Sudden knocking/clatter on my 126

[CanyonBlue]

Had my 126 for just about 2 weeks. I have run it about 3 times, aerating and seeding and mostly at half throttle. Nothing out of the ordinary and no unusual noises. About 15 minutes into running today all hell broke out. A terrible loud knock. I shut it down right away. I started it it briefly and it does still run but I don’t want to run it too long. Did a quick search and saw a few posts about the PTO clutch. Hoping nothing too serious like a connecting rod. I know you experts will lead me down the right path. Didn’t think it was too common for these engines to come apart.T he dipstick is a short one, thought it was broken off until I saw one that looked like it in a parts diagram. I can see oil at the bottom of the tube. Hoping I didn’t cause the problem. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Billy-O]

You'll have to look harder than for us to make a guess of this clatter and hard knocks.

Besides PTO and engine, you also have the clutch that can make sudden noise. Or, maybe you blew a head gasket. Or perhaps the muffler is worn or loose. Or maybe the voltage regulator fell off and bouncing on the head of engine. Could be a any number of things.

But the dipstick...... You're not showing oil on dipstick because you assume you have a short or broken one? You need to get to the bottom of this and make sure your dipstick is correct and oil is up to proper level. Run engine low on oil can and will be catastrophic. You may have already done the damage.... in this case I'd pull the motor and open it up if nothing else outside the motor (PTO, clutch, whatever) is making that noise. Don't start it again until you are SURE the motor's fine. Putting more oil in alone isn't going to fix the problem if the damage has already been done.

[CanyonBlue]

Looks like the PTO.Don’t have any more time to look at it now but when cranking the engine the snowthrower was turning with the PTO disengaged.Looks like the clutch came apart.Thanks for the reply!

[darkminion_17]

Originally Posted by CanyonBlue

The dipstick is a short one, thought it was broken off until I saw one that looked like it in a parts diagram. I can see oil at the bottom of the tube. Hoping I didn’t cause the problem. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Some motors have a filling tube on top with a short dipstick/ plug, and on the points side next to it is a knurled knob that is the dipstick for checking the oil.

Let us know...

[Vintage Iron]

Originally Posted by darkminion_17

Some motors have a filling tube on top with a short dipstick/ plug, and on the points side next to it is a knurled knob that is the dipstick for checking the oil.

Let us know...

Yeah, like darkminion said, ya gotta be careful checking the oil. It can be tricky. If you check the tall dipstick tube by the starter/generator, the dipstick is really short. Just like somebody took a hacksaw and cut off half of it. The real tube is on the other side. When you pull up the knurled knob, you'll see the real dipstick and the real oil level.

Pardon the sideways pix. I'll get it right. Eventually....

[ol'George]

You might also check the drive shaft,as they come loose and make a hell of a clatter.

[sawdustdad]

Some engines with balance gears have the oil fill tube up top and the real dipstick on the cam cover on the side of the engine. A long dipstick in the top fill will interfere with the balance gears. Hence the short one. Not sure why some have the top fill and some don't. My two 129s don't have the top fill while the 147 had both. Maybe they made the change with the WFs?

[CanyonBlue]

Thank you guys!My dipstick was located where Darkminion 17 and Vintage Iron said and the oil was fine.The PTO clutch,not so much.