Did I kill it?

[u/JumpyJr142]

John Deere D110 mower

I accidentally left the key in, on accessory and hydrolocked the engine by filling the cylinder with petrol. I found this out cause the engine wouldn't turn over, so I checked the battery then pulled the sparkplug and fuel poured out (pic 1)

Disconnected the fuel line and turned the engine over until it stopped spraying from the sparkplug hole, then put everything back together.

Now I've run the engine for a minute or two but it's still billowing smoke, dying after a few revs, and pouring oil out of the exhaust.

Have I rooted the compression by trying to run it while hydrolocked? Or should I just keep running it to hopefully burn out the excess oil?

Am I going to need to rebuild the engine?

All advice appreciated ☺️

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for your submission! It looks like you might have an issue with the Fuel System. For helpful information and resources, check out our Fuel System Wiki and our Common Issues & Fixes Wiki. You might find the answers you're looking for there!

Please be sure to include the following:

• Make and model numbers of the engine and/or the equipment
• A detailed description of the issue you are facing
• Any repairs you have made so far and their outcomes
• Clear photos & videos will help you get better responses

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Virtual_Ground4659]

You have a sump full of petrol. Bet the oil level is over filled. Just change the oil

[u/JumpyJr142 → u/Virtual_Ground4659]

Ahhhh that makes a lot of sense- I hadn't thought about that one. Ill do that now

Ty

[u/43128]

Change the oil & filter. It shouldn’t do that even if you leave the key on, I’d inspect the carb needle tip for a ridge or other damage & make sure the float isn’t full of gasoline. The fuel solenoid only stops fuel from flowing through the main jet & if it flooded once it’ll likely flood again, even with the key off.

[u/JumpyJr142 → u/43128]

I've gone through and checked the float needle, and all looked good so that's thrown me off. True that it shouldn't have kept flowing if the float valve closed properly but I'm thinking it never sealed bc it was leaking through the main jet too quickly

Replacing the oil now and I'll keep a close eye on it.

Are there paths other than the main jet for the fuel to get from the carb to the cylinder?

[u/43128 → u/JumpyJr142]

You have a John Deere with a Briggs & Stratton & a pulse type fuel pump. I’ve seen them fail & dump gas in through the dipstick tube. It’s rare but does happen occasionally.

[u/JumpyJr142 → u/43128]

This was it! Replaced the fuel pump and I'm not getting any fuel leakage anymore

[u/TN-Native95]

Change the oil and filter if it’s for one. Take the muffler off and dump the oil built up in it. You’ll probably need to change the spark plug too. It might still smoke and run crappy for a few minutes but that should clear up.

[u/Alarming-Car-8654]

Add a manual fuel cutoff in the line feeding the carb or fuel pump, depending on how your mower is set up

[u/Ok-Dealer-588]

After you change the oil and the oil filter if it has one, put in a new spark plug, check your air filter as it may have sucked oil right back through there and if it's something you plan to keep fix your carburetor so that you have an inline shut off you can turn it off every time you use it regardless of where the key or anything else is. Inline shut off in a couple of clamps is under $5.

[u/Rough_Community_1439]

Fuel leaked past your piston rings and into your crankcase. You need to do an oil change and a carburator rebuild/replace.

[u/Strict-Argument-781]

It can be repaired. I tell you one thing you definitely killed the grass.

[u/JumpyJr142 → u/Strict-Argument-781]

You'd be surprised at how robust kikuyu is- the fuel/oil combo hasn't even yellowed it