are basically disposable. Don’t beat yourself up too much.

[@YardworkWithJohn]

@@backcountrybuilds But the whole point of saving it and spending all this time on it, was so i could make a video where i fully refurb it. I can't make someone watch 40 minutes of me working on a mower and then be like "sorry never got it fixed" lol

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@YardworkWithJohn hahahaha can’t tell you how many videos I’ve made that haven’t been posted for that exact reason. 99% of these plastic carb style mowers I’ve found issues are carb related. Did you remove the main jet (white) when you cleaned it? Clean out those little ports

[@YardworkWithJohn]

@@backcountrybuilds Oh boy I've done EVERYTHING you could possibly think of. I've fully dissasembled and cleaned the carb many times, and I mowed my whole large-ish lawn with the mower many times between repair attempts. Plug, gas tank, fuel line, flywheel key, valve spacing, ignition coil, you name it I've tried it. If the head gasket is good, I guess I'll just pack it away until next spring and just start using it again with fresh gas and seafoam for a few weeks and hopefully it clears itself up. If its not the gasket, I'm hoping its gunk on the piston rings reducing compression. If you take the air filter off while it runs, it still runs well but has a noticeable amount of blowby out the vent.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@YardworkWithJohn what exactly is it doing… just misfiring? is it a bagger or mulcher?

[@BrandieVavoulas]

What if I have gas in the lawnmower can I still tip the lawnmower over to drain the excess oil?

[@backcountrybuilds]

Some might spill out. A lot of times I find a plastic container to dump the gas from the gas tank into, then no spills. Best of luck! Reach out if you have any more questions.

[@backcountrybuilds]

Also auto parts stores might have a siphon for a couple bucks to make your life easier. Then throw it in your car in case you or a friend run out of gas in the future! Worth the money hahaha

[@BrandieVavoulas]

Is there a way to drain the oil without tipping it over? I don’t want to risk getting gas into the other compartments or vise versa

[@Toy647]

Thank You!

[@backcountrybuilds]

Thanks for watching!

[@backcountrybuilds]

Thanks for watching! Glad it helped.

[@maureenkosmicki5102]

Can I wash my air filter? We tipped ours on its side yesterday and it’s got a ton of smoke and now filter has oil on it too.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@maureenkosmicki5102 you might be able to wash it with soap and water, but let it dry out in the sun until it’s completely dry. Might be worth the $10 or whatever for a new air filter. Best of luck! Thanks for watching.

[@johnma1280]

My mother's mower was blowing smoke and the engine slowly died. I realized it was over filled w oil. I will drain the oil and replace the spark plug but is there a chance any mechanical damage such as oil hydro locking the engine or blowing piston rings?

[@backcountrybuilds]

Yes, chances are with extended periods of time with too much oil can cause catastrophic failure. But, drain it out, fill to proper height and hope for the best!

[@TroyProcell]

What if I have oil coming out the carburetor

[@backcountrybuilds]

That may be from too much oil, as well. I’d get your oil level to the right height and try it again. You might be due for a carburetor clean too! Best of luck and thanks for watching.

[@DanCostello-lm8fc]

Clean the old plug with carb cleaner or brake cleaner, clean up electrodes with fine sand paper, gently, blow off with compressed air, good to go. Plugs last a LONG time and that’s a newer mower.

[@backcountrybuilds]

I’ll eat the $5 for peace of mind. I bet you’re not wrong though!

[@honkeytonkjohnnygumbo1137]

What if there was gas in the crank case. What should u do?

[@backcountrybuilds]

I’ve had it happen countless times. Usually the cause is carburetor… the old gas gums up the carb and causes the needle/seat to remain in the down position, so the carburetor keeps calling for fuel… that’s my guess. Remove the carburetor, disassemble, clean it out. Drain the old gas out of the tank before reinstalling the carb. Drain the bad oil out and replace with new oil. What model mower do you have? Might be able to send you some videos of a carburetor teardown.

[@dennisnash255]

How was the Air filter? Was there any oil in it?

[@backcountrybuilds]

If I remember correctly, there was not. But not a bad idea to check the inside of the air filter, as I think the PCV valve spits back into the airbox.

[@amandaduncan6927]

Could over filling the oil also cause the cord to not pull? I put oil in it. It started smoking white so I shut it off and now the cord won’t pull 😅😮

[@backcountrybuilds]

Yes, it could cause that. I would take the spark plug wire off of the spark plug, drain the oil out (don’t start it without oil), put the proper amount of oil in - only up to the safe zone line, then with the spark plug out, pull the pull cord over like 20 times. It will feel super easy. Then get a new spark plug and it should fire right up. My fear is also it might’ve been run with too little oil, which can cause engine damage, overheating, and the engine to seize, hence the pull cord won’t work. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

[@amandaduncan6927]

I did initially put oil in it before running and it mowed the yard twice before I added more and the white smoke happened but since it was a used mower 😅 just hoping this is from my mess up and not a previous mess up.

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@amandaduncan6927 ok. I’d follow the instructions above and see what happens. You don’t happen to live in the greater New England area, right? I’d be happy to help hhaha

[@AngerDuck]

I just did this but the backfire on mine was crazy loud

[@backcountrybuilds]

I bet. Thanks for watching! Hope it worked out for you.

[@Nahina7]

Appreciate the advice saved me some nagging 😂

[@backcountrybuilds]

Hahahaha. Glad it helped. Best of luck and thanks for watching

[@16CasualGamer]

So I just filled my oil, but I overfilled it in my lawnmower and now My oil that just added to the lawnmower is basically almost almost black and like I said it's brand new oil. I just had to overfilled it. It doesn't smell like gas.

[@backcountrybuilds]

Worst case, get it to the proper level in the safe zone between the lines, double check it to make sure it’s enough oil and not too much, then run it for 30 seconds or so, then drain it all oil and refill with new oil. In my opinion, Its worth the few dollars worth of oil for the peace of mind to just do another oil change.

[@16CasualGamer]

@@backcountrybuilds OK thank you I was just worried because the color of the new oil that I had added was already dark brown when I drained it but thank

[@ragingbull1267]

Let it smoke, keeps mosquitoes away !

[@backcountrybuilds]

Hahaha not a bad point! Thanks for watching.

[@travis3212]

Should really say on or by cap watch how much there are some people like a widow who would not know this fixing my mower now

[@backcountrybuilds]

Best of luck!

[@KarlsBerg87]

this happened to me, i Overfilled to the max, the oil was foaming and white smoking, also the filter for the air entry and the filter was pouring oil out, filter was full of oil, and now that i empty it, is no smell of gasoline in the oil removed, but now the exhaust pipe is leaking black oil when on.

[@backcountrybuilds]

Ok, sounds like if you follow this video you should be in good shape! First step, fill the oil to the proper level (safe line). Don’t be afraid to double check it! Make sure the mower is on a level surface. Also if you just ran the mower, wait a few minutes to let the oil seep back to give you a true reading of the oil level. Remove your air filter, since it’s likely oil clogged like you said! There’s a tube (PCV valve) that dumps excess oil back into the filter housing. It’s worth the $10 for a new air filter! Then, since it was overfilled, it likely clogged the spark plug with oil. Remove the spark plug, pull the pullcord until no more oil comes out. Then put in a new spark plug. Once you’ve got the oil clogged filter removed, oil to the correct safe zone level, oil out of the spark plug hole, and a fresh/clean spark plug, fire it up! It’ll probably smoke until the excess oil burns off, but after a few minutes you should be back in business and the smoke should stop. Once the smoke stops, let it sit for a couple minutes and recheck the oil level! Best of luck.

[@KarlsBerg87]

@@backcountrybuilds thanks I'll buy the spark plug today, but what to do with the black oil that appear to be burning inside in the piston, that black come from exhaust pipe

[@backcountrybuilds]

@@KarlsBerg87 it’s likely excess oil that made its way from the crankcase into the combustion chamber. With any luck after the oil is at the correct level, the heat of the motor should burn the excess oil out of the combustion chamber and the smoke should stop.

[@ellybean5868]

0

[@backcountrybuilds]

1

[@kingkongkong2204]

Just got one 15 dollars seller said it goes but smoke coming out of exhaust i bought it just cleaned all the oil and dust off gave a new air filter new spark plug took off exhaust it start up straiggt away no smoke like farkn new 😂idiots that overfilled oil