So, my $2300 lawnmower has 66.8 hours on it. Ove owned it since new, a few years now.
Last sunday, after moeing the 1.5 acres i mow, it started burning oil at an alarming rate. This was blades off, riding at 3/4 throttle on flat paced surface. Actual consumption unknown at this time. However, oil smoke thick enough that i font have to worry about mosquitoes for a while. Literally a dense fog of oil smoke over my yard and street.
Still runs fine. No noises, no apparent lack of power in the few hundred yards ive driven it.
Started trying to diagnose before condemnation of a bad engine (inotek 18.5 ohv briggs and stratton)
Pulled plug. Signs of oil on it, obviously.
Checked oil level: between the dots, as clean as it was two months ago when i changed it and the filter. 20w50 and wix since new.
Loosened dipstick and ran emgine. Dipstick bounced 2 inches out of tube. Pulled dipstick entirely, and shot oil onto the underside of my balcony 10 feet up from the fill hole.
Pulled crankcase breather hose: drips of oil, smoke while running, no excessive pressure or vacuum obvious to my thu.b when capping the tube.
So, im pretty sure i lost the ringpack. Its all i can think of. Im hoping im wrong, but dont know where to go from here. Im small engine stupid. The insane pressure in dipstick tube is what leads me to this conclusion.
What do i check/do from here? What am i missing in my diagnostic chain? Anyo e have another engine for me they can bring to the challenge if this ones berkeleyed?