18HP B&S Vanguard concern?

[Gdsmith07]

Hey everyone! I’ve got a question / seeking some guidance. Just did a full tune up on the 2001 Response engine. The biggest concern I have with going over the engine was oil in the air filter and air filter housing.

From my understanding and reading around a small amount of oil or residue is common. I went ahead and ordered a new air filter for it as it seemed like it was a little clogged. Anything else that could cause an oil push out through the PCV hose and into the air box? Possibly loss in cylinder pressure or bad gaskets? Pressure seemed alright by a hand test with hand/finger over spark inlet while cranking the engine.
Any help would be great, thank everyone!

[racerone3]

This is a pretty common thing. Possible causes are a dirty air filter, excessive bouncing of the machine on rough trails, overfilled oil, or a stuck float in the carb allowing fuel to leak into the cylinders and drain down to the crankcase. this will result in very thin overfilled oil and can usually be diagnosed by smelling the oil for gas

[Gdsmith07]

A new carb was installed this past spring I also just did a carb clean out as the gas We have up here is usually very dirty, typically clean the carbs as routine maintenance.

I’ll put a new air filter on the order list and give a little smell to the oil to see. From what’s i had read and heard around it was a commonality with these engines I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something! Appreciate the response I’ll keep this thread posted!

[racerone3]

you could also tape over the hole in the air cleaner base and route the breather to a separate catch tank (old soda bottle with a hole in the lid works fine) that way you can see exactly how much you are losing

[Gdsmith07]

Nice, that’s a simple solution that i did not think of! I’ll go ahead and give it a try and see f it’s concerning levels. I usually look under the breather every time I pull it in for maintenance which tend to be about every 2 weeks or so. The only other thing on the 01 I’m waiting for is a battery. Living in remote Alaska has its pros and cons hahaha!

Thanks for the input I’ll keep ya posted!

[Millar]

Hi there’s a black pipe that runs from your air filter to the crank case vent undo one bolt lift off cover and turn it over you will see a little flap that flap is not sealing properly try cleaning or replace with new cover hope this helps