And the knocking means that it has been run for a long period of time with either very low oil in the engine or that it has never been changed! I've experienced that too because i work on mowers.
Those engines are simple to work on and easy. Probably a rod is going on it. Could likely fix it cheap if you have the time or interest to crack it open. I love finding out why things break or what is broken in motors.
had one similar but not smoking. thought it was the rod bearing. tore it apart it was actually a scored cylinder that caused the rings to break causing the knocking sound. would be interesting to see a teardown video on this one if you still have it.
mountainbikekayak. Was that a Briggs & Stratton 10T802 engine on the Poulan Pro. I really like the High Wheel decks because they just seem to roll better than the decks with the standard size wheels do. It’s a real shame to see how people inflict such abuse by not changing oil or even adding new oil when the oil level is low, not to mention just throwing away the air filter when it gets clogged up - They Clog Up For A Reason. If I may ask; I was curious as to what condition the mower blade looked like when you first got the mower. Yes I admit that these mowers are no Snapper Hi-Vac or a Toro - But when maintained properly they last for quite some time and have a pretty respectable cut quality.
That mower is in great condition,I'd definitely put another engine on it.Ive replaced the engines on loads.Good luck what ever you decide to do,thanks.
I have a 1995-1998 Ariens push mower which it has smoking and knocking so I took the engine off and have a donor mower that was a 2015 troybilt with a Honda engine I put on the body and sold it
Stepson initially ran my Poulan with mixed oil. Cleaned plug and ran great. Next challenge, he ran it with no oil till it seized. Next day put in oil and squirted a little into the cylinder. Start up and a couple of years later still runs well. In your case run it until it dies. B&S engines can take a lot of abuse.
There is no point using synthetic oil in a B&S motor as it doesn't alter the oil change intervals,an SAE 30 monograde oil is recommended for temperatures above 40 degrees fahrenheit (4 degrees celsius) and a multigrade 5W30 or 10W30 will only increase oil consumption of a B&S engine above that temperature, it must be used at temperatures below that,use of a thinner grade of oil may have damaged the engine. I've had no trouble using 20W50 oil in mine but mine is due for a freshen up before the rings get too bad,it's a 1988 model B&S motor with 97 PSI of compression so I am going to rebuild it before I use it too much more,it's not getting used at the moment.
Crap. Bought a 21" Poulan Pro mower 2 years ago. Never ran smoothly, "hunted". This year it wouldn't start -needs new carburetor rebuild, which would cost more than the unit sold for. Poulan's on my "do not buy" list.
Hello rfeilbert thanks for viewing! Is that one of the newer EX series engines on your Poulan or an engine like this smoker I had here. You can get a aftermarket replacement carburetor on Ebay for under $15USD, if its like this one. Used a number of those and they work fine but for the newer EX series much more expensive. Really like the Toro brand if you looking for a self propelled the Personal Pace model is about the best out there. If just a regular push mower the Troy Bilt's like they sale at Lowes or other home stores are really great to. Sorry for your Poulan you can get good ones and bad ones!
Sounds like it needs a complete rebuild to me. Hone out the cylinder, add a new rod, piston, and rings along with a completely new gasket set. Working on right now that needs the same thing. Think I've got about $50 in parts coming.
Forgot to add that this one was manufactured in 1985, and the original owner took excellent care of it. I found some light scoring in the cylinder and on the piston, as well as an oil leak behind the overhead valve cover on the head.
Hello Mark thanks for viewing! Oh it sure was a smoker about the cheapest 30W oil $2.20 a quart would last about 1 hour running for that mosquito attachment cost! The previous owner for what ever reason removed the clogged up air filter and didn't bother to replace it. Just sucked up dirt and totally ate that engine up, did keep mosquito's out for about 2 days afterwards!
To clarify, what do you consider to be really thin synthetic oil? Many believe that thicker oil provides better protection. That's a myth. To the contrary, thicker oils produce more wear over the long term because the oil is not flowing at startup as good as a thinner oil would. it's not about the thickness of the oil it's about the film strength. ironically motor oils with a wider range have more viscosity improvers than a straight oil making them more stable. so.. the only reason why Briggs and Stratton recommended a straight 30 in the olden days was for oil consumption, not for better protection. Just like automobiles lawn mower engines our designed better. and so did multi viscosity oils. and that is why if you visit the Briggs and Stratton site you will read that they have modify the recommendations to include 5w30 and 10w30 synthetic oils for all Briggs & Stratton engines at any temperature to improve ease of starting.
I have a quantum on the same deck mines older it had no filter smokes for the first minute or so and knocks but been going strong I’m giving it to a neighbor who is down on luck and needs a mower bad
Perfect example of people not maintaining quipment do you want to get your money's worth and make it last got to take care of it people don't take care of stuff and then they want to call the product junk
Am I the only one that’s going to address the elephant in the room!? I logged onto this guys videos in hopes of him showing some sort of before and after of these issues and how to possibly fix… But instead, I’m basically watching videos he posted of lawn mowers that smoke! I don’t have to log onto RUclips to see that, I can just look at my own do that! Is there some sort of weird smoking lawnmower fetish out there that I am on aware of the keep posting videos of your lawnmower smoking!?
mine does the exact thing but when I try to cut the lawn it starts shaking and then shuts off I leave it run in for like maby 2 min and I will be fine then I'll start cutting and it will shut off
I would say take a little of the oil out you have a little over fill for the smoking but go with 10W-30 oil the nocking may be one of the rods in the valves i do work on small engines 2 mowers and a tiller small one i got at the dump people just got rid of and all they needed was the carburetor cleaned after i soled them funny people just can't fix things or don't have the time or just don't ask about it i got 210 $ dollars out of it just to clean 3 things about an hour an half work or less
Sorry, I am a nice guy who doesn't make bad comments. But this video wasted my time because you showed no solutions. Maybe this will help you edit it or something.
i am a mechanical minded person i would have probably tore it down tried to fix what i could if i found it to be unfixable id probably have reassembled it and uses it tell the engine gave i had an issue with and older murry lawn mower had a brigs on it and i just ran it tell it blew i took care of it as i normally would wich helped extend the life a bit longer than it would have if my freidn kept it it lasted me 2 years before it blew
Hello Stormcruzerlore thanks for viewing! If I had the time would have done the same thing just to see what in the world was going on with it. I gave this to a friend of mine he had a rusted out frame but a great same engine and shaft size. Did a quick swap and he is still using it. He has the old engine but I have since stolen the carburetor off it. They ran it without an air filter pretty sure it just sucked in dirt and ate that engine up. That's great you kept that Murray Lawn Mower running for the more years just simple oil changes, clean the air filter and just blowing the debris off after each use can keep them running for many years! You take care got a really nice Snapper Lawn Mower will be showing soon!
+Mike Davis Hi Mike thanks for viewing oh this one was very disappointing for sure. He ran a 0w-20w oil in it synthetic that and for whatever reason removing the air filter just killed it. I have bought several lawn mowers through the years where they smoked and they just put to thin of an oil in it. Put 30w back in let them run and it would stop, but not this one a lyric from my favorite artist Neil Young "ooh the damage done"
+Daniel schaar Hello Daniel thanks for viewing and the diagnosis pretty much shot wasn't it! They running this without an air filter pretty much chewed it up think they actually ran it out of oil as well and filled it up with something but damage was already done. Gave this to a friend of mine this lawn mower had a great frame on it we swapped his engine that was on a very rusty frame and he is still using it. The engine he saved in case we or he may need parts later.
so I'm guessing they ran out of oil, didn't change it, and tried a synthetic to see if that would help unbind a seized engine. because nobody will admit they ran an engine out of oil, not even a lawn mower. Cuz that will mean that they are stupid very stupid
Hello Savagegaming thanks for viewing! Had already given this to a friend of mine, he had a Troy Bilt lawn mower and the frame was really rusted out on it. This worked out great we did a quick engine swap with his young son even transferred the decorative cover and he is still using it. We saved the engine thought it would be great to disassemble with his son to show him the workings of a engine. Great way to groom our future mechanics! I have not seen it but he said the cylinder walls were really pitted and scratched really bad on it. I would think all that came from the previous owner running it without an air filter.
Synthetic oil has nothing to do with the engine, I use it and mine run's great If you use anything other than straight 30 weight use 5w-20 it's the same thing as 30 weight. and no air filter mean's that dirt got into the engine and scratched up the cylinder wall which will cause the smoking!
+Jason Michaels Hi Jason thanks for viewing! The previous owner running this without an air filter for some period of time more than likely did the damage on this. Which was a shame these are great engines. They probably removed it because it got clogged and never replaced it. The oil he showed me was a 0w-20w just seemed very thin.
Change the fuel . Put in a new plug and use 94 octane. I know it is not recommended, but the problem is sythetic oil will not burn off under normal tempture. The higher heat from the higher octane hopefully will burn off the the synthteric. If the piston ring is screwed then it is cost prohibitive to fix it. Simple fixs first alway my ideal
That is news to me. I looked it up. You are correct. But the higher the octane, the more dense the fuel will burn waiting for fuller spark. Again like I said. Try the cheapest fixs forst. Certanily not hurt!
+bill notice yeah true simple stuff first but listening to that motor it isn't worth fixing. maybe if it diddnt smoke a simple rod replacement would do the trick if the crank was still in good shape which they usually are fine.
Hello Nytellem thanks for viewing! Gave this to a friend of mine we did an engine swap he had a rusted out frame and good engine he is still using it was a great frame. Stole some parts of that engine and he still has what is left, pretty sure the cylinder walls were chewed up the previous owner ran it without an air filter for some period of time.
+KB'S Small engine Repair parts & Service Hello KB's Small Engine Repair thanks for viewing, you are right! It was abused no telling how long they ran it without an air filter or kept oil in it and a shame as well because these are great engines with basic maintenance will run for many years.
![FNAF vs TF2 - Episode 2 [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5b3V2-VLb0/mqdefault.jpg)
And the knocking means that it has been run for a long period of time with either very low oil in the engine or that it has never been changed! I've experienced that too because i work on mowers.
Those engines are simple to work on and easy. Probably a rod is going on it. Could likely fix it cheap if you have the time or interest to crack it open. I love finding out why things break or what is broken in motors.
You can sell that to the state, tell them it is specifically designed to reduce the Zika Virus outbreak.
why does it always have to be in the grass? it starts much easier when it doesn't have anything under it like tall grass.
Wow... I am grateful for this video. It confirms my suspicions about my own mower:( Is this fixable? If so what is the cost?
had one similar but not smoking. thought it was the rod bearing. tore it apart it was actually a scored cylinder that caused the rings to break causing the knocking sound. would be interesting to see a teardown video on this one if you still have it.
mountainbikekayak. Was that a Briggs & Stratton 10T802 engine on the Poulan Pro. I really like the High Wheel decks because they just seem to roll better than the decks with the standard size wheels do. It’s a real shame to see how people inflict such abuse by not changing oil or even adding new oil when the oil level is low, not to mention just throwing away the air filter when it gets clogged up - They Clog Up For A Reason. If I may ask; I was curious as to what condition the mower blade looked like when you first got the mower. Yes I admit that these mowers are no Snapper Hi-Vac or a Toro - But when maintained properly they last for quite some time and have a pretty respectable cut quality.
That mower is in great condition,I'd definitely put another engine on it.Ive replaced the engines on loads.Good luck what ever you decide to do,thanks.
Do an LS swap!
I have a 1995-1998 Ariens push mower which it has smoking and knocking so I took the engine off and have a donor mower that was a 2015 troybilt with a Honda engine I put on the body and sold it
Run it till it breaks
Hi Cliff, It would be a good candidate for a repower! That deck is in really good shape. Have a great weekend!
Stepson initially ran my Poulan with mixed oil. Cleaned plug and ran great. Next challenge, he ran it with no oil till it seized. Next day put in oil and squirted a little into the cylinder. Start up and a couple of years later still runs well. In your case run it until it dies. B&S engines can take a lot of abuse.
There is no point using synthetic oil in a B&S motor as it doesn't alter the oil change intervals,an SAE 30 monograde oil is recommended for temperatures above 40 degrees fahrenheit (4 degrees celsius) and a multigrade 5W30 or 10W30 will only increase oil consumption of a B&S engine above that temperature, it must be used at temperatures below that,use of a thinner grade of oil may have damaged the engine.
I've had no trouble using 20W50 oil in mine but mine is due for a freshen up before the rings get too bad,it's a 1988 model B&S motor with 97 PSI of compression so I am going to rebuild it before I use it too much more,it's not getting used at the moment.
Crap. Bought a 21" Poulan Pro mower 2 years ago. Never ran smoothly, "hunted". This year it wouldn't start -needs new carburetor rebuild, which would cost more than the unit sold for. Poulan's on my "do not buy" list.
Hello rfeilbert thanks for viewing! Is that one of the newer EX series engines on your Poulan or an engine like this smoker I had here. You can get a aftermarket replacement carburetor on Ebay for under $15USD, if its like this one. Used a number of those and they work fine but for the newer EX series much more expensive. Really like the Toro brand if you looking for a self propelled the Personal Pace model is about the best out there. If just a regular push mower the Troy Bilt's like they sale at Lowes or other home stores are really great to. Sorry for your Poulan you can get good ones and bad ones!
rfeilbert. Yeah right !!! Don't buy their chain saws either. Cheers 🍷🍷🍷🇺🇸🇺🇸
This engine failure is not Poulans fault. These flathead Briggs will easily run for 20 years is maintained normally.
Sounds like it needs a complete rebuild to me. Hone out the cylinder, add a new rod, piston, and rings along with a completely new gasket set. Working on right now that needs the same thing. Think I've got about $50 in parts coming.
Forgot to add that this one was manufactured in 1985, and the original owner took excellent care of it. I found some light scoring in the cylinder and on the piston, as well as an oil leak behind the overhead valve cover on the head.
One question.. can l just replace new piston and rings . And be fine... or do l have to do the cilynder hone out?
That smoke is normal maybe you burnt out the engine or put too much gas or oil in it
I suggest an engine transplant from the rusty decked mower.
My push mower is doing the same thing and is licquing oil i dont inow why
How much extra did the mosquito killer attachment cost?
Hello Mark thanks for viewing! Oh it sure was a smoker about the cheapest 30W oil $2.20 a quart would last about 1 hour running for that mosquito attachment cost! The previous owner for what ever reason removed the clogged up air filter and didn't bother to replace it. Just sucked up dirt and totally ate that engine up, did keep mosquito's out for about 2 days afterwards!
To clarify, what do you consider to be really thin synthetic oil? Many believe that thicker oil provides better protection. That's a myth. To the contrary, thicker oils produce more wear over the long term because the oil is not flowing at startup as good as a thinner oil would. it's not about the thickness of the oil it's about the film strength. ironically motor oils with a wider range have more viscosity improvers than a straight oil making them more stable. so.. the only reason why Briggs and Stratton recommended a straight 30 in the olden days was for oil consumption, not for better protection. Just like automobiles lawn mower engines our designed better. and so did multi viscosity oils. and that is why if you visit the Briggs and Stratton site you will read that they have modify the recommendations to include 5w30 and 10w30 synthetic oils for all Briggs & Stratton engines at any temperature to improve ease of starting.
Seems as though the thin oil didn't provide enough lubrication and the cylinder and bottom end has been damaged... Shame
I have a quantum on the same deck mines older it had no filter smokes for the first minute or so and knocks but been going strong I’m giving it to a neighbor who is down on luck and needs a mower bad
I have always used mobil 1 extended protection full synthetic 10w30 in my mowers with ohv and my 4 cycle handheld equipment with no problem.
Put that motor from the rusted deck on this one!
sounds like my frord when a valve seat fell out lol
you could try some lucas oil about 2 oz. Might quite it down.
Use that Mechanic in a Can, it fixes everything with Nano Technology!
Get some Dura Lube.
It works.
Perfect example of people not maintaining quipment do you want to get your money's worth and make it last got to take care of it people don't take care of stuff and then they want to call the product junk
wow.... For a mower that was made in 2004, it's in excellent condition. such a shame...
Am I the only one that’s going to address the elephant in the room!? I logged onto this guys videos in hopes of him showing some sort of before and after of these issues and how to possibly fix… But instead, I’m basically watching videos he posted of lawn mowers that smoke! I don’t have to log onto RUclips to see that, I can just look at my own do that! Is there some sort of weird smoking lawnmower fetish out there that I am on aware of the keep posting videos of your lawnmower smoking!?
mine does the exact thing but when I try to cut the lawn it starts shaking and then shuts off I leave it run in for like maby 2 min and I will be fine then I'll start cutting and it will shut off
817texastrill same with mine
Mine is doing exactly the same thing.
Put some really thick oil in it, or just fill it up with 'instant rings' motor honey
rod bearing. piston rings worn from lack of oil. very very common
I would say take a little of the oil out you have a little over fill for the smoking but go with 10W-30 oil the nocking may be one of the rods in the valves i do work on small engines 2 mowers and a tiller small one i got at the dump people just got rid of and all they needed was the carburetor cleaned after i soled them funny people just can't fix things or don't have the time or just don't ask about it i got 210 $ dollars out of it just to clean 3 things about an hour an half work or less
the oil ring are screw up so the engine take oil and gaz wich create the smook the piston might be scratched also
Sorry, I am a nice guy who doesn't make bad comments. But this video wasted my time because you showed no solutions. Maybe this will help you edit it or something.
Try replacing the head gasket
Use a thicker oil to reduce smoking
i am a mechanical minded person i would have probably tore it down tried to fix what i could if i found it to be unfixable id probably have reassembled it and uses it tell the engine gave i had an issue with and older murry lawn mower had a brigs on it and i just ran it tell it blew i took care of it as i normally would wich helped extend the life a bit longer than it would have if my freidn kept it it lasted me 2 years before it blew
Hello Stormcruzerlore thanks for viewing! If I had the time would have done the same thing just to see what in the world was going on with it. I gave this to a friend of mine he had a rusted out frame but a great same engine and shaft size. Did a quick swap and he is still using it. He has the old engine but I have since stolen the carburetor off it. They ran it without an air filter pretty sure it just sucked in dirt and ate that engine up. That's great you kept that Murray Lawn Mower running for the more years just simple oil changes, clean the air filter and just blowing the debris off after each use can keep them running for many years! You take care got a really nice Snapper Lawn Mower will be showing soon!
you should put a diff. motor on it.
Still gonna send it.
the rings are bad and its burning oil
Owners manual advises against synthetic oil. Dirt sucked in the cylinder can't help either. Good luck.
+Mike Davis Hi Mike thanks for viewing oh this one was very disappointing for sure. He ran a 0w-20w oil in it synthetic that and for whatever reason removing the air filter just killed it. I have bought several lawn mowers through the years where they smoked and they just put to thin of an oil in it. Put 30w back in let them run and it would stop, but not this one a lyric from my favorite artist Neil Young "ooh the damage done"
My Powermore 159cc Engine manual says says to use high detergent oil SL and SM grades, 10w30 or 30w
Sounds like a rod knocking at your door!!! Run it til she drops!!!
you have a worn piston and o rings and bad rod in that engine
+Daniel schaar Hello Daniel thanks for viewing and the diagnosis pretty much shot wasn't it! They running this without an air filter pretty much chewed it up think they actually ran it out of oil as well and filled it up with something but damage was already done. Gave this to a friend of mine this lawn mower had a great frame on it we swapped his engine that was on a very rusty frame and he is still using it. The engine he saved in case we or he may need parts later.
run it wide open throttle till it won't run anymorewith paint thinner in the crankcase
try cleaning the gas tank and cylinder out probbly help a little.
I pull my cord and sometimes it flies back in , with my weight holding it
mopars23 sounds like a flywheel key
so I'm guessing they ran out of oil, didn't change it, and tried a synthetic to see if that would help unbind a seized engine. because nobody will admit they ran an engine out of oil, not even a lawn mower. Cuz that will mean that they are stupid very stupid
I bought new Poulan walk behind this year, Quite honestly a push broom would probably be better. No power, weak ass cutting blade.
synthetic 20w50 would have helped.
can I buy it for parts
Hello Savagegaming thanks for viewing! Had already given this to a friend of mine, he had a Troy Bilt lawn mower and the frame was really rusted out on it. This worked out great we did a quick engine swap with his young son even transferred the decorative cover and he is still using it. We saved the engine thought it would be great to disassemble with his son to show him the workings of a engine. Great way to groom our future mechanics! I have not seen it but he said the cylinder walls were really pitted and scratched really bad on it. I would think all that came from the previous owner running it without an air filter.
Rings are gone
Synthetic oil has nothing to do with the engine, I use it and mine run's great If you use anything other than straight 30 weight use 5w-20 it's the same thing as 30 weight. and no air filter mean's that dirt got into the engine and scratched up the cylinder wall which will cause the smoking!
+Jason Michaels Hi Jason thanks for viewing! The previous owner running this without an air filter for some period of time more than likely did the damage on this. Which was a shame these are great engines. They probably removed it because it got clogged and never replaced it. The oil he showed me was a 0w-20w just seemed very thin.
Almost gone..
You should run it with no oil!!
Change the fuel . Put in a new plug and use 94 octane. I know it is not recommended, but the problem is sythetic oil will not burn off under normal tempture. The higher heat from the higher octane hopefully will burn off the the synthteric. If the piston ring is screwed then it is cost prohibitive to fix it. Simple fixs first alway my ideal
you realize that higher octane is cooler running right?
That is news to me. I looked it up. You are correct. But the higher the octane, the more dense the fuel will burn waiting for fuller spark. Again like I said. Try the cheapest fixs forst. Certanily not hurt!
+bill notice yeah true simple stuff first but listening to that motor it isn't worth fixing. maybe if it diddnt smoke a simple rod replacement would do the trick if the crank was still in good shape which they usually are fine.
Alien face lawn mower 😀
OK so how do I fix this! lol
Hello Nytellem thanks for viewing! Gave this to a friend of mine we did an engine swap he had a rusted out frame and good engine he is still using it was a great frame. Stole some parts of that engine and he still has what is left, pretty sure the cylinder walls were chewed up the previous owner ran it without an air filter for some period of time.
Someone doesn't know how to take care of equipment......
Engine’s Shot
A gasket or a rod is bad. Maybe even both.
Put 40 weight or even 80 weight lol or get yourself a new motor
pooper RINGS Kawasaki motors are bad about blowing out rings
Obama's new EPA approved lawn mower designed for 2025! LOL!
Dumb remark!
Needs a new engine
+KB'S Small engine Repair parts & Service Hello KB's Small Engine Repair thanks for viewing, you are right! It was abused no telling how long they ran it without an air filter or kept oil in it and a shame as well because these are great engines with basic maintenance will run for many years.
I think you might have a blown head gasket
Its worth to break it apart and check it ...
it wouldn't make it smoke it is a lawn mower no coolant in the top half
Blown head gasket