Topic: A small engine question

[formasfunction]

So, this isn't exactly a motorcycle related question but it's a small 4 stroke and I like you guys a lot so I thought I'd ask it here.  I just pulled my riding lawnmower out of storage without having winterized and when I finally got her started she started blowing a ton of white smoke and continued to for about 5 mins until I shut it off.  I figured that some things might have settled, maybe a little bit of water in the system, and if I let it burn for a few minutes it would eventually go away but I got worried after those 5mins and decided to consult you guys.  What do you think it might be?  The gas looked fine, hadn't turned into varnish or anything, and so did the oil.

[Jonesy]

OHV or L-head motor? What make? Air or liquid cooled?

On older OHV engines the valve guides can let a bit of oil into the cylinder and it will blow white smoke for a few minutes. Also, if the machine was tipped or overfilled with oil, the crankcase breather can spit oil into the air cleaner housing, getting it into the carburetor and soaking the air filter, choking it off. The crank breathers usually have a reed valve in them to keep a slight vacuum in the crankcase (to keep the oil from blowing past the seals) and it has a hose routed to the air cleaner housing. Confirm your oil level is correct, and check the air filter and look for oil in the air filter housing.

If you have a liquid-cooled machine (some Hondas), you could have a coolant leak.

[Green550F]

if the smoke is real white, it sounds like a coolant leak.
My 15HP Kawasaki Vtwin had a pushrod pop off when a valve stuck over the winter. Ran but had no power. a compression test located the issue. (And the spark plug was oil fouled.)