# Brown liquid leaks (smell like gas)



## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

Hi, sorry for my synthaxe but english is not my best language.

Anywais, I have a honda HS80 for a few years and today when I started it there was a brown liqyid that was leaking under the carburator only when I start blowing snow, not when stationary with the engin working... I don't understand how it work to send pictures but I will try to send few ones in a minute...

The leak, if it is really one, comes out of a small rubber pipe.

Can anywone explains if something is broken?


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Temperature? Possibly condensation coming from breather pipe and it should clear up by itself unless there's another proble. Does your oil dipstick have anything on it besides just oil? Any foam or oil discoloration?


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

https://ibb.co/0mPgpn6


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

Cluche, welcome aboard. I'm going to agree with Joe and suggest that it's nothing more than the breather dripping. I get the exact same thing on my Ariens.


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

https://ibb.co/qDgRjYd


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

Ok, it is the light smell of gas that was worry me and make me stop the engine but maybe I will try to use it longer to see if it clean by itself


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Cluche
That is exactly where I was thinking it would be coming from. I'd run it for a while and see if it clears out. If the humidity is high and the temperature is correct, this will happen from time to time. If it were my engine I wouldn't be too concerned unless it absolutely will not stop dripping. *I do admit that there is quite a bit of it though. *Still, I'd run it and see if it clears itself.
You're English is fine. Better than some natives. :smile2:


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

The breather tube is located at the top of the valve cover to vent the crankcase and should not drip oil unless there is blow-by at the rings. The other possibility is that gas has leaked into the crankcase and thinned the oil and scoured all the crap into the gas/oil mixture. The pics show a lot of oil that looks thinned by gas because it looks to be splashing on the snow.

I would check for a carb problem (such as a float bowl needle valve leaking past the seal) and change the oil. Leaving the oil with gas will hurt your engine and an oil change is a low cost safeguard.


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

Thanks Town, yes the liquid seems to be oil and smell like gas, the picture is just a sample of what was leaking, there was more than that before I stopped the engine. Thanks everyone for the quicks answers it is really appreciated. I will check forware for the carb and will change the oil (it was due anyway). I will get you in touch if it wad the problem 😉


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Town said:


> The breather tube is located at the top of the valve cover to vent the crankcase and should not drip oil unless there is blow-by at the rings. The other possibility is that gas has leaked into the crankcase and thinned the oil and scoured all the crap into the gas/oil mixture. The pics show a lot of oil that looks thinned by gas because it looks to be splashing on the snow.
> 
> I would check for a carb problem (such as a float bowl needle valve leaking past the seal) and change the oil. Leaving the oil with gas will hurt your engine and an oil change is a low cost safeguard.


you beat me to it. I see this on old 80's from time to time.

check the oil on a level surface. if it pours out , gas has indeed been leaking over from carb to crankcase . faulty float , needle valve like Town mentions. Do NOT RUN machine.

change oil and maybe change float and needle valve. before putting it all together turn on gas and lift float up to see if gas flow stops. 

if the liquid coming out the rubber tube ( breather hose ) smells like gas this is probably the problem.


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

Orang: yep, just went to check the oil level and the oil poured from the cap when openned, too much liquid in there...


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## SayItAintSnow (Dec 15, 2017)

Cluche,

I read your original posts earlier, but didn't have time then to respond then, but I'm not too surprised to hear what you've found.

Don't run the machine any more, until you find the problem with the carb, which will likely be a float stuck in the open position (cracked and saturated with gas) or a needle and seat combination that is simply not sealing off the flow when it should. Not a hard fix by any means.

If you have a lot of gas seeping into the cylinder, this can even cause serious damage when cranking due to "hydro-lock". I've had engines that leaked internally so bad that the starter motor couldn't even turn the engine over. You can break something if this condition occurs, or at the very least, burn up the starter. One way to prove this is happening is to let the machine sit for a couple of days, _*take it outside*_, and pull out the spark plug. Briefly, crank the engine over (_*watch out for your eyes!*_). If a significant amount of gas sprays out the plug hole, especially on the first crank--you've found the problem.

You may be able to get a carb rebuild kit, or like so many of out machines, you may be able to find a carb on Amazon for less than 25 bucks which will fix the problem in one shot. (Be advised though, these cheap carbs can be hit or miss ....).

After you've solved the initial carb problem, I would then drain the oil out as completely as you can. Refill with fresh oil, and run the machine for about a half hour. Then I'd replace the oil *again*, since it is nearly impossible for you to get all the gas contamination out in the first draining. An extra quart or two of oil is pretty cheap insurance to save your engine.

Good luck with that. Let us know how you made out! :wink2:


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## Cluche (Nov 8, 2019)

Dear SayltAintsnow, I didn't do the sparkle plug trick today (the plug is not easy to reach and I dont have a lot of tools) but when I checked the oil as Micah68kj suggested, it defenitively smell like gasoline (and poured all over). I also check my dad's opinion on the matter (first reliable source for mecanics in my life xd) and he go in the same direction for the carb. I will check next week to do the job. 

Thanks for all the precises feedbacks, this forum is really full of quicks informations and nice people!


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