3185 Dripping Oil
 

I have owned a 3185 for about 24 hours. It is a 99, 50 in deck, b&s vanguard v-twin

I went to run it around tonite parked it and looked under the hood to see oil....one spot appeared to be the drain...no biggie I tightened that.

The more concerning is under the engine cover, see pics. Its not forming over time that mess was created in 5 or so min. Any thoughts on where to go next or what might be the cause? No oil in air filter.

Thanks!

Sean

Bad valve cover gasket,or loose oil fill cap?

Remove the air filter housing and take a look; might reveal something. Crankcase vent hose may not be connected to the bottom of the air filter housing and is blowing toward the spark plug wire grommet.

Owned it for 24 running hours or bought it yesterday?

My Vanguard looked like that. Not quite as bad I guess but it was the main seal on mine. If you pull the motor and take the blower housing off, I bet its completely covered in oil and debris. The fan blows the leaking oil all over everything.

Guys thanks for the input, exactly what I needed. I found the service manual on line and should be able to follow. I will send some info in a moment.

Ford4150, I have about 3 hours on it since purchase.

Thanks

Sean

I pulled the air filter housing and the hose was connected correctly there was not a lot of oil in that area.

The area in the back bottom of the engine is where the oil pools. I started to disassemble but not sure if this is something I want to get in to.

Is this where the main seal is located? I guess it is a 5 dollar part and 250 in labor?

What is the urgency of fixing this? If I put another 10-20 hours on the motor and watch the oil level will that cause issues?

From the looks of that I'd pull the engine and fix it. Rear seal is not an overwhelming project. Seal is behind the flywheel.

If you continue to run it leaking that bad you run the risk of running it out of oil and also the oil will collect dirt and grass on the cooling fins leading to an over heat condition.

A technique for removing an oil seal.
As Sam said, it's behind the flywheel. Use an impact wrench to remove the flywheel nut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6IX3ocOpDk
I drill two holes 180 degrees apart.

I wouldn't run it like that. Mine was a drip. Yours looks to be pouring out. My tractor tripped the low oil light way later than it should have in my opinion. Like Sam said, the main seal isn't really a hard job. It does require pulling the engine but with a leak like that, you need to pull the engine anyhow so you can pull tins and clean everything. Your going to overheat it and blow it up if you don't get it fixed.

This is what my Vanguard looked like with a leaking rear main. This was all hidden under the blower housing. I bet yours looks similar.

OP is doing the other side of the engine but the process for seal removal/replacement would be the same :beerchug:

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=33411