Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Over Fill Generac Engine

I have a Generac 530 cc engine model #064445 on a 10KW Guardian Gen Set. I over filled the oil. When I started it, oil blew everywhere. It ran for maybe 5 sec and I shut it down. I drained the oil and measured the 1.7 quarts this time. When I started the engine, oil would trickle out from the front cover back on to the engine. I have cleaned it up several times. May question is did I blow a seal when it pressured up the crank case. If it didn't blow a seal, any thoughts on how to clean up the mess. No one needs to tell me that I'm stupid, I already know that. To make matters worse, it is a brand new motor. :(

Thanks

Bandsaw

Sounds to me like you might just have oil in the air filter housing. You'll probably need a new air filter and clean out the filter compartment, and you should be fine.

Thanks for the help. The filter was clean. The oil has gotten into the front of engine. It is all over the flywheel. When the engine is running it slings oil up and out from around the front cover. I need something I can squirt into the front cover that will thin the oil down so it will dissipate and clean that area. Even if it finally goes away, I'm concerned that the oil residue will gather dirt.

Thanks

Bandsaw

When you overfilled it, how far over is "overfilled"? If it wasn't much, it should never have caused this problem and I'd suggest that maybe this is a warranty issue (you said it was a new engine). There could be a crack in the block or improperly installed front seal. If the engine was severely overfilled, it could have blown the front seal out. If so, it will require removal of the flywheel to replace the seal.

Automotive spray brake cleaner should clean the oil off pretty well.

From what I understand the engine came with break in oil. I assumed that it had no oil in it. Most engines come empty. The specs call for 1.7 quarts. When I bought the oil, I thought it was in quart containers. They weren't. They were 48 oz containers. so I put in 84 oz plus what was already in it, if it came with oil in it. The oil was so transparent; I could not tell how much was in the engine, if any. I have run it for about hour off and on. It appears that the trickling is slowing down. Is there anything in the flywheel compartment that brake clean would hurt?

No, it won't hurt anything in there. Clean it up and see if it continues to leak or if it has stopped.

Well, I put a oil dye in the oil. It showed up when I started the gen set. So it did blow the oil seal. My concern now is getting a tech to replace the seal. I know it is going to be expensive, but I don't want to get ripped off. Does anyone know if the Generac techs are really qualified. I don't want a shade tree mech. I have already covered that ground. I called Generac, and they gave me the number of a couple of techs. I called both of them, of course they were out. I left word, but no returned call. That bothers me. Because I'm in a service business, I tend to judge others by my standards. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts please post a reply.

Thanks

Bandsaw

call them back one more time to see if they even got your messages, I have had problems occasionly not recieving messages to even be able to return a call. my cell drops messages more than i would like. and occasionaly my home machine malfunctions and will not show a message.

if we're not supposed to eat animals why are they made out of meat?

Bandsaw...I know what you mean with folks not returning calls. Seems like real service is rare anymore. It is thanksgiving though, and a lot of places are closed, or have minimal staff near the holidays, so I can understand if it takes until the beginning of the week to get a return call.

It's not a complicated job to perform, but it is critical that the person performing it does not scratch the crankshaft removing or installing it, and makes sure not to damage the new seal when putting it in. Any competent small engine tech should be able to do this job in no time.

I assume from the last post, that the engine has to be torn down to replace the seal. Is that correct? I was hoping that pulling the flywheel would expose the seal and it could be changed in place. If that's the case it will be a bear to get it out of the housing.

Thanks

Bandsaw

It's right behind the flywheel. The engine doesn't have to come apart.

I'm sorry to keep kicking this thing, but I was wondering if there is a rear seal that might be damaged also. Is there any other seal I need to worry about?

Thanks and God Bless you. You have been a tremedous help.

Bandsaw

There is a rear seal, but if it is leaking oil it should not be getting into the front of the engine. The rear seal is much more involved to replace then the front, as the generator needs to be removed to access the rear seal.

Glad to help!

Like 30YearTech said, the rear seal is much harder to service. If it's not leaking between the engine and genset, then I wouldn't worry about it. If the internal crankcase pressure got high enough to blow a seal, I would expect it to blow only one. Reason being that once a seal blew, the pressure would be released, preventing it from blowing any other seals.

I would like to thank all that helped me. I have located a service center that I trust. I went to their shop, and checked them out. They have been in business for 5 years, and have 15 techs. They also think it is just the front seal. They said it would be 4 weeks before they can get to me. That's ok, I don't anticapate any power loss this time of year. Once it is repaired I will post the results.

Again Thanks to all

Bandsaw