Why my Craftsman 6.5hp lawn mower has oil leaking out of it?

Question

I noticed a pool of engine oil dripping out into the base of the lawn mower. I shut off the mower and found out the filter was drenched in motor oil.

Answer 1

I have a tecumshe engine on a mower and it has the wrong dip stick. If you fill it to the full mark on the stick it is way over filled. Was the mower smoking before you shut it off? Was the air filter itself soaked in oil or the air box? The oil could be leaking from a gasket.

Answer 2

I assume you mean the air filter. You say you shut it off? So then, it was running while you noticed the leak?
I can think of three possibilities;
1. If it was leaking while running, perhaps the crankcase is
way overfull, forcing oil past the rings and out the intake,
and overpressuring the crankcase forcing oil out the
bottom crankshaft seal also.
2. It was somehow turned up on its side, or upside down
before you started it, and oil ran out through the intake into
the filter.
3. The piston rings ( and the rest of the mower ) are totally
shot, and blowby pressure is forcing oil out through the
intake, and the crank seal is shot also, leaking there.

Answer 3

With the lawn mower did you turn it on its side if so always turn it on the opposite side of the carborator so the oil doesnt flow into the filter.

Answer 4

A few things can cause this problem:
-Carburator is overflowing gas into the oil ( bad because it could blow the motor up by thinning the oil).
-Oil level is over full.
-Oil breather assembly needs replacing ( the rubber tube from the bolted on plate on the side of the motor is the breather- when this goes bad, it sends oil into the carb ,when pressure builds up inside the motor- its supposed to just send vapors into the carb/airfilter assembly, not oil ( like a PCV valve on a vehicle) .

Answer 5

The filter might be loose.