I have a Craftsman lawn tractor with an 18.5 HP Intek Engine (97700 series).
It starts fine; but, after a minute or so, it begins blowing white smoke, then stalls. The smoke is not real thick, but enough to make a haze around the mower. When the mower first begin stalling, gas seemed to be getting in the oil.
I've replaced the head gasket, changed the oil, cleaned the carburetor, replaced the air filter, and checked the valve clearances. Is there anything else I should check before taking it to the repair shop?
Best Answer
If the smoke is coloured blueish white you are burning bit of oil. it could be many things. overfilling the crankcase with oil, Malfunctioning crankcase breather or air leak in the crankcase are the usual things to check. if the head gasket is sound and you are not operating the machine over 15 degrees tilt all the time that leaves only few other possibilities. simple ones like wrong oil type or water in the gas. You mentioned you check the carb and imo water in the gas is very high unlikely too. Worse case scenario is worn cylinder or rings if ignored can cause big problems. You probably done this already but if it was mine i would drop the oil fully and fill it with exact amount it says on the manual and give her few rounds around the yard with full power without the blades and than engage the blades and start cutting