what causes white cloud of smoke from a riding lawn mower?

Question

i purchases this MTD yard machine last year from home depot, i only used it once or twice this season. but i notice when its started there was a little white smoke that blew out, but it ran fine. well yesterday we added oil, and was running it, then noticed a big cloud of white smoke and we hurried and shut it off. I was planning to get it the servicing this week, but wanted to hurry and cut before the rain, i have concerned about starting it up right now. i am taking it today to get the oil change, spark plug changed and lube, but very curious on the white smoke

the yard is not a huge yard either, probably less then an acre

how much oil do riding mowers usually hold? the smoke came out the front of the mower.

low and behold, i checked the oil level and there was way too much oil in it, it sat like that overnight but i drained it out, i just hope it sitting there over night didnt damage it. Its going to be serviced today. its also still under warranty thru the manufacture, luckily the guy in our small village happens to be a MTD authorized dealer, so hopefully it just needs the oil change, cleanup, lube, axles greased, and all that good stuff.

Answer 1

you are burning oil,

the oil might be over filled, or it got into the carburetor

drain the oil and refilled to it's proper level

Answer 2

White Riding Lawn Mower

Answer 3

If it doesn't have to much oil in it then I would have it warrantied. If it was just a little smoke I would say it wasn't broke in but if it is a lot of smoke I would say it is either a stoke ring or a broken ring & needs repair.

If the ring is just stuck then you might be able to spray a catalyse in it like PB Blaster & let it set for a hour or so then run it for a few hours. Just keep a eye on the oil level & clean the plug after it stops either running or smoking.

If this doesn't work then the motor will have to be taken apart & you should see a dealer or authorized service center.

Best of luck.

I would also like to add:

Check what blank has said as well.

It is also possible that it has leaked gas into the cylinder & thinned the oil. You should be able to change the oil to fix this problem. This should be checked before running it any more because it will cause damage to the engine if there is gas in the oil. If this is the case you should be able to smell gas in the oil. You can stop this from happening by shouting off the gas after you are done running it.

Answer 4

White Riding Mower

Answer 5

first i would check your oil if you just filled your oil it could be that you put too much in or have spilled some and it is now burning it off. it could also be that since it is a ride on lawn mower that the valve that controls the amount of gas in the bowl that is for when you start the mower has gas to stars is stuck. if you are losing a lot of gas really fast, than i would check your spill tank at the back of the lawn mower. sorry i couldn't be of more help it is just one of those things that you have to be there and look at.

Answer 6

If you over fill the oil this will happen and you can damage your motor pull the oil stick and see if oil is to high On the mark if so drain some of it till the oil level is at the dip sticl hight,or this could be gas still left in the piston area so when you start it it will blow out the old used up fuel but it sounds like yo have to much oil in the motor let some out.and since your mower is still on warrenty tell them you want a new one and H/D will give you new.I went throw 5 mowers in 6 days.they sell cheep mowers but we need them.you can also call the sweat shop up and tell tem to take the food away from the biulder of that mower

Answer 7

White smoke usually indicates the engine is running on a lean fuel mixture - not enough gas in the air/fuel ratio in other words. Something may be partly cloging the fuel line or fuel passages in the carburetor. Take it to a trained technician.
Continuing to run it that way will cause the engine to overheat which may result in serious, and very expensive, internal damage.

Answer 8

White smoke usually indicates moisture caused by condensation, Blue or black smoke, is usually from oil burning.

Answer 9

the rings could be going bad in the engine or it was over filled with oil. that's the only things i could think of. make sure that there isn't to much oil in it that could cause many problems. Good luck. :)