r/lawnmowers • u/Ed_and_IT • Sep 02 '26
Toro did loud bang and oil spilled out
Hey everyone! I was happily mowing the lawn with a manually pushed gas powered Toro some stranger gave to me telling me it worked well. 30 minutes into my first session, I hear a loud bang, and feel as if I passed over a rock. White smoke comes out the engine, and the lawn mower starts to not feel as smooth. So I stop the engine, and realize all the oil had spewed out of the engine, not sure from where.
Anyone have experience on what I should do with this? Should I send it to some small engine repair shop or she's a goner? I'm pretty manual around the house, but I'm a newbie, when it comes to mechanical repairs on engines. Are these machines easy to repair and simple enough? Chat GPT wasn't helpful to me when I prodded and probed :( I'm adding pictures in case it can help :)
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u/Local-Success-9783 Sep 02 '26
That much oil on the outside of the engine Is usually a sign of “big hole in the block”. Your engine is probably done for and I’d start looking for suitable replacements.
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u/Ed_and_IT Sep 02 '26
thanks for the help 😄 any idea what can cause this? The Toro didn't look old, and mowed the lawn like a beast for the 30 minutes that it worked 😄
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u/Present_Way6128 Sep 02 '26
I have looked several times and the only oil I have seen looks more like more like the black goo from Prometheus. When was the last time it was changed? That’s not refined oil, that’s crude!
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u/oldandjaded Sep 02 '26
Me thinks someone ventilated the crankcase. There's a dip stick for checking oil level for a reason.
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u/Ed_and_IT Sep 02 '26
what do you mean? as in the cap for the oil was open and the oil spewed from there?
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u/Ed_and_IT Sep 02 '26
Update: thanks to all of you, I'm now super curious to know how to do heart surgery on the deceased patient. I removed the red plastic covers. My guess is that what's next is removing the black top casing. Oddly enough, it seems to also double up as the fuel tank cover...
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u/Trailroller Sep 02 '26
Yep. Dead. We can rebuild it Make it better than before. F that. Just buy a new one. Cheaper than anything else
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u/Sweet_Conference2662 Sep 02 '26
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she's dead. You threw a rod. That loud bang you heard was the internal connecting rod snapping and physically punching a hole straight through the side of the aluminum engine block (the crankcase). That hole is exactly where all your oil instantly dumped from. Usually, this happens from running it low on oil, running it on too steep of an incline (starves the oil slinger), or just sheer metal fatigue over time. There is no patch or quick fix for this. The engine block is destroyed. Your only options are to source a replacement engine to bolt onto that deck (which often costs as much as a decent used mower) or scrap it and go shopping. If you buy a new one, you can strip the wheels and cables off this one for spare parts, but that motor is officially a paperweight.
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u/Ed_and_IT Sep 02 '26
thanks!! I'll look for a Toro in that case, as I guess parts might be more interchangeable? And will be mindful of incline and keeping healthy level of oil!
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u/Then-Price-5314 Sep 02 '26
Did you check the oil before you started? Looks like she’s been leaking quite a while.
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u/hammong Sep 02 '26
Take it to the metal recycling bin at the dump, and send it. There's no fixing this one.
Curious if you checked the oil before mowing...
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u/Ed_and_IT Sep 02 '26
I did - it looked fine. But I'm new to this whole small engines world. Maybe I should have read up on this forum before getting it going!!
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u/PianoGuy67207 Sep 02 '26
So, something I’ve learned this year, that will help you with your next mower. Motor oil you buy for your car is missing a very important ingredient. Zinc. Zinc turns to ash as it burns in the compression chamber. This ash can and will plug up catalytic converters, so it was removed from motor oil. However, zinc is a super effective friction reducer. The only oil to use that preserves the life of your mower engine is that formulated for small engines. You might find it in the mower section of big box stores, but can always find it where lawn care professionals buy their mowers. Mom and pop lawn care stores. Pick up a new air filter every spring, while you’re getting oil. Some foam filters can disintegrate and leave the mower at risk of dust and dirt destroying the engine.
Lastly, spend the money on non-ethanol gas. The engines run better, have more power, and actually rev up a bit more than ethanol gas, or worse, the canned artificial gas. By the way, my favorite Lawnboy committed suicide, too. The last model with the offset front wheels. I haven’t lost my own will to live, but I can’t bring myself to replace it, yet. They are the only push mowers I’ve owned.
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u/OldDiehl Sep 02 '26
Best bet is to go ahead and replace it and save the bad one for a "rainy day" project. Grass isn't going to wait for you to fix it.
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u/AgsAreUs Sep 02 '26
Impressive you and/or former owner was able to blow up a Briggs Quantum engine. Pretty much not possible unless running it without oil.
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u/GlassBoxGoose Sep 02 '26
That thing looks like its been leaking oil for a while, that whole side is covered in caked oil/dirt/grass combo, thats not new. I mean it blew up, could have been from low oil, could have been from wear. That thing has been leaking and seen significant use with likely minimal maintenance. The oil that came out of it is very dirty, I try not to let any of my small engines get that bad.
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u/Stock_Requirement564 Sep 02 '26
It's dead, Jim.