I had one where the sump bolts were very loose. I replaced the gasket, put it all back together, and mowed a few hours. The next time the mower was used, the governor grenaded. The pin the that the governor gear rotates on is pressed in, and had worked itself out of the hole a few millimeters. I tapped it down with a hammer and replaced the governor. So far so good. Hopefully this helps someone. I think maybe it got low on oil because of the loose bolts and bad gasket, and the governor gear fused to that pin and wiggled it loose.
So command for sump leaks you would think people would use spray on gasket sealer. That is what I use. Love to know how well the RTV held up. If I use RTV I would not have used the gasket.
This was ultra black permatex which I've had success with in the past. Eliminating the gasket could result in reduced crankshaft endplay so I'd use caution doing that. Permatex chief is my normal go to for gaskets. There are lots of products out there that would work just the same most likely.
BS had a lot of problems with oil leakers , I worked for a hardware store that sold snapper mowers, we changed a lot of engines because of oil leaks , it’s a bad design
I have a regular customer who has put them in each of his engines at about 500 hours. One engine in particular we have had apart 3 or 4 times at this point. We've tried sealers and different gasket combinations to no real long term success. He's trying to get it to a point where he can trade up to something different.
My BS V-twin just developed this oil leak problem after 16-years. I am sure it happened due to repeated heating events caused by mice building homes under the shroud! Why doesn't someone offer better gaskets? A reinforced gasket should stop the failure in it's tracks.
I am not sure that the issue is the gasket itself and not something with the case halves. The problem takes some time to occur and after repeated heating and cooling paired with vibrations, leaks begin.
