:mad: Being new to this whole lawn care thing after recently firing my gardener, I did something stupid. This morning was the 2nd time I attempted mowing. I started it up and did half the lawn and the mower started sputtering a little and ended up dying and when I tried to start it back up there were small puffs of smoke. I asked my neighbor what she thought and she said to check the oil. I did and it said to add, so I did. I started it again and it ran for a few minutes but quickly started to spew out tons of smoke and puttered out again. So I added more oil. That was the end, I can start it now but it is very, very smokey and isn't sounding great.

Did I completely mess this $350 investment up or can it be fixed? PLEASE tell me it can be fixed!

Thank you so much,
Cami V

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Originally Posted by camiv

:mad: Being new to this whole lawn care thing after recently firing my gardener, I did something stupid. This morning was the 2nd time I attempted mowing. I started it up and did half the lawn and the mower started sputtering a little and ended up dying and when I tried to start it back up there were small puffs of smoke. I asked my neighbor what she thought and she said to check the oil. I did and it said to add, so I did. I started it again and it ran for a few minutes but quickly started to spew out tons of smoke and puttered out again. So I added more oil. That was the end, I can start it now but it is very, very smokey and isn't sounding great.

Did I completely mess this $350 investment up or can it be fixed? PLEASE tell me it can be fixed!

Thank you so much,
Cami V

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No, it can be fixed but you should change the spark plug (or pull it out and clean it of any oil then put it back in), then check the air fillter for any oil and if its soaked with oil, replace it, then the hard part is opening the guts of the carburetor to clean out the oil - if it's a small HP push or self propelled walk behind type mower, just take the screws out of the carburetor bowl carefully noting exactly how the parts were installed and, once cleaned of oil, replace those parts exactly as they came off. First before all of the above, either tip the mower or howerver the owners manual specifies (might have to unscrew the drain plug if there is one) and drain out all oil that is in excess of the limit shown on the oil dip stick. If you have done all the above, it still may spew smoke, stutter and miss but should start after several pulls of the pull cord. I am not a mechanic so if there is a trained mechanic reading this, please feel free to correct or modify my thinking. My experience is from selling mowers and dealing with customers who have put too much oil in the mower.

No need to enter carb, oil does not enter carb usually just the throat and air filter. Cange oil, plug, air filter and run until it clears.

Don

I used to work for Sears and people used to do this all the time, change everything (as stated above by new aukumodn) And be careful to always tilt away from the air filter. But you might have shortened the life of the mower by a few weeks. It is hard to see the oil when it is new. The best advice I can give you is to always study the manual (as power equipment is by nature dangerous).