2 cycle oil in 4 cycle engine
 

Lent pressure washer (B&S 4 cycle, 6hp "Quantum" engine) to co-worker.
Co-worker checked oil, saw it was low, and added *2-cycle* oil. Ran
unit for another 5-10 hours.

Pressure washer came back a mess. Oil residue all over the place. Saw
seepage from what looked to be bottom horizontal seam of engine block,
and residue all over front of unit, and even in air filter (?).

Haven't ran the engine yet. Drained oil last night (after a fight with
the bottom plastic under-cover to access the bottom drain plug). Will
change spark plug and air filter today as well.

Is there additional maintenance I need to do (a gas additive?)?

Is the engine going to die prematurely or something?

Thx,
Oliver

wrote:
Lent pressure washer (B&S 4 cycle, 6hp "Quantum" engine) to
co-worker.
Co-worker checked oil, saw it was low, and added *2-cycle* oil. Ran
unit for another 5-10 hours.

Pressure washer came back a mess. Oil residue all over the place.
Saw
seepage from what looked to be bottom horizontal seam of engine
block,
and residue all over front of unit, and even in air filter (?).

Haven't ran the engine yet. Drained oil last night (after a fight
with
the bottom plastic under-cover to access the bottom drain plug).
Will
change spark plug and air filter today as well.

Is there additional maintenance I need to do (a gas additive?)?

Is the engine going to die prematurely or something?

Thx,
Oliver

2-cycle oil is meant to be blended with gas (in most cases) and is not
designed to be poured into a crankcase. My guess is that some serious
damage has been done to the motor.

Harry K

wrote:
Lent pressure washer (B&S 4 cycle, 6hp "Quantum" engine) to
co-worker.
Co-worker checked oil, saw it was low, and added *2-cycle* oil. Ran
unit for another 5-10 hours.

Pressure washer came back a mess. Oil residue all over the place.
Saw
seepage from what looked to be bottom horizontal seam of engine
block,
and residue all over front of unit, and even in air filter (?).

Haven't ran the engine yet. Drained oil last night (after a fight
with
the bottom plastic under-cover to access the bottom drain plug).
Will
change spark plug and air filter today as well.

Is there additional maintenance I need to do (a gas additive?)?

Is the engine going to die prematurely or something?

Thx,
Oliver

The 2 cycle oil is disigned to burn whereas the 4 cycle has properties
to prevent burning. But the 2 cycle oil has plenty of lubricating
properties similar to the 4 cycle, but with fewer detergents. I really
doubt any serious damage was done by topping off with the 2 cycle oil
and running a few hurs. Your co-worker checked the oil and it was low.
Where did it go? That engine had a problem before he came along and
made sure it had enough oil at least. I don't think he should be blamed
for anything big here. If you have an oil leak, fix it.

On 24 Apr 2005 05:20:18 -0700, wrote:

Lent pressure washer (B&S 4 cycle, 6hp "Quantum" engine) to co-worker.
Co-worker checked oil, saw it was low, and added *2-cycle* oil. Ran
unit for another 5-10 hours.

Pressure washer came back a mess. Oil residue all over the place. Saw
seepage from what looked to be bottom horizontal seam of engine block,
and residue all over front of unit, and even in air filter (?).

Haven't ran the engine yet. Drained oil last night (after a fight with
the bottom plastic under-cover to access the bottom drain plug). Will
change spark plug and air filter today as well.

Is there additional maintenance I need to do (a gas additive?)?

Is the engine going to die prematurely or something?


I doubt it. Probably was overfilled. Drain, clean, refill and you
should be okay.

"Harry K" wrote:

2-cycle oil is meant to be blended with gas (in most cases) and is not
designed to be poured into a crankcase.

True.

My guess is that some serious
damage has been done to the motor.

Maybe, maybe not. The biggest problem is that 4 cycle oil has anti foaming
agents and suspension agents in it, whereas 2 cycle has very little additives so
that it will burn cleaner. The lack of anti foaming agents is probably what
caused the mess.

The damage done will depend on how much 2 cycle oil was added and how long it
was run.

Drain the motor, clean it up, replace the oil with the correct grade, replace
the spark plug/air filter and see what happens...