I have a 6 HP Craftsman mower that just started smoking and spewing oil out of the exhaust. No oil change, no tilting, easy starting, runs well, but smokes after about 30 seconds and oil drips onto deck. Any ideas for this confused fellow?
Thanks,

Barry

Sorry dude, if it's a relatively new engine, it almost has to be over full of oil, or had to be tipped on it's side with the muffler down. If it's one of those tecumseh engines from around 4 to 5 years ago that came on Crapsman, you have my sympathy. There is probably terrible blow-by coming from the vent on top of the motor that is overwhelming your carburator. Pull the hose from the carb that isn't the gas line. See if oil spews out of it when you run the motor. Go ahead everyone else...attack!

Is this engine a OHV engine . if so Chances are that since it is fairly new , The headgasket may have blown due to the bolts possiably being tourged down enough at the factory.. Lets stop this Crapsman stuff Especialy on push mowers and riding mowers Craftsman or sears has nothing to do with the mowers and anything is crap if their treated that way

I agree completely with Briggs_Man. The company that markets the machine has nothing to do with how well the engine performs.
I own a 10 year old Craftsman 42" rider with a 15 horse Briggs on it. It blew a base gasket a few years ago. That's the way it goes. Some do,some don't. Mine did. Didn't phase me a bit. Removed the engine,replaced the gasket and all is well.
I maintain equipment at a private country club and repair machines worth from 300 to $50,000. They all have their problems,not just Craftsman. I personally own several Craftsman products(and tools) and am satisfied with all of them. You treat them well,they'll repay the favor.

I've bought two of the absolute best sets of drill bits from Sears in the last 10 years. They were awesome, as are some of their tools. Unfortunately, when it comes to push mowers with Tecumseh engines on them, since they swapped locations of the intake and exhaust for emissions purposes and added to the amount of holes that can get clogged, it seems that Sears either isn't listening to customer feedback, or just doesn't care. So they (for a 3 or 4 year period) continued to contract for these "suspect" engines to be featured on their products. As long as they're making money off the people who are shackled to Sears' 20 +% credit cards, I guess it's OK. Unlike your average John Q. Public, most of us on this forum know that Sears, Snapper, Toro, etc. don't manufacture small engines. I'm not blaming Sears for making the products, I blame them for distributing them after the first few hundred showed back up in their repair center (if the people could afford it).

Heard on talk radio that Sears owns about 30% shares in either Tecumseh or B&S (cant rember which). So in a round about way Sears is Mfg. their own engines.

Kevin,that may be true,but many,if not most,big companies own stock in other compainies,whether related to what they sell or not.
I used to work for a railroad and ocassionally would be in the yards. Look on the sides of rail cars and see who owns them;everything from banks to real estate to insurance companies. And I don't mean just a few either. Big bucks go where more big bucks are regardless.

Thank you all for the replies. It appears it turned out to be either over-filled with oil or had been turned on its side. Smoked for a while when I just let it run and then pretty much stopped doing that and ran fine. Have mowed twice since then and all is fine. Appreciate the help.

Barry

You can turn those Tecumseh's up on their side with the muffler/carb pointing up over night and not experience any problems. Tip it over with the muffler/carb pointing down for 30 seconds to a minute and you're in for an oily, fouled out mess. I see at least 20 of them per season.

Maybe you can help. I hope so.
My Tecumseh mower wouldn't start after I changed blades and probably tipped mower improperly. The pull-cord won't pull soomthly, unless I remove the sparkplug. I've taken everything apart, including cleaning the valves and cylinder. Turning the flywheel by hand, I have the same issue; during the end of compression and during end of explosion phases it is hard to turn. The only thing I haven't checked is the "breather" (because removing the flywheel looks tough.) Could the "breather" be the problem?
Thanks for any help you can give.