Smoke Coming Out of Muffler - Honda GXV120

[R4665]

Update. Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions.

Did the leak down test. 20% leakage - all coming out of the carb. No air out of the muffler or dip stick.

Was able to get the mower started and running. It "smoked" for 20 - 30 seconds and then the smoke went away.

Here is a short video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds3aF7R1bkY. You can hear the noise that the mower is making. Also the engine is surging - except when the choke is on. Not on the video is a quick test of engaging the blade and engaging the transmission. Both worked.

After shutting off the engine, I noticed a lot of oil dripping from under the housing. After removing the blower housing and flywheel (which was drenched in oil), there was oil around the crankshaft seal.

Can the oil seal be removed and replaced without taking apart the engine? I'm not sure I want to spend much more time on the mower.

Thanks

[HondaG100]

All you should need is a hook shaped tool to pull the seal out. The really stubborn ones I use a couple drywall screws turned just through the top surface of the seal then pry up on the screws. There are probably better purpose made tools but it works for the few I do each year.

[bgsengine]

Are you sure it is the seal at fault and not that crankcase breather pushing oil out?

[KE4AVB]

This GXV120 uses a 62/22-2RS ball bearing on the flywheel side so its side play could cause the seal to leak or be worn one sided. It might also explain that metal to metal contact sound heard in the video. just thinking out loud.

[HondaG100]

I have a similar mower that surges exactly like yours and smooths out just like yours did in the video once the blade engaged. Does it improve with the air filter installed? I always assumed the carb was to lean from the factory and a worn engine made it worse.

[R4665]

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions.

I never determined the cause of the mysterious noise. The good news is that I was able to find someone who had an identical mower and wanted this one.

I learned that there is just so much time one can spend trying to fix a 25+ year old mower. I'm glad I found a new home for the mower rather than it ending up in a landfill.