wheelhorse66 10 #1 Posted February 4, 2014 My k181 smokes really bad what could be the problem?how can I tell if the rings are bad?when I took the head off it was full of burned oil,how can I tell if the valves are bad? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom. 70 #2 Posted February 4, 2014 Hi, What colour is the smoke? I also have a k181 that smokes very bad. Was the much oil on top of the piston or the valves or both? My piston had a lot of slop in it, I put my hand in the piston and wiggled it, you should feel very little movement if any however if it's burning oil there may be a lot of slop like there was in mine. I am going to instal new valves and rebore my engine and install a new piston and piston ring set. Also clean the top of the piston check for any engravings such as 0.020" as this will indicate whether it has been retired before or not. On the other hand your valve guides could be worn out, you should check for slop in these too. I would also check that where the valve springs are there is a drain hole, make sure this is clean. You may also want to check your crankcase breather to make sure it's installed right and functioning how it should be. Let us know how you get on and hopefully either I or somebody with more experience will be over to help. Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheelhorse66 10 #3 Posted February 4, 2014 OK it blowing white smoke,its so bad that it will run and then it cooks the oil all over the spark plug and kills the engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom. 70 #4 Posted February 4, 2014 Hi, Did you check for any slop in the piston? My guess is that it's coming up the piston and therefore the spark plug is getting covered and then stopping it from creating a spark therefore stopping the engine, I am no expert but this may be the problem. I would say it's a too rich mixture but if the spark plug is getting soaked in oil then it must mean it's either coming up the valves or the piston. I would definitely check the piston for any slop next and let us know how you get on. I presume you have cleaned all the head up and then run it again to make sure it's coming up there? Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordiesel69 271 #5 Posted February 5, 2014 Most likely the piston, rings, and cylinder bore are worn. If the valve guide are bad, you will usually not get that much to foul the plug right away. These K181's are a stout little engine, definatly worth rebuilding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
