[aclug-L] Re: OT: Mower Reapir Needed

[Nate Bargmann <n0nb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hmmmm.  Typically white smoke means water, but a lot of oil in the
combustion chamber will result in a bluish/whitish smoke.  This is just
my guess, but it may have expired due to the oil ring breaking from a
lack of oil on startup.  The broken oil ring might have allowed a lot
of oil to be left on the cylinder wall thus causing the smoke. 
Fragments of the ring probably worked their way between the piston and
the other rings causing them to break and seizing the engine.

The fact that you had smoke and now can't crank the engine leads me to
the above guess.  Simply breaking a connecting rod will usually allow
the crank to spin.  Sometimes noise is heard and pieces will escape the
block on a rod failure.

A simple crankshaft bearing seizure doesn't result in much smoke, but
the engine just quits and the crank won't spin freely or at all.

If the engine has overhead valves, it's possible that a valve could
have "dropped", but I doubt that this is what happened.

Until the head is taken off the engine, it's impossible to do anything
but guess about the exact failure.  A basic socket and combination
wrench set will allow you to disassemble the engine enough to see what
it looks like, but like most anything else these days, these engines
are largely a "throw away" item.  Sad but true.

Your best bet is on a new mower or else go garage sale shopping.

- Nate >>

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