So, you poured too much oil into your lawnmower engine in a rush. So, what’s the big deal? The manufacturer specifies the amount of oil used in your engine for a reason. So, if you overfilled a lawnmower with oil by accident, you need to know what can happen and how to fix the problem.
Too much oil in your lawn mower’s engine might cause it to overheat and cause damage such as seal failure, blown gaskets, or more. In our guide, you can learn more about putting too much oil in lawnmowers and the small engine oil overfill symptoms you will find.
By the end, you’ll see how you can carry on with your home improvement for a nice lawn, knowing you have used all the preventative measures, so you don’t add excess lubricant and cause permanent damage. (Read Briggs And Stratton Oil Capacity Chart)
What Are The Signs Your Lawn Mower Has Too Much Oil?
The following are some signs that your lawnmower is overly lubricated. Keep an eye out for the following signs:
Hard to start motor:
A lawnmower with too much oil can have a difficult time starting. This is because some engine sections should not come into touch with motor oil. As a result, your first pull could feel as if the engine won’t turn.
Slow starting motor:
A delayed start, besides a hard-starting motor, could show too much oil in the system.
Leaking oil:
Oil spilling from a lawnmower could suggest that it has been overloaded. It could come from the muffler, the exhaust system, or other machine parts.
Oil In Carburettor:
If you tilt the mower at an angle or are trimming a rough area or slope, excess lubrication can run toward the carburetor.
White Smoke:
White smoke is coming from the muffler. If you detect white exhaust coming from your muffler, it’s a sign your lawnmower has too much oil. This indicator is usually accompanied by visible oil flowing from the muffler.
Oil Soaked Air Filter:
If you have an air filter in your trimmer and see oil droplets, this shows that there is too much oil in the system.
Effects of Excess Oil in a Lawn Mower
Valuable tips on the effects of too much oil in lawnmowers.
Engine Seal Damage:
You may harm the engine’s oil seals. This may not sound like much, but if oil blows out of the seals and is missed, it might cause engine failure.
When the engine runs out of oil, it will likely spin a rod or solder itself to the crankshaft. This heat might shatter the rod and force it out of the engine block. (Read Oil For Troy Bilt Lawn Mower Guide)
The piston can seize up by welding itself to the cylinder wall. You’ll need to be extra careful in spotting the signs as you could ruin the engineer on the right equipment for your lawn.
Overheating Engine:
When the crankshaft and rod push more oil, the engine can overheat. Extra oil prevents free rotation of the crankshaft and rod. As a result, the crankcase pressure rises, stressing the engine’s internal components.
Hot valve spring and rocker arm The oil may not flow properly, causing extra heat. Remember that most engines are made of aluminum, which is incredibly hot. The engine can get so hot that a valve guide or valve seat can pop off of the engine. If this happens, your engine will need to be scraped and have an extra cost to fix.
Engine Could Seize:
Overfilled oil may enter the cylinder. This causes the engine to stall. Also, oil can slip through the rings and lock up the engine due to wear. This is called hydro-locked.
The combustion chamber, which should only contain air and a little fuel, now contains oil, causing increased compressions hydro-lock the piston, preventing oil compression. As a result, the piston rod may bend when you start the engine.
Engine Runs Rough and Smokes:
Too much oil in your engine can cause it to run poorly. Too much engine oil might clog the spark plug. The oil prevents the proper ignition of the gasoline.
Oil can also get into the valve train of your lawnmower, causing poor performance. The cylinder burns this oil, filling the room with a thick cloud of whitish-blue smelly smoke. In addition to the smoke, a lack of clean air might clog your air filter. Because of this, the air filter may clog.
Engine Could Blow a Gasket
Overfilling the engine with oil causes similar issues in dual cylinder engines. Overfilling might overheat gaskets. Repairing a two-cylinder engine costs more than repairing a push mower engine since the engine must be removed from the lawnmower, adding to labor costs.
Adding a little extra oil may not seem like a big problem, but it might cause significant repairs or engine replacement. So before changing or adding oil, examine twice and only add what your engine manufacturer specifies.
Various Ways to Remove Excess Oil From Lawn Mower
If you’ve overfilled your engine oil, you’ll need to drain it to the proper amount. To ensure safety, first, disconnect the spark plug wire. After that, your lawn mower’s engine oil can be removed in a variety of ways.
Drain Plug or Valve Port:
Check to see if your lawnmower has a drain plug or valve port on the engine. It can be found in the bottom of the oil pan under the lawnmower or on the side of the engine near the dipstick. Prepare your drain pan to catch the oil. Replace the plug after removing it for a brief moment. Then, check the level of your oil. (Learn How To Get Rid Of Clover In Lawn)
Oil Filter:
If your engine has an oil filter, then use this to drain a small amount of oil by loosening or removing the oil filter. Prepare a towel to collect the oil.
Fill Hole:
It’s possible that your mower doesn’t have a drain plug or an oil filter. For example, many small engines on
push mowers lack a drain plug. Because of this, flip the mower over to drain a little amount of oil from the fill hole.
Oil Extractor Pump:
To remove oil, use an oil evacuator. An extractor can remove the oil through a tube put into the engine oil fill hole.
Turkey Baster:
Small amounts of oil can be removed with a turkey baster. After you’ve used it in your engine, be sure you don’t use it for cooking. Replacing them is rather affordable.
Before changing the oil in your lawnmower, consult your owner’s manual carefully to determine the engine’s capacity. If you don’t have your owner’s handbook, you can always look out for the crankcase capacity on Google or another search engine.
How To Prevent Adding Too Much Oil to Lawn Mower
To maintain your lawnmower engine properly oiled, take preventive measures such as checking the amount of oil in the engine regularly.
If you’ve recently purchased a new lawnmower, it’s a good idea to read the instruction booklet to learn about the oil requirements for that model.
- You can contact either the seller or the corporation if you don’t have it. For example, a lawnmower typically requires 16 to 20 fluid ounces of engine oil.
- Take remove the oil dipstick and inspect the oil level indicator. This will tell you how much oil you’ll need to fill the crankcase.
- If the engine is no longer hot from recent mowing operations and a large amount of oil remains in the crankcase, it’s time to check the oil level.
- Remember not to rush through this. Instead, pour only two to three ounces into the oil at a time, then remeasure.
How To Remove Excess Oil From Lawn Mower
Excess oil troubles in your lawnmower can sometimes be too late to fix without professional help or scouring the owner’s manual. Even yet, sometimes, your patience and expertise in proper oil removal will come in handy.
To avoid overheating while in use, every lawn mower should be oiled. Oil also lubricates your mower, allowing it to run smoothly. On the other side, too much oil will cause the lawnmower to produce more heat than it requires, causing it to overheat.
To prevent any oil or undesired dirt from entering deeper into the combustion chamber, tilt the lawnmower to the side with the carburetor pointing upwards when discharging extra oil.
Pour the oil into an appropriate container. Any spilled oil from lawn mower parts should be cleaned up immediately, as leaking oil from a lawnmower might be a fire hazard. It’s a good idea to change the oil filter after the surplus oil in a lawnmower has been drained. In addition, it is recommended to replace the oil filter more than once each season if you use your lawnmower frequently.
Finally, the drained motor oil in a lawnmower must be disposed of safely for the environment.
Knowing your lawn mower’s particular oil requirements is critical for avoiding complications caused by excess oil.
If you have a corded electric lawnmower, you’ll never have this issue and can cut shaper and offer a decent amount of power without worrying about engine oil levels.
Besides this, adding cold oil in a cold engine leads to too much oil no matter if you read the manufacturer’s manual or not. Warm your engine and add as much oil as needed.
You need to add the right quantity of oil for your mower to function correctly. Too much oil in a lawnmower is worse than too little oil, never mind the slow start, an oil leak or the mower smoke, and overheating. (Read Dethatching St Augustine Grass Guide)
If you put too much oil in lawnmower, you risk severe engine damage that can’t be fixed. If you know you have surplus lubricant to remove, this isn’t a difficult task and takes a few minutes. However, the most challenging part could be to dispose of the excess oil properly.
Once the engine is warm, take the dipstick out of the oil tube and make sure the oil level is above the minimum levels, yet clearly below the maximum mark, then you’ll know you have enough oil needed.
