Blower housing removal

[Dad520H 0]

I have a 520H that developed an oil leak after removing old oil filter and installing new one.  I am trying to remove the blower housing to find where the oil is leaking from. I have removed bolts, but still seems pretty solid. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[dalez 136]

There is a couple bolts on the bottom of the housing.

[lynnmor 6,762]

3 hours ago, dalez said:

There is a couple bolts on the bottom of the housing.

Those bolts are accessed thru holes in the mounting plate.

 

You also have screws at the ignition coil.  The housing really is no fun to remove. 

 

  The first thing I would check is the oil filter number to see if it is correct, the next thing is to check the oil filter to see if the gasket might have stuck to the engine and not come out with the filter.  Some have had problems with the oil filter mount gasket, so check there.

[Dad520H 0]

Thanks dalez I'm pretty sure I've removed all the bolts, or at least the ones I can see. I just can't believe how solid  it still feels. I'm trying to get to the oil filter base. I suspect my leak is coming from that area.

[Dad520H 0]

dalez and lynnmor nailed it. Thanks for your help in finding ALL the bolts to remove the blower housing. Once finally removed, I realized I've had a small oil leak for quite a while. It didn't really surface until I changed oil filters. When I started the engine, oil gushed out. I have a used oil filter mounting base I'm going to try after I pressure wash all the oil and accumulated grime out of there. The replacement filter I finally purchased is a K & N HP-1002. It fits the base perfectly and has a nut on the back of it.

Any suggestions on the oil leak would be greatly appreciated. 

[Dad520H 0]

The oil filter that showed the leak was a Wix 51348. I haven't tried the new filter yet.

[tom2p 2,393]

I would use WD-40 and a roll of paper towels ... take my time ... instead of pressure wash 

 

maybe it's just me - but I would not get near a 300/400/500 series with a pressure washer unless I was planning a total restoration - and maybe not even then

and this from someone that never brought a dirty dirt bike home - always stopped at the car wash on the way home 

 

sometimes even used a little garden sprayer to wash the bike between motos

[tom2p 2,393]

16 minutes ago, Dad520H said:

The oil filter that showed the leak was a Wix 51348. I haven't tried the new filter yet.

I don't understand ..

 

'oil filter showed the leak' ? 

 

'oil gushed out' after filter was changed ?

I assume it would need oil after use   ? ... and or oil on the deck or spot on the floor ?

 

 

[Dad520H 0]

That's what is confusing. Never has showed any oil leaks anywhere. I dropped the engine oil and changed the filter before putting on the snowblower.  Again.....no signs of oil leaks. I screwed on Wix51348, filled with oil, started engine and oil ran out from bottom of blower housing. I tried the new K & N, same issue. 

I pulled the housing off, found a lot of oily dirt. Like there's been a slow oil leak for quite a while, or it just happened.  Doesn't make a lot of sense to me at all. I've been around Kohler's for 50 years, this is my first Onan. My pressure washer can be low power, and I do respect the suggestion of WD40 and paper towels.  It really is pretty bad on that back cylinder.

[lynnmor 6,762]

The Wix the 51348 doesn’t cross to the proper Onan filter.

 

Lose the pressure washer.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,478]

Wix 51348

ONAN+Engines, Generators	BGE		w / Onan P218 Eng.
	ONAN+Engines, Generators	BGEL		w / Onan P218 Eng.
	ONAN+Engines, Generators	NHEL FROM 9/87		w / Onan P224 Eng.

 

Garry

[Dad520H 0]

Good Morning! I'm sorry, I'm not able to make heads or tails of this other than Wix 51348.

Thank you.

[tom2p 2,393]

I believe current Toro number is NN10143  

 

Onan 122-0800

 

Fleetguard LF3339

 

Wix 51762 

 

NAPA Gold 1762

 

 

I use Fleetguard filter 

 

Many in this group use Wix or NAPA filter 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by tom2p

[Dad520H 0]

I see on numerous posts where users highly recommend using the Wix 51348.  The K & N HP-1002 is the equivalent with a nut welded on to aid installation and removal. 

I bought this 520H a year ago. I never noticed any oil leaks at all. When I changed the oil and filter is when all this happened.  I don't believe the filter is the issue. The entire area behind the blower was covered in oily grime, like there's been a slow oil leak for a long time. I'm going to install a new oil filter mounting base, gaskets, and a new oil pressure switch. The engine did show signs of using oil, at a very, very slow rate. The engine never did smoke out the exhaust.

Any  other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[tom2p 2,393]

 

hopefully caught the issue just in time 

 

 

 

[Dad520H 0]

Hopefully you're right. Thank you everyone thus far for your help.  It is greatly appreciated!

 

[Dad520H 0]

I see on numerous posts where users highly recommend using the Wix 51348.  The K & N HP-1002 is the equivalent with a nut welded on to aid installation and removal. 

I bought this 520H a year ago. I never noticed any oil leaks at all. When I changed the oil and filter is when all this happened.  I don't believe the filter is the issue. The entire area behind the blower was covered in oily grime, like there's been a slow oil leak for a long time. I'm going to install a new oil filter mounting base, gaskets, and a new oil pressure switch. The engine did show signs of using oil, at a very, very slow rate. The engine never did smoke out the exhaust.

Any  other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Dad520H 0]

Update: I degreased everything. Blower housing still off.  I did not install the other oil filter mounting base  yet. Topped off oil. Spun on old filter. Started engine and let run at idle. No leaks anywhere. This is baffling. My guess would be last spring when I changed oil and filter, I did not get the filter tightened 100%. There really is no other explanation. Perhaps the blower housing was causing some kind of obstruction when tightening the filter?

Looks like I will reassemble and see what happens. I really do appreciate all the help from those of you that gave suggestions.  Thanks so much! Very much!!!

[lynnmor 6,762]

2 hours ago, Dad520H said:

My guess would be last spring when I changed oil and filter, I did not get the filter tightened 100%.

 

You really need an oil filter socket that grips the end.  While an oil filter is to be hand tightened only, there is no way to get a good hand grip on it.

Do you have the shroud gasket?

[Dad520H 0]

You're right lynnmor, there is really no good way to install or remove without a filter socket. I've been using a WIX 51348 filter, but honestly I am really confused which filter to use. Soooooo many posts about many different filters. Not all of those filters mentioned have those "notches" on them for a socket.

Yes, I do have the shroud gasket. What is the purpose of this? To maximize cooling?

Thanks for any filter recommendations. 

[The Tuul Crib 7,332]

to 

[tom2p 2,393]

maybe some crud found it's way on the surface of the oil filter mounting base ?

 

maybe bad oil filter gasket ?  ... or bad oil filter ?

 

do you apply oil or grease on the gasket surface before installation ?

 

 

[tom2p 2,393]

55 minutes ago, Dad520H said:

 

Yes, I do have the shroud gasket. What is the purpose of this? To maximize cooling?

Thanks for any filter recommendations. 

I believe the gasket helps to keep the air flow directed to where it was intended to flow - instead of out and around the oil filter opening 

 

[tom2p 2,393]

I have a small / skinny oil filter wrench that is ideal for Wheel Horse with Onan twin 

I might have 4 or 5 other oil filter wrenches I've accumulated (garage sales and flea markets)  - but none match this one small / skinny filter wrench 

 

the area is tight though - and almost always spill some oil when installing the filter because I pre-fill with a fair amount of oil 

 

 

[lynnmor 6,762]

I would give up listening to others recommending oil filters, just install the ones recommended by Onan:

Onan 122-0800

Fleetguard LF3339

 

Onan actually sold the proper filter socket, they are also available at any good auto parts store.

 

The air leaks around the oil filter are great without the rubber gasket.