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Oil in Air Filter

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dwcphoto

Hi Folks,

  Started up my 518-H today and noticed the air filter light was on. Seemed to run just fine and sounds alright to me.  I opened up the filter compartment (Onan performer 18) and found oil inside the filter area. It was enough that it was leaking into the foam ring. I took off the plate that covers the carb and it had some oil collected on it.  It looks nice and clean down in the carb.  I drained a little oil out, in case I had over filled it, and wiped it all clean. I mowed for a couple of hours and it ran and mowed great. Sounds fine.  After mowing, it had a bunch of oil in there again.

  What's the diagnosis? Thank you very much! dwc

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WH nut

Check your breather

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dwcphoto

Okay. Will do.  Just in case you don't know me by now, I'm a legit WH dummy.  Where's the breather?  Thanks! dwc

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dwcphoto

Just found a pdf 965-0762 on Onan engine that describes breather work. thanks! dwc

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dwcphoto

Okay, one question. In the Onan guide there are two breathers, Spec A & B (maintainable), then Spec C (nonmaintainable). Is there an indication of which one before I tear it apart, so I can order the correct part?  Also, does it hurt to run the engine temporarily in this condition?  Thank you very much, dwc

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dwcphoto

Good Morning,

  I dug into my Onan P218 this morning a little more.  It looks like quite a job to get to the breather assembly.  I tried to find a repair kit online, but can't seem to find one.  According to the pdf, I'll only need the gasket, unless the reed is damaged.  Any thoughts on this one? thank you very much, dwc

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dwcphoto

I tried the search and didn't find anything.  Is there a thread on breather maintenance? Thanks! dwc

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dbartlett1958

dwc,

Look in the Manuals section and download the Onan Service manual. Good description in there of the process.

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dwcphoto

Thank you! I'll do that. My local shop opens in a few minutes, so I'll see if they have parts. thank you, dwc

 

Nice stumping weather, too!

Edited by dwcphoto
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dwcphoto

Hi Folks,

 I have the parts now and am back from a variety of things like vacation, work and scout camp.  I have a couple of questions before I get the wrenches out.  

    The top of my engine is really grimmy, I'm sorry to admit. I need to clean.  Will it tolerate being hosed off, since I don't have a compressor? 

   Also, it looks like I will have to remove a bunch of stuff, like manifolds, carborator, sheet metal housings, etc, to do the job.  While the instructions on doing the maintenence for the breathter is clear, is there a way to get to the valve cover without taking off a bunch of other stuff?  Someone who has done this might know a straight forward way to do this.

  Thank you very much, dwc

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dwcphoto

Hi Guys,

  An hour here and there, I got the breather out, cleaned it up nice and put in new gasket, valve and spring.  I haven't run it for very long, but I'll check it for oil in the filter area again soon to see if I made the fix correctly.  thank you all for your guidance. best, dwc

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chdinct

Hi Guys,

  An hour here and there, I got the breather out, cleaned it up nice and put in new gasket, valve and spring.  I haven't run it for very long, but I'll check it for oil in the filter area again soon to see if I made the fix correctly.  thank you all for your guidance. best, dwc

 

dwcphoto - Found your thread on oil in your air filter assembly doing a search.  I'm having the same issue.  Haven't noticed any running issues except the occasional smell of an over rich engine.  Anyway, if you're still visting RS, let me know how your fix worked.  Just wondering if you opened up the air filter to see if you were still getting oil inside.  Going to attempt this myself over the winter since I don't use my 520 for snow duty.  Well, that's the plan anyway.  Thanks

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dwcphoto

chdinct,

 

 I put the snowblower on today, but did not check in the air filter. I'll probably do that this afternoon though, since you reminded me.  After cleaning out the breather I mowed a few times and used the tractor to haul wood several times and did not see any oil build up. I will check again though. It's actually a pretty simple procedure.  As I remember there's only one bolt to take out. There was some grit built up on the valve which was probably the culprit.  I have to admit I was overdue for an oil change. I kept putting it off and I just be that led to this problem. I did not have to replace the valve or the spring. I ended up cleaning the filter with gas and drying it out, as the replacement filter did not seem to fit right. The hardest part for me was cleaning off the top of the engine so I didn't get a lot of grit in the engine. I store it in a shed and it's pretty dusty. 

  I also replaced the regulator since then and put on a new hose going to the sensor.  Today the tractor started up after very little turning, even though it had been sitting for a couple of months. It's like a new beast now.  Good luck with your project. It'll be easy once you get going. By the way, I'm a guy with a toolbox, not a mechanic and it was definitely a job I could handle. best, dwc

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dwcphoto

Just checked the air filter. Still nice and dry and clean. When I did the breather, I also changed the air filter and foam filter. Have fun, dwc

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chdinct

Thanks for the update.  Found my issue when cleaning the foam filter and just getting it ready for winter storage.  Good to know you don't have to be a Master Mechanic to fix this issue since I'm no gear head but like to do my own work whenever possible.  What parts did you buy and what parts did you end up using?  Looks like I'll need a new gasket and will probably pick up a reed valve just in case I need it once I'm in there.  Thanks again.

 

Chris 

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dwcphoto

You will definitely need a new gasket. My valve was fine, just gritted up. The spring is pretty heavy duty and the filter is pretty much just a screen.  I bought the reed valve and spring for the same reason, just to have on hand. A couple of hours of patient fiddling and you'll have it done. I thought I was going to have to take a bunch of stuff off to get to it, but there's very little if any of that sort of thing. It looks worse than it is.  enjoy, dwc

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chdinct

You will definitely need a new gasket. My valve was fine, just gritted up. The spring is pretty heavy duty and the filter is pretty much just a screen.  I bought the reed valve and spring for the same reason, just to have on hand. A couple of hours of patient fiddling and you'll have it done. I thought I was going to have to take a bunch of stuff off to get to it, but there's very little if any of that sort of thing. It looks worse than it is.  enjoy, dwc

 

Thanks.  I know you have a P218 and mine a P220, but do you have a part number for the reed valve?  I can't seem to find it in Toro's schematics for my 93 520-H.  I'm betting it's the same part as yours.  Thanks again.  

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dwcphoto

Here's what I got from Onanparts.com . 

 

Order Details
Quantity  Item ID   Description                                                 
--------  --------  ------------------------------------------------------------
       1  123-1175  Onan 123-1175 Reed, Breather Valve B & P Series             
       1  123-1871  Onan 123-1871 Wire Mesh Breather Filter Screen B & P Series.
       1  110-3709  110-3709 Valve Cover Gasket B & P Series                    
       1  123-1174  Onan 123-1174 Breather Valve Spring B, P & Some N Series

 

The whole order was only several dollars, I think. Well worth it. dwc

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chdinct

Thanks.  That should work for me.  Guess those are Onan part numbers cause the valve cover gasket part number is different that what's on the Toro site.  For whatever reason, I can't find the reed valve part number there, but probably more expensive to order through Toro anyway.  

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dwcphoto

This was pretty much the only place that had the parts, other than the gasket. I think you can pick up the gaskets at the local Toro dealer, which might suggest that the other parts usually don't fail. d

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chdinct

I ended up ordering the gasket and reed valve (just in case) from Small Engine Warehouse.  They listed the parts by the Onan part number, so thanks again.  Came to $14.99 with shipping.  Good enough.  Hopefully, we'll get a reasonably warm day for the fix once the parts get here.  

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