2185 leaking oil

[ecaye]

I picked up a 2185 mtd kholer cub cadet and now it's leaking oil. Can someone tell me if this is a good tractor or not.

 

[nbextermueller]

Glad to see you found the right spot. I'm sure more will chime in. My friend has a 2185 and it's s great mower. The GT decks are awesome and the engines are near bullet proof. The weak link is the rear end. It's just not designed to do anything other than mow grass. They make lots of attachment like plows and blades that will bolt on. But the rear end burns up pretty quick. My friend had to do some repairs after a season of snow plow duty.

But if you just plan to mow 2acres or less. It's a nice machine IMHO...

 

[toconnor]

Where is the tractor leaking oil from?

 

[ecaye]

The person who owned never cleaned the unit. It looks like it's leaking out of the front.

 

[mgonitzke]

How do you know it's leaking and not the previous owner making a mess every time he changed the oil? Might as well clean it and then see if you still think it's leaking.

 

[jdiederichs]

Typically the front crankshaft seal, behind the electric PTO clutch. Often get dislodged when an operator shuts off a hot engine without following the proper procedure, so the engine gets a backfire.

It is so important to have the throttle at least 3/4 open, not idling when shutting off the engine. That way no backfire, as the switch off will close the fuel solenoid of the carb. No raw fuel going through the hot components that way.

Other oil leak may be a head gasket weeping oil. With a dirty and overheated engine this becomes more likely. The head gaskets are made of a "graphoil" material, and can develop "worm holes" in the material, a passageway for oil to escape. First thought is still front seal, an easy fix

 

[jchamberlin]

On another thread Jim Diederichs posted the following very helpful advice. Thanks, Jim.

Jim Diederichs (Jdiederichs) on Monday, August 29, 2016 - 12:00 pm:
I agree wholeheartedly with the advice given by Matt G; the first step before anything else, is to thoroughly clean the engine and adjacent area well. Automotive aerosol cans of engine degreaser work very well, may need to rinse and repeat if really caked and baked on.
After a cleaning is done, it will become obvious where the leak's origin is.

IF it were the front seal, best to remove the top hood and front grille, it will make repairs easier by far. Remove the one bolt holding the PTO clutch to the crankshaft. Clutch will slide off , then remove the spacer on crankshaft behind the clutch. This is an ideal time to run the unit, examining like source of the leak before proceeding. Now you have full access to the seal. Inspect if the seal is dislodged from the bore, or installed incorrectly. DO NOT pound or push on the seal or it may walk itself into the inside of the cover. A simple removal is to drill two small holes in seal, (one may be enough) Insert a sheet metal screw into the hole, until it is sturdy, then extract the seal with a pliers on said screw. (drywall screws actually work great too.) Clean up the crankshaft in the seal surface area. New seal can then be installed. It must be "square" to the bore, not angled when installed. I personally like to coat the seal's outer surface with Permatex Hi Tack or similar bonding and sealing agent. I also apply a thin film of clean grease or Vaseline to the seals inner surface on the "lips" so it can ease into a smooth start until engine oil coats it.

You can run the engine with the PTO clutch removed, no problem; inspect for any other leaks. Examples include: Oil filter base, front (timing gears) COVER, if above the clutch, perhaps from breather gasket or failed breather. No sense of rushing it back together quite yet, first learn the origin of the leak(s) .