New Lawnmower has leaked oil and has creamy thick residue in foam filter...

[gcusick]

A few pointers about those small Briggs & Stratton engines:

• The air filter is made of foam, needs to be oiled (lightly) and squeezed to distribute the oil.
• The approved method for draining the oil is to remove the dipstick and invert the mower so the oil runs out of the dipstick hole. That’s where you put the oil in, too.

Another thought is that a little spilled oil goes a very long way!

So - give the air filter a squeeze in a wad of paper towel to remove the excess, fill the engine with oil, refit the spark plug, fill with fuel, prime, start and mow!

 

[chris.s]

I must check my mover when I get home as the original engine had a drain plug but no easy to use dipstick as it was a screwed in plug but a few years ago I replaced it and the new engine has the plastic filler/dipstick so will have to look under to see if they removed the drain plug to pay for the new filler.

 

[Fergie 307]

Is it just me, but I think its difficult to filter anything through oil, never heard of an oiled air filter on a lawnmower, and in seventy five years I have owned a few, could it be transport/storage oil/grease that has not been cleaned off before dispatch? Does this so called oil have a smell of any kind?

In my youth white gunge in the oil meant a blown cylinder head gasket, water contamination, but that is not this problem.

Oiled foam filters are very common on mowers, and oil air filters were also used in motorcycles and cars, certainly well into the 1960's for cars and into the 1980's for bikes. The idea on the foam type is that it is moistened with oll, not saturated. The oil traps dust etc, which is then removed by cleaning and reoiling the filter periodically.

 

[MikeJhn]

Well in my seventy five years young I have always been a petrol head and none of the cars motorcycles or lawn mowers come to that have ever used an oiled foam filter, from a 1974 Porsche 911 Lotus Elan and a 1920's Packard Super 8 this phenomenon has passed me by, thinking about it foam in essence is a recent advance? if you can call it that, perhaps I have been at the wrong end of the market having always bought at the maximum I can afford.

 

[D_W]

Well in my seventy five years young I have always been a petrol head and none of the cars motorcycles or lawn mowers come to that have ever used an oiled foam filter, from a 1974 Porsche 911 Lotus Elan and a 1920's Packard Super 8 this phenomenon has passed me by, thinking about it foam in essence is a recent advance? if you can call it that, perhaps I have been at the wrong end of the market having always bought at the maximum I can afford.

it was used on common briggs engines here at least in the 1980s - our garden tiller had an oil soaked foam filter on it. As mentioned above, drastically different than the oil bath type of filter that used to be common on equipment. That probably lost favor due to turbocharging (sooner or later, you move too much air too fast and you can pull oil out of the oil bath).

i'd describe the briggs filter as looking like someone had uniformly sprayed it with cooking spray.

 

[Spectric]

Never underestimate a small engine, they can cause more problems than many people think just because they appear to be so simple but they are just waiting to catch you out, the magneto / flywheel ignition can be a real pita!

 

[Spectric]

none of the cars motorcycles or lawn mowers come to that have ever used an oiled foam filter,

What about an oil bath air filter?

 

[MikeK]

My 1950 Ford 8N tractor and 1955 Chrysler New Yorker had oil bath filters. The airflow entered the top of the filter housing along a vertical baffle, then made a 180-degree change up and through the filter elements into the carb. The intent was for the heavier particles to not make the abrupt turn and get trapped in the layer of oil in the bottom of the filter housing. At the service interval, the filters could be washed out with kerosene or gas and the oil bath replaced with new oil.

 

[Stevekane]

I think I still have an areosol can of K&N oil filter oil in the shed, K&N made aftermarket performance air filters based on a foam filter,,perhaps still do? BtW while were chewing the cud I wonder if our friend is out there mowing the grass??
Steve.

 

[MikeJhn]

Oil bath filters are an entirely different animal, used mostly on agricultural machines and low revving engines, and probably needed on un mettled roads, and in fields, its the oil filled foam filter that I have not come across, but why would you use one when a pleated paper filter is so much more efficient, with a comparatively massive filtering area, especially with modern higher revving engines, oil soaked foam filter, I think I'm glad they have passed me by.

 

[fenhayman]

At post 26 Krome 10 told us that he used soap and water to "clean" the air filter. Wouldn't want that drawn into the cylinder. Best take a note of the make and type. Chuck it and buy a new one.

 

[Spectric]

Oil bath filters are an entirely different animal, used mostly on agricultural machines

I suppose that is why they were used on the early landrovers. A lot of horticultural machinery used foam airfilters soaked in oil and then squeezed out, many would run badly if the filter was not attached.

 

[MikeJhn]

I would assume due to the reduction in air flow through an oiled air filter if not fitted the fuel flow would need adjustment to get back to the ideal air/fuel ratio.

 

[Inspector]

Oil soaked foam air filters were widely used as many have already stated. Chainsaws had them as they could be quickly cleaned in the woods with the oil/gas mix fallers had with them. Easy to service and the foam lasted for many years. I don't know the for sure reason they disappeared but suspect for environmental reasons, oil and gas getting dumped behind the shed or more likely, the loss of people knowing how to or wanting to service their machines.

Pete

 

[Fergie 307]

Oil soaked foam air filters were widely used as many have already stated. Chainsaws had them as they could be quickly cleaned in the woods with the oil/gas mix fallers had with them. Easy to service and the foam lasted for many years. I don't know the for sure reason they disappeared but suspect for environmental reasons, oil and gas getting dumped behind the shed or more likely, the loss of people knowing how to or wanting to service their machines.

Pete

still being used on many machines. Make a lot of sense on something like a mower which is going to get a lot of dust thrown about. You can clean and 're oil it in a couple of minutes and they last for years. Do need to check the condition though. Helped a mate out with an old Suzuki 750, on starting it for the first time in maybe 7/8 years there was a sort of whump noise from under the seat and a big cloud of crud came out of the exhaust, then it settled down and ran perfectly. Turned out we had both assumed someone had checked the filter, but neither of us actually had. The foam had completely broken down and basically the engine had sucked the nasty powdery mess that had originally been the foam filter straight through the carbs! All that was left was the plastic frame of the filter with a few bits of dry crumbly ex foam in the corners. No harm done fortunately but they don't last forever.

 

[davidgrogers]

Well, since motor mowers have a close similarity to motor vehicle engines, and in those, oil bath air filters were common and they had a cylinder of what looked like wire wool into which oil had been soaked. For the life of me I cannot remember the maker, but at age 14, I undertook to keep the gardens tidy for a well-off gentleman who had copious green lawns and part of that was to service and repair his (BIG) mower. It was a really large and powerful machine and had an oil-bath air filter. Maybe you moved in different circles to others of us?

 

[Krome10]

I'm back! I've been away at work these last few days, so no - I've not had a chance to fire it up yet. I'm on the case now and hoping the forecasted rain holds off. I'll be sure to report back. In the meantime, thanks again for all the info and tips, and also for the safety tip RE turning the blade by hand only when the spark plug is not connected. I wasn't aware of that and have duly noted it.

In the meantime, seeing as there is a lot of talk about oil and filters... How about my Tanaka strimmer which has a foam filter? Should that be oiled after being cleaned? Or is it different in a two stroke?

Many many thanks

EDIT - here's a link to the said filter:

https://www.japgmowers.co.uk/air-fi...c4500-tb4501-trimmer-part-6690347-35995-p.asp

 

[Inspector]

That foam filter is not supposed to be oiled. Use it dry.

Pete

Adding that the owners manual should tell you if and how to oil it if it is indeed that kind of filter.

 

[Krome10]

That foam filter is not supposed to be oiled. Use it dry.

I've never oiled it before, so that's good to hear.

As for the mower, all's good. No oil came out of the SP hole when pulling with it removed. And no smoke at all when I fired it up to use. Got about 45 minutes mowing in before it started raining heavy. It's quite heavy on the more awkward bits, but manageable and a helluva lot quicker than strimming! Look forward to continuing on the next dry day.

Thanks again for all the help. I'll no doubt have some follow up mower questions at some point but will save them for a new thread.

Cheers