Rage 18 Hp Vanguard Spitting Oil in the Air filter box

[Jun]

Hello Everyone,
Thank you in advance. I have this rage truckmount that has 18 hp vanguard engine.it started spitting a little bit of oil from the breather hose in the air filter box. I drained some oil and the oil is below the line. I will try to run it tommorow and check the air filter box again.The engine has only 512 hrs. It was not like this before and I always changed the oil and filter. The machine is running perfect and I don’t hear any noise or anything. Do you guys have any idea with this oil leak?

 

[sparkling clean]

Head gasket had those engines in most of my small hydramaster units .

 

[sparkling clean]

Mine all started like that small hair line crack your losing compression finding it’s why to breather tube blowing oil it will progressively get worse get fixed soon

 

[Jun]

Mine all started like that small hair line crack your losing compression finding it’s why to breather tube blowing oil it will progressively get worse get fixed soon

I need to get it fix then. How much you think this cost to get it fix?

 

[Jun]

Head gasket had those engines in most of my small hydramaster units .

Thank you

 

[Smtwn janitorial]

I would buy a harbor frieght predator and instal that myself. You have excessive crank case pressure from a serious problem. Could be rings, cracked head, or head gasket.

 

[Jun]

I would buy a harbor frieght predator and instal that myself. You have excessive crank case pressure from a serious problem. Could be rings, cracked head, or head gasket.

So you mean. It’s better to buy a new engine than fixing it? I might be the same price?

 

[Smtwn janitorial]

Depends on the shop and what's wrong with it. It is possible that the harbor frieght engine is a better deal, because it might be cheaper and might last longer.

 

[Jun]

Depends on the shop and what's wrong with it. It is possible that the harbor frieght engine is a better deal, because it might be cheaper and might last longer.

Ok thank you. I think kohler engine is better than vanguard( briggs and stratton) prochem has a kohler engine and it lasts about 3000 hrs or so.

 

[The Magician]

check compression

 

[wandwizard]

I'd take it to a small engine shop if you have a good one in your area. I've found a good small engine mechanic can sometimes save the day, not to mention some serious money! A good one will figure it out likely in minutes and know exactly what to do. I've met a couple really knowledgeable guys that have helped me a number of times. I would have had to replace my engine LONG ago, possibly more than once if not for their expert help. Btw, https://shop.truckmountforums.com told me the engine needed replacing at a cost of over 2,500.00. One of these mechanics fixed the issue for a little over 300. INCLUDING parts and labor! Still running fine every day. Won't hurt to get their input. I've had them correctly diagnose the problem more than once for free.

I have to add though that I've also met some that weren't too good, but that's ancient history. Let's just say I won't go to someone who has a shop in their backyard anymore!

 

[smart n kleen]

Check oil for metal fragments. Don’t panic yet. Is the air filter new?

 

[Jun]

I'd take it to a small engine shop if you have a good one in your area. I've found a good small engine mechanic can sometimes save the day, not to mention some serious money! A good one will figure it out likely in minutes and know exactly what to do. I've met a couple really knowledgeable guys that have helped me a number of times. I would have had to replace my engine LONG ago, possibly more than once if not for their expert help. Btw, https://shop.truckmountforums.com told me the engine needed replacing at a cost of over 2,500.00. One of these mechanics fixed the issue for a little over 300. INCLUDING parts and labor! Still running fine every day. Won't hurt to get their input. I've had them correctly diagnose the problem more than once for free.

I have to add though that I've also met some that weren't too good, but that's ancient history. Let's just say I won't go to someone who has a shop in their backyard anymore!

Thank you.Jon don is a long wait. The available day is on May 8.LOL! No way! I will have someone to check and do compression test next Tuesday.

 

[Jun]

Check oil for metal fragments. Don’t panic yet. Is the air filter new?

Thank you. I just replaced the oil and reduce the oil below the line and air filter. It just spit few drops of oil for couple hours running. The machine is perfectly running. I just run 5 hours yesterday. No smoke or noise. Maybe, I just filled the oil a little too much. Sometimes, this unflatted ground makes me add more oil. Maybe, it needs crankcase breather.

 

[Jun]

The mechanic told me, I need to use a sae 30 oil which I did and Maybe, overfilled of oil. I asked if it is a head gasket and said, No. he said, if it is a head gasket, it would create smoke from the exchaust which It didn’t create smokes. Will see what he finds.

 

[Swixco]

I had the same problems. Finally tracked it down as a valve cover gasket. Very small leak that dripped down and blower blew the drip all over making it seem worse than it was. A $5.00 gasket solved the problem. I used a new gasket and sealer. Good luck!!

 

[Jun]

I had the same problems. Finally tracked it down as a valve cover gasket. Very small leak that dripped down and blower blew the drip all over making it seem worse than it was. A $5.00 gasket solved the problem. I used a new gasket and sealer. Good luck!!

Yeah. It seems like.I can deal with that. Did you replace both of them or just one?

 

[Swixco]

Just the one! I also used gasket sealer. My manual says to use 5w-30 synthetic oil! That's all I use.

 

[wandwizard]

The mechanic told me, I need to use a sae 30 oil which I did and Maybe, overfilled of oil. I asked if it is a head gasket and said, No. he said, if it is a head gasket, it would create smoke from the exchaust which It didn’t create smokes. Will see what he finds.

I believe B & S has recommended synthetic oil for a good number of years now. I switched to 5W30 synthetic years ago. If this was just a lawnmower or something it might not matter as much, but these machines are subjected generally to longer hours of operation as well as higher ambient temps. Synthetic oil has a broader as well as higher temperature range. I think my engine would've kicked the bucket long ago had I not switched. You might want to double check this, but I see no reason why you can't go with a good synthetic. I use Mobile 5W30. Cost a little more, but I can definitely tell the difference in more ways than one. I always try to fill mine just to the top of the fill mark. If it's a hair over I don't worry about it, but you never want to put much over that line. B & S does say overfilling can damage your engine.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/support/faqs/browse/mower-oil-type-and-capacity.html

 

[Jun]

I had a basic maintenance tech checked it for me and he said, it's nothing to worry about it. It's normal for this kind of engine when it reaches 500 hrs or so. I told him, it might be the valve gaskets and he said, no and he didn't see any smoke from the breather hose and the engine is not running unbalance. He recommended to oil change every 25hrs and oil filter every 100 hrs. Interlink tech also said, it's nothing to worry about. It's normal. I get like few drops when I run it like couple hrs and it's not like spraying all over. I will do more checking. Thank you everyone.