My lawn mower is in servicing, so I borrowed my friend's and use it
for 90 minutes or so.

I then put it back into my trunk, except that it could only fit when
tilted (with the spark plugs down, the handle up, outside of the
truck). It stays in my trunk for 2 hours, before driving the 5 minutes
to bring it back.
in retrospect, that wasn't very smart....

when my friend started it the next day, it did a huge cloud of white
smoke.
He called me to ask me what was going. I told him,
" well, not sure. it was working. Maybe oil got in the engine. just
run it, the extra oil should burn and it should be fine".

he did that for a little bit, still a lot of smoke. then he thought
maybe oil is missing. He refilled. and tried again, but couldn't start
the engine anymore.

I went back to his home to see if I could help. The oil was very
overfilled by maybe 1 quart (maybe 3 inches on the level).
we tipped it to empty the extra oil, but still couldn't start the
engine.

it is totally engine. I tried to turn the blade manually. the blade
turns but the engine seems to be stuck..

it is a Toro, self-propelled, if that makes a difference. don't
remember the engine's brand.

Any advice ? do you think it's fixable ?
thanks in advance.

Fred

"fredinstl" wrote in message
...
My lawn mower is in servicing, so I borrowed my friend's and use it
for 90 minutes or so.

I then put it back into my trunk, except that it could only fit when
tilted (with the spark plugs down, the handle up, outside of the
truck). It stays in my trunk for 2 hours, before driving the 5 minutes
to bring it back.
in retrospect, that wasn't very smart....

when my friend started it the next day, it did a huge cloud of white
smoke.
He called me to ask me what was going. I told him,
" well, not sure. it was working. Maybe oil got in the engine. just
run it, the extra oil should burn and it should be fine".

he did that for a little bit, still a lot of smoke. then he thought
maybe oil is missing. He refilled. and tried again, but couldn't start
the engine anymore.

I went back to his home to see if I could help. The oil was very
overfilled by maybe 1 quart (maybe 3 inches on the level).
we tipped it to empty the extra oil, but still couldn't start the
engine.

it is totally engine. I tried to turn the blade manually. the blade
turns but the engine seems to be stuck..

it is a Toro, self-propelled, if that makes a difference. don't
remember the engine's brand.

Any advice ? do you think it's fixable ?
thanks in advance.

Fred


Remove the oil filler cap and turn the sucker upside down and drain out all
the excess oil into a pan or can for several hours. Also drain out all the
gas which may be oil-contaminated.

Then set it right side up. Remove the spark plug and pull it a few times to
get any oil out of the combustion chamber. Also check the air filter to make
sure it's not oil-soaked-- replacing it if it is.

Let it sit upright over night and in the morning, refill it with the
*correct* amount of the proper weight oil. Crank her up and after the
initial big cloud of smoke, all should be OK.

Runtime Error wrote:
....

....Sage advice snipped for brevity...

Very good.

I'd strongly recommend a new plug as well -- once the porcelain been oil
soaked, they're never right again even if attempt to clean.

If it has a cartridge-type fuel filter, replace it as well as it may
have gotten oil-contaminated gas in it as well.

--

On Sep 1, 3:17*pm, fredinstl wrote:
My lawn mower is in servicing, so I borrowed my friend's and use it
for 90 minutes or so.

I then put it back into my trunk, except that it could only fit when
tilted (with the spark plugs down, the handle up, outside of the
truck). It stays in my trunk for 2 hours, before driving the 5 minutes
to bring it back.
in retrospect, that wasn't very smart....

when my friend started it the next day, it did a huge cloud of white
smoke.
He called me to ask me what was going. I told him,
" well, not sure. it was working. Maybe oil got in the engine. just
run it, the extra oil should burn and it should be fine".

he did that for a little bit, still a lot of smoke. then he thought
maybe oil is missing. He refilled. and tried again, but couldn't start
the engine anymore.

I went back to his home to see if I could help. The oil was very
overfilled by maybe 1 quart (maybe 3 inches on the level).
we tipped it to empty the extra oil, but still couldn't start the
engine.

it is totally engine. I tried to turn the blade manually. the blade
turns but the engine seems to be stuck..

it is a Toro, self-propelled, if that makes a difference. don't
remember the engine's brand.

Any advice ? do you think it's fixable ?
thanks in advance.

Fred

You didnt ruin it you just got oil into the head, overfilling it a
quart got more oil into the head. drain everything as others said,
maybe the airfilter is oil soaked also. It will smoke alot when you
restart it

Who was the nitwit that added an entire quart of oil to a lawn mower? That's
like trying to stuff a double quarter pounder into a newborn baby.

Anyhow, that said, the other fellow had the right idea. Drain the oil, drain
the gas, remove the plug, pull the cord a couple times to clear the
cylinder. Let it sit over night.

Most walk behind mowers take 20 ounces of motor oil, and many do not have a
fuel filter of any form.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"fredinstl" wrote in message
...
My lawn mower is in servicing, so I borrowed my friend's and use it
for 90 minutes or so.

I then put it back into my trunk, except that it could only fit when
tilted (with the spark plugs down, the handle up, outside of the
truck). It stays in my trunk for 2 hours, before driving the 5 minutes
to bring it back.
in retrospect, that wasn't very smart....

when my friend started it the next day, it did a huge cloud of white
smoke.
He called me to ask me what was going. I told him,
" well, not sure. it was working. Maybe oil got in the engine. just
run it, the extra oil should burn and it should be fine".

he did that for a little bit, still a lot of smoke. then he thought
maybe oil is missing. He refilled. and tried again, but couldn't start
the engine anymore.

I went back to his home to see if I could help. The oil was very
overfilled by maybe 1 quart (maybe 3 inches on the level).
we tipped it to empty the extra oil, but still couldn't start the
engine.

it is totally engine. I tried to turn the blade manually. the blade
turns but the engine seems to be stuck..

it is a Toro, self-propelled, if that makes a difference. don't
remember the engine's brand.

Any advice ? do you think it's fixable ?
thanks in advance.

Fred

You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

I assure you he is definitely NOT your friend any more.

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.






On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 13:17:55 -0700 (PDT), fredinstl
wrote:

My lawn mower is in servicing, so I borrowed my friend's and use it
for 90 minutes or so.

I then put it back into my trunk, except that it could only fit when
tilted (with the spark plugs down, the handle up, outside of the
truck). It stays in my trunk for 2 hours, before driving the 5 minutes
to bring it back.
in retrospect, that wasn't very smart....

when my friend started it the next day, it did a huge cloud of white
smoke.
He called me to ask me what was going. I told him,
" well, not sure. it was working. Maybe oil got in the engine. just
run it, the extra oil should burn and it should be fine".

he did that for a little bit, still a lot of smoke. then he thought
maybe oil is missing. He refilled. and tried again, but couldn't start
the engine anymore.

I went back to his home to see if I could help. The oil was very
overfilled by maybe 1 quart (maybe 3 inches on the level).
we tipped it to empty the extra oil, but still couldn't start the
engine.

it is totally engine. I tried to turn the blade manually. the blade
turns but the engine seems to be stuck..

it is a Toro, self-propelled, if that makes a difference. don't
remember the engine's brand.

Any advice ? do you think it's fixable ?
thanks in advance.

Fred

On Sep 1, 9:13*pm, Duff wrote:
You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

*That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

*I assure you he is definitely NOT *your friend any more. *

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. *Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

*Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.


How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? He
had the mower tilted while returning it. It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

On Sep 1, 8:40*pm, wrote:
On Sep 1, 9:13*pm, Duff wrote:

You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

*That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

*I assure you he is definitely NOT *your friend any more. *

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. *Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

*Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.

How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? * He
had the mower tilted while returning it. *It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. *Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). * That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

The owner overfilling it a quart was negligence, that completely
flooded the cilinder to hydro lock, either way it should be fine after
its cleaned out unless a ring broke, then both are at fault.

Duff wrote:
....

Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.
....

the presumed bailment --

Loaning somebody a tool doesn't create even a valid gratuitous bailment
and most certainly not a constructive bailment that would be required
for the "extraordinary care" provisions to have any bearing.

I'd agree there's a moral/ethical obligation to return property in as
good a state as when borrowed but little, if any statutory requirement
in such a situation.

www.lawyers.com

Bailment

Bailment is the process of placing personal property or goods in the
temporary custody or control of another. The custodian or holder of
the property, who is responsible for the safe keeping and return of
the property, is know as the bailee. The person who delivers or
transfers the property to the bailee is known as the bailor. For a
bailment to be valid, the bailee must have actual physical control of
the property with the intent to possess it. The bailee is generally
not entitled to the use of the property while it is in his
possession, and a bailor can demand to have the property returned to
him at any time. Types of Bailment

Bailment is usually done by agreement as a paid service, which gives
the property custodian a responsibility and obligation to protect the
goods. ...

A constructive bailment occurs when circumstances create an
obligation for the bailee to protect the goods. ...

A bailment may also be a gratuitous bailment for which there is no
payment. A gratuitous bailment occurs when someone finds lost
property and protects it himself or places it in the custody of
another, such as the police, until the lawful owner can be located.

--

On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:32:36 -0500, Duff wrote:

How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? He
had the mower tilted while returning it. It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

It's the law. Always has been and always will be.

It's called a constructive bailment and 'extraordinary care is the
standard here. Here in a nutshell is the law:
"Bailee's Duty of Care

Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.

In all bailment situations, the bailee has a minimum duty of care to
ensure the safety of the property. If the bailee breaches or fails to
uphold that duty, he can be legally liable for damages. A bailee can
also be held liable for conversion if he uses the property without the
bailor's permission, or does not return the property to the bailor
upon request. A higher standard of care is imposed upon a paid bailee,
and there is a lower standard of care imposed upon a bailee in a
gratuitous bailment. With a bailment agreement or contract, the
parties can agree to hold the bailee free from liability.

The bailee's standard of care is determined based upon the purpose of
the bailment, and whether it is for the benefit of the bailee alone,
the bailor alone, or for the benefit of both parties. If the bailment
is for the benefit of the bailee alone, then the bailee owes a duty of
extraordinary care. If the bailment is for the benefit of both the
bailee and the bailor, then the bailee owes a duty of reasonable or
ordinary care. Reasonable care is care that a person of ordinary
prudence would exercise in the same or similar circumstances. If the
bailment is a gratuitous bailment and is for the benefit of only the
bailor, then the bailee owes only a duty of slight care. "

Oren wrote:
....

Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.
....

Fortunately FWIW to your head, the bailment law isn't applicable as the
temporary loan of personal property doesn't even constitute a
"gratuitous bailment" what more the more onerous "constructive bailment"
claimed...

--

On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:38:20 -0500, dpb wrote:

Oren wrote:
...

Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.
...

Fortunately FWIW to your head, the bailment law isn't applicable as the
temporary loan of personal property doesn't even constitute a
"gratuitous bailment" what more the more onerous "constructive bailment"
claimed...

I don't know all those big words, but I agree :-))

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude? The common sense type person.

On Sep 2, 3:52*pm, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:38:20 -0500, dpb wrote:
Oren wrote:
...

Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.
...

Fortunately FWIW to your head, the bailment law isn't applicable as the
temporary loan of personal property doesn't even constitute a
"gratuitous bailment" what more the more onerous "constructive bailment"
*claimed...

I don't know all those big words, but I agree :-))

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude? *The common sense type person.

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude?

I conclude that I'm not gonna lend my lawnmower to either of those
guys.

On Sep 2, 12:32*pm, Duff wrote:
On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 18:40:43 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On Sep 1, 9:13*pm, Duff wrote:
You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

*That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

*I assure you he is definitely NOT *your friend any more. *

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. *Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

*Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.

How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? * He
had the mower tilted while returning it. *It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. *Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). * That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

*It's the law. *Always has been and always will be. *

It's called a constructive bailment and 'extraordinary care is the
standard here. *Here in a nutshell *is the law:
"Bailee's Duty of Care
In all bailment situations, the bailee has a minimum duty of care to
ensure the safety of the property. If the bailee breaches or fails to
uphold that duty, he can be legally liable for damages. A bailee can
also be held liable for conversion if he uses the property without the
bailor's permission, or does not return the property to the bailor
upon request. A higher standard of care is imposed upon a paid bailee,
and there is a lower standard of care imposed upon a bailee in a
gratuitous bailment. With a bailment agreement or contract, the
parties can agree to hold the bailee free from liability.

The bailee's standard of care is determined based upon the purpose of
the bailment, and whether it is for the benefit of the bailee alone,
the bailor alone, or for the benefit of both parties. If the bailment
is for the benefit of the bailee alone, then the bailee owes a duty of
extraordinary care. If the bailment is for the benefit of both the
bailee and the bailor, then the bailee owes a duty of reasonable or
ordinary care. Reasonable care is care that a person of ordinary
prudence would exercise in the same or similar circumstances. If the
bailment is a gratuitous bailment and is for the benefit of only the
bailor, then the bailee owes only a duty of slight care. "- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh geez. Mighta known the lawyers would put in appearance! And we have
two 'legal' opinions so far.

The only 'law' that got broken here is the immutable one that says;
"The time something will break is when YOU borrow it and/or when YOU
lend it".

I agree totally with other posters. The engine is most likely stuffed
full of too much oil.
Drain it all out including removing the plug and draining any oil out
that way. Gee whiz who would put THAT MUCH oil into (what is it a
Briggs and Stratton/Tecumseh) 3 or 4 HP motor or something! Struth! No
wonder it won't turn and or give compression!

Morally as you have indicated since the lender seems to feel it
'broke' while on loan it IS up to YOU to satisfy that it is working
again. Trouble is that someone not very technically 'ept' ( because I
hate to use the word 'inept') may have an attitude of "Well it worked
OK until lent it to XYZ. Hasn't worked right since"!

And those kind of people (rather like arguing with a dumb blonde!) you
can't reason with. (Oh gee. There's another preposition at the end of
one of my sentences for the group's Word Police to jump on!)

I had a mower with exactly the same problem, just two days ago. I drained
about 1.5 qts from the base, Took out the plug and oil ran out of the hole.
I made sure that the oil had a chance to drain out of the plug hole by
standing it up on end for a while. Put a new plug in and put the proper
amount of oil in. Two pulls and it started right up, Lots of smoke, until
all the excess oil was burned from the cylinder.
My experience has shown that the cylinder can fill with oil from the base if
the mower is turned on end or on it's side. Someone checks the oil level and
sees it low and adds oil. In the mean time some of the the oil in the
cylinder can drain back into the base and result in a gross overfill.
Because of this I was able to obtain a very good mower free, because someone
tossed it out, not knowing what had hapened.

"terry" wrote in message
...
On Sep 2, 12:32 pm, Duff wrote:
On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 18:40:43 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On Sep 1, 9:13 pm, Duff wrote:
You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

I assure you he is definitely NOT your friend any more.

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.

How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? He
had the mower tilted while returning it. It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

It's the law. Always has been and always will be.

It's called a constructive bailment and 'extraordinary care is the
standard here. Here in a nutshell is the law:
"Bailee's Duty of Care
In all bailment situations, the bailee has a minimum duty of care to
ensure the safety of the property. If the bailee breaches or fails to
uphold that duty, he can be legally liable for damages. A bailee can
also be held liable for conversion if he uses the property without the
bailor's permission, or does not return the property to the bailor
upon request. A higher standard of care is imposed upon a paid bailee,
and there is a lower standard of care imposed upon a bailee in a
gratuitous bailment. With a bailment agreement or contract, the
parties can agree to hold the bailee free from liability.

The bailee's standard of care is determined based upon the purpose of
the bailment, and whether it is for the benefit of the bailee alone,
the bailor alone, or for the benefit of both parties. If the bailment
is for the benefit of the bailee alone, then the bailee owes a duty of
extraordinary care. If the bailment is for the benefit of both the
bailee and the bailor, then the bailee owes a duty of reasonable or
ordinary care. Reasonable care is care that a person of ordinary
prudence would exercise in the same or similar circumstances. If the
bailment is a gratuitous bailment and is for the benefit of only the
bailor, then the bailee owes only a duty of slight care. "- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh geez. Mighta known the lawyers would put in appearance! And we have
two 'legal' opinions so far.

The only 'law' that got broken here is the immutable one that says;
"The time something will break is when YOU borrow it and/or when YOU
lend it".

I agree totally with other posters. The engine is most likely stuffed
full of too much oil.
Drain it all out including removing the plug and draining any oil out
that way. Gee whiz who would put THAT MUCH oil into (what is it a
Briggs and Stratton/Tecumseh) 3 or 4 HP motor or something! Struth! No
wonder it won't turn and or give compression!

Morally as you have indicated since the lender seems to feel it
'broke' while on loan it IS up to YOU to satisfy that it is working
again. Trouble is that someone not very technically 'ept' ( because I
hate to use the word 'inept') may have an attitude of "Well it worked
OK until lent it to XYZ. Hasn't worked right since"!

And those kind of people (rather like arguing with a dumb blonde!) you
can't reason with. (Oh gee. There's another preposition at the end of
one of my sentences for the group's Word Police to jump on!)

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Sep 2, 3:52 pm, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:38:20 -0500, dpb wrote:
Oren wrote:
...
Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.
...
Fortunately FWIW to your head, the bailment law isn't applicable as the
temporary loan of personal property doesn't even constitute a
"gratuitous bailment" what more the more onerous "constructive bailment"
claimed...
I don't know all those big words, but I agree :-))

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude? The common sense type person.

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude?

I conclude that I'm not gonna lend my lawnmower to either of those
guys.

Screw what the law books say. Guy law says that if you borrow a tool and
it craps out, even if it wasn't entirely your fault, you go the extra
mile to make sure the owner is made whole. If I borrowed a friend's
mower, and it came out of the car in non-running condition, I'd offer to
pay for repairs. Even if he did something that made it worse out of
cluelessness.

--
aem sends...

On Sep 2, 3:57*pm, aemeijers wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Sep 2, 3:52 pm, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:38:20 -0500, dpb wrote:
Oren wrote:
...
Reading this law/nutshell makes my head hurt. Like learning Japanese
Arithmetic. A man's "word" and hand shake ought to be enough to fix
the mower.
...
Fortunately FWIW to your head, the bailment law isn't applicable as the
temporary loan of personal property doesn't even constitute a
"gratuitous bailment" what more the more onerous "constructive bailment"
*claimed...
I don't know all those big words, but I agree :-))

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude? *The common sense type person.

It gets into resonable and prudent. What would an ordinary person
conclude?

I conclude that I'm not gonna lend my lawnmower to either of those
guys.

Screw what the law books say. Guy law says that if you borrow a tool and
it craps out, even if it wasn't entirely your fault, you go the extra
mile to make sure the owner is made whole. If I borrowed a friend's
mower, and it came out of the car in non-running condition, I'd offer to
pay for repairs. Even if he did something that made it worse out of
cluelessness.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The problem is that it _was_ running coming out of the car. The owner
"broke" it by way overfilling. It is after that that it was "broke"
and wouldn't start. Had he not overfilled it, all that was needed was
to run it a bit for the smoke to clear.
The borrower (OP) TOLD him what to do about it and he didn't follow
the instructions. In my case I would tell him. Tuff s***, you broke
it, you fix it.

Harry K

On Sep 2, 10:32*am, Duff wrote:
On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 18:40:43 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On Sep 1, 9:13*pm, Duff wrote:
You say, "I borrowed my friend's..."

*That should read, "I borrowed my EX-FRIEND'S ..."

*I assure you he is definitely NOT *your friend any more. *

It's time to step up to the plate and do what is right. *Which is to
take the mower to the dealer and get it repaired or buy him a new one.

*Legally, you owe it to him anyway, so you might as well make it a
moral obligation too.

How is it that the borrower is morally or legally responsible? * He
had the mower tilted while returning it. *It sounds like that caused
some oil to get into the cylinder and produce some smoke when started
again. *Not the right thing to do, but in my experience, not a big
problem.

The owner of the mower then decided to grossly overfill it with oil
(about a qt, 3 inches on the dipstick). * That's like saying I
returned your car with some soda spilled on the floor mats and then
you decided to drive it into a lake to clean it, so now I'm
responsible for all the repairs.

*It's the law. *Always has been and always will be. *

It's called a constructive bailment and 'extraordinary care is the
standard here. *Here in a nutshell *is the law:
"Bailee's Duty of Care
In all bailment situations, the bailee has a minimum duty of care to
ensure the safety of the property. If the bailee breaches or fails to
uphold that duty, he can be legally liable for damages. A bailee can
also be held liable for conversion if he uses the property without the
bailor's permission, or does not return the property to the bailor
upon request. A higher standard of care is imposed upon a paid bailee,
and there is a lower standard of care imposed upon a bailee in a
gratuitous bailment. With a bailment agreement or contract, the
parties can agree to hold the bailee free from liability.

The bailee's standard of care is determined based upon the purpose of
the bailment, and whether it is for the benefit of the bailee alone,
the bailor alone, or for the benefit of both parties. If the bailment
is for the benefit of the bailee alone, then the bailee owes a duty of
extraordinary care. If the bailment is for the benefit of both the
bailee and the bailor, then the bailee owes a duty of reasonable or
ordinary care. Reasonable care is care that a person of ordinary
prudence would exercise in the same or similar circumstances. If the
bailment is a gratuitous bailment and is for the benefit of only the
bailor, then the bailee owes only a duty of slight care. "- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Yes, but what you fail to grasp is that the person who borrows
something is only responsible for the damages that person causes. If
you return the item and then the owner proceeds to turn a minor
problem into a much bigger one by doing something stupid, the borrower
isn't resonsible for that. Did you not grasp the car example I
gave? Would you also pour an extra quart of oil in a lawn mower
engine, filling it to 3" above the full mark on the dip stick and then
claim someone else should pay for it?

The mowers I've serviced have all had crankcase breather. So, any fumes from
the oil gets fed into the air stream, and reburned. Over fill with oil, and
oil splashes up through the rebreather.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jack" wrote in message
...
I had a mower with exactly the same problem, just two days ago. I drained
about 1.5 qts from the base, Took out the plug and oil ran out of the hole.
I made sure that the oil had a chance to drain out of the plug hole by
standing it up on end for a while. Put a new plug in and put the proper
amount of oil in. Two pulls and it started right up, Lots of smoke, until
all the excess oil was burned from the cylinder.
My experience has shown that the cylinder can fill with oil from the base if
the mower is turned on end or on it's side. Someone checks the oil level and
sees it low and adds oil. In the mean time some of the the oil in the
cylinder can drain back into the base and result in a gross overfill.
Because of this I was able to obtain a very good mower free, because someone
tossed it out, not knowing what had hapened.

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 05:16:13 -0700 (PDT), wrote:


Yes, but what you fail to grasp is that the person who borrows
something is only responsible for the damages that person causes.

If he brings the mower back with only two toes --- he can gamble away
the other two. Fall off my ladder and you're fired before you hit the
ground.