I saw that too. Those terminals really should be cleaned up and treated with what ever your favorite anti-corrosive terminal spray is. Just to keep the acid fumes off the connection.
I had problem with a 1976 Grand Prix once. I took it to the dealer. It was the PVC Value. The replaced it. That fixed the problem. Awesome video thanks for sharing.
Surprised you failed to remove the excessive sulfate buildup on the negative terminal. Never seen buildup that bad on a easily accessible battery. 👍👍🇦🇺
So the poor neglected mower regurgitated the original oil and was crying out for some fresh oil. It figured out a way to get some attention. Lawn mowers have feelings too!
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics yah I guess but my thinking is he might have ran it out of oil so there's still dirty oil inside chain tensioners and stuff but ya hrs is the best gauge of all Don't know why cars can't use something like that
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics I agree to a point but "looking" clean does not mean it is good oil. You still have to check to see whether or not it's contaminated. It could have had fuel in it
Nice easy fix there, Ivan! Like a vacation! 😁👍🍻 Not surprised to see good compression on that one. They sure don't build stuff that good anymore! Those 318's were TANKS! I had one in here last year for service. It's got a major oil leak right now that needs to be dealt with. Alot of work, but well worth it - that thing will run another 30 years easily. Onan engines were as tough as nails. I believe the engine has to come out to access the pan where the leak is on my customer's unit. I had resealed the front cover hoping that was it, but it wasn't. One thing I learned - a $150 mistake (luckily - should have been double that) I made was not paying attention and using a puller on the PTO there. It just slides right off, but I didn't think it was that easy! Boy did I learn something there. Destroyed the clutch, which is NLA, except by aftermarket companies. Still $300 from them, and not as strong as OE. I was lucky enough to find a local guy that had a stockpile of J/D parts - I got a replacement assembly, with the bearing, for $150. Disaster averted! Big lesson for me there. I pretty much worked for free that day. Live and learn ... to SLOW DOWN!! 😵
I had a sticky rings in my 2002 BMW Z3 M roadster with the S54. I went too long without driving it and it was missing, smoking and vibrating super bad. I put seafoam in the oil after doing a compression checks finding 90-120 low and 220 on my good cylinder. After seafoam I was 219-221 on all 6. For last 5 years I been doing a half can at a oil change with the new and 50 miles before (3-4 days) I put the other half. It cleaned my 350k Nissan D21Hardbody really nice over 2 years of oil changes. I keep my cars 17 years with my Z3M and 9 with my D21. Seafoam for sticking rings. FYI.... nice video and great info.
If anyone is wondering how to prevent corrosion like that on your battery terminals, those felt washers which come with your new battery are supposed to be soaked with a little oil, and installed under the terminal connectors. The oil will wick its way onto the metal and prevent the corrosion. At least, that is the theory. When I was a kid, back during the dinosaur era, we just smeared some grease on the terminals to accomplish the same thing. Long ago, the car batteries were only 6 volts, so a bad connection was easy to achieve with a little corrosion between the battery post and the terminal clamps. Your battery water level was easier to check though, since you only had 3 cells to peer down into, while wondering how it worked. Those were the days before the alternator, when cars still had generators. And when you could usually fix a bad GM alternator by changing the diode pack inside them for $12.
Lawn care equipment in general is usually the worst maintained equipment of all. People run things until they stop. I think this was a good call by Ivan.. LLM (Lawnmowers lives matter)
@@fredflintstone8048 LLM made me chuckle. I still cannot get over the lack of a drain plug in newer lawnmowers. Much to your point there was a poll and it indicated many people do not change the oil in their mower. I was appalled. Please say hello to Wilma and Barney for me.
@@dogsplantscarsneatstuff176 I didn't know that the newer lawnmowers don't have oil drain plugs. It's stands to reason since they cost money to create and most are never used. I am one of those oddball people who changes oil in his lawnmowers and air compressors. Maybe the lack of oil drain plugs will become moot due to people migrating more and more to the newer generation of cordless electric lawn equipment which require little or no maintenance and with the advent of Lipoly batteries, perform quite well.
Ivan you can wash the foam ring around the main filter with Dawn dish liquid and warm water. Yes just like the little duck, be gentle the do deteriorate when they get old.Yes that is what the maker recommends, soap and water, to clean.
I personally start spark plugs into their threads by hand because I like to get a feel of it when installing them,the same with removing them because a couple of the spark plugs in my mothers Toyota Corolla were partially seized in the spark plug threads so I sprayed diesel down the spark plug wells,let them soak for a few minutes then worked them backwards & forwards until the spark plugs were removed without stripping out the threads,I applied Never Seez to the spark plug threads on the new spark plugs as well. I know what you're saying about the diagnosis of that lawnmower engine,my dad replaced a whole 3.8 litre Buick L36 V6 engine in his Holden Commodore because it runs on LP gas which causes exhaust valve seat recession,even though it had done almost 400,000 kilometres all it needed was valve seat replacement in the cylinder heads & new pushrods fitted as they were scuffed on their tips,the engine had no blowby & didn't burn oil. I run a 5.7 litre Chevrolet LS1 V8 engine in my Commodore which is about to clock over to 358,000 kilometres,it's all original apart from the hydraulic lifters & the timing chain & sprockets which I have replaced. I run Nulon 10W40 full synthetic oil in the engine & it doesn't use any oil !
John Deere should buy that back and use it as a testament to their products. That thing has seen some serious abuse over it's life. It always amazes me how people spend money on good equipment and let it go to hell over the life of the unit. Looking around that shed indicates that there's a lot more 'suffering' going on there.
Ivan, as others have said, when you look at the battery terminals, you know the filter has never been changed. Even a tiny effort at maintenance, would help that machine.
These 318's are great tractors, built like tanks. Back when equipment was built to last. I have one myself, a 1992 model still going strong. There is a valve as some people mentioned under the air filter tray, on occasion those can go bad. Something else I saw is where the engine shroud is on the oil filter side, there is a gasket that goes around the oil filter that prevents cooling air from escaping. When I got my tractor I checked and there is a lot of air that gets forced out of there with no gasket. Please tell me the owner wants you to clean his battery terminals/cable ends for him, when I saw those it actually hurt my eyes. That poor tractor really needs some love.
Im going out on a limb here.....But Im guessing the battery will be the next problem, looking at those terminals. Reminds me of a friend who bought a brand new car, never did a oil change, traded it in with 180,000 miles on it. Ran Great. Bet your pretty popular around your neck of the woods. Were all waiting for a flying video, up up and away. A lawn chair, a 10 hp B&S, a King size sheet, and some fishing line, and a upgrade on your Life Insurance Policy. Good to go, remember your roots comrade ! First In Space
The engine will also suck up the oil if it's too thin. Should have checked to see if it was thinned out with fuel due to a leaky seat on the carburetor
Ivan you tighten those plugs anyway you see fit. Your expertise is far above most of your viewers. This is why PM is so important! Thanks for a great channel!
I have put synthetic two cycle ( Yamaha out board oil)oil in old motors which smoke for years. No more smoke fouled plugs etc. Never had a motor blow yet.. Have a bunch of Onan motors like that
Wow just a little TLC always the way to go those things work hard so the care they need is well worth the buck for sure...... thanks for the great video.....
It is possible that the air filter was so dirty that it caused the engine to suck oil past the rings, or valve guides. And Yeah! that battery terminal needs some cleaning.
Ivan you are so tactful about using a drill to start a spark plug replacement in the engine. That's a preference that works for you. Good!! Being a Lab guy even the iron clad EPA usually allows several techniques to analyse many substances. People need to celebrate more ways to do anything. Just remember for some of we clumsy people this is not an option. Since now spark plugs last so long, I always install with short piece of rubber fuel line on the end of the spark plug (something all of us learned as kids) since it only takes a maybe a couple of minutes more. Then again I fell on my map sensor in my Buick and broke it. Yes super glue now has 1001 uses. For the uncoordinated using a mechanical device to start a spark plug my result in engine indigestion. Was that a Briggs or Kohler? Iron Sleeved?
It's a John Deere. Work Horse is a different brand lol. Maybe the float stuck and and the crank case got full of fuel. I'm guessing at 3 minutes in. My mower quit on me last week and I tried to think of what you and Eric O would do. Cranked shooting brake cleaner in intake,No good. Checked spark, OK. Checked compression. 30 psi. lol had to google 21 horse briggs and they said 80 psi was ready for a rebuild. Anyway took valve cover off and the intake pushrod was bent. Runs fine now.
One of the best garden tractors ever built. If you remove the breather tube that goes from the air cleaner tray to the engine from the engine you will find there is a filter in it, there is also a pcv valve there, they can stick and cause this. Onan used a couple styles on those engines so it could have the early tube with ball style valve or the later spring type under a cover plate on the engine. Manual for it if you need it. Pages 05-4 - 05-7 www.wfmfiles.com/download/manuals/CTM2_-_16_18_20_24_HP_Onan_Engines.pdf
I would argue that the 425,445,455 tractors were JD’s best garden tractors back then. The 425 and 445 had liquid cooled Kawasaki V-twin OHV engines with the 445 having EFI, while the 455 came with a Yanmar diesel. They had power steering, diff lock, could have remote hydraulics like my 425, as well as a 3-point hitch and a rear 540 PTO. They were pretty much the equivalent of a subcompact tractor today.
@@notajp I have never heard anything bad about the Kawasaki engines. How many hours have you put on it and was it trouble free? I have never had a kawasaki engine or an Onan so I am curious. Sounds like you had good luck with the kawasaki.
Cant believe that years ago a friend of mine had the same problem on a carb engine fiat van....oil in the air filter housing but engine mechanically fine......never got to the bottom of it...then all these years later you come up with what is almost certainly the answer!!
Some of those Deere's have a vent in the side of the block with a small foam filter in them that draw air into the crankcase ( others have what looks like a vacuum port but it's a fresh air draw to prevent the crankcase from pressurizing) I've seen both of these systems clog and cause exactly the same blow by issues. Just something else to look for..
I would pull the numbers off that engine and check the exploded views. Not sure on the opposed twins but the v-twins will have a reed valve and a mesh separator under a cover on the block where the pcv hose attaches.
I can't believe someone would unsubscribe because you started spark plugs with a power tool. I mean it's not something I would do, but this channel is about electronic diagnosis, not specific tune up techniques. Yes, you probably take "no parts needed" to the extreme sometimes, but I prefer that to a parts canon anytime. Almost any iteration John Deere tractor mower is going to last a lifetime. I inherited an old D100 with a B&S rotary engine; it has been severely abused but refuses to die. Strange story the former owner replaced it with a L100 which burned up in a grass fire and then he died a short time afterwards. The deck of the D100 was a disaster but after some red neck repairs (and new carburetor, fuel pump, spindles and blades) it was eating up brush again; the headlights are gone but who rides a mower at night?
"If you use your head' doesn't describe the behavior of some of the clowns posting nonsense in comments. A careful application of very light power would do the trick. Good video :)
Spark plugs are EASY to cross-thread....and better to use the extension and hand start it....it only takes a few seconds extra....vs a ton on time and money if you mess up.
Love the channel. Your videos are almost as fun as reading the comments from the armchair quarterbacks. Half don’t own a full set of wrenches but direct your diag. By the way, anyone seen my 10 mm.
People do ask you to repair some odd things, fun though :-D I think he over filled it and forgot to tell you, supprise lol. For an old engine the compression looks very good :-D
Ivan, Good video - thank you! The problem with diagnosis/analysis of issues like this is there is no sense of time. Without an hour meter or really good records by the user there is no way of knowing how long that condition has been happening or how long it took for the conditions as you saw them took to occur - days?, weeks?, months?, years? Obviously just looking at the battery terminals the machine screams 'neglect' - like so many do. The other issue is that its very difficult to know what is 'normal' on these engines - ie how much blowby is normal, etc, especially when age (in hours running) may be unknown. I would have liked to have seen a leakdown test. I wouldnt expect the owner to put on hour meter on a machine that old but at least at this point try to keep a simple record of approx running times in hours. God bless Paul (in MA) ps I have hour meters on my 1996 Craftman lawn tractor and my 2005 Toro snowblower.
The problem with using a power tool to screw in something like that spark plug is if you initially get it cross threaded you may not feel it until after you damage the threads. If you start it with your fingers first and its cross threaded you will feel it and know to back it out and try again. I always put some WD-40 on the threads and then screw them in by hand first before putting a ratchet on them. I want to feel them screwing in nice and easy first before I apply any force to the plug. The last thing you want to do is damage the threads in the head, especially on a car engine.
as long as it works, run it ! when it's broke ,throw it in the landfill ! there's plenty of room there for our negligence of machinery ! maintenance? what's that for? John Deere is building 'em to fit that attitude now more than ever .
Being a jdeere fan an loyal owner for years, i was shocked at the corroded battery terminals. Its vvery obvious this guy doesn't have jd maintenance on his bucket list. Next time Ivan gets a call it'll be no crank..
You can take the foam filter off and wash it with little hands this soap and dry it out and it'll be all better when you get a little better life out of your filter to because it filters most of the dirt and oh by the way it be nice if you clean the battery posts and make them nice and clean and nice so you don't have any problems in the future just my comment keep up the good work.
This is a common problem with these onan 318 engines. John Deere used 2 engines for these tractors, the early one was an Onan P218, and the later one was the B43. This one looks to be a P218. I have this tractor, bought new in 1987. It has 1700 hours on it. The problem is the valve guides. Numerous discussions on JD web sites, The replacement parts are nearly impossible to find, with one and only ebay seller quite grumpy and un-coopertive. No one else has new parts. One shade tree fix, which I have done based on the web, was to hook up an intermediary cannister between the hose and the air cleaner, consisting of a large tomato juice metal can with soldered fittings on each end. It is attached high to the firewall and the added effects of gravity, create a reservoir that keeps oil out of the carburetor. Sounds crazy, but works. This is the best homeowner tractor ever made according to several sources. Many owners eventually re-power it with a new Briggs and Stratton engine from small engine warehouse because the rest of the machine is so great. Kind regards Craig
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics that's true but that air filter was nasty though and I've worked on small engines for over half my life and never knew that a dirty air filter can cause the oil to do that. Well i shouldn't say that I got a free toro with 6hp briggs and the air filter was really bad on it I think it was either oil soaked or it was soaked in gas I can't remember since it was nearly 10 years ago when i got and after i did a few repairs it's still running great to this day
