Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): husqvarna riding mower, briggs and stratton, jeep engine

Question
hi tom,

my name is nick.  i equipment for a farm/garden supply store. today my supervisor asked me to do a repair on a husqvarna GTH2548 (it has a Briggs and Stratton engine) that had been returned.  the person that returned it said he began to mow his lawn and the mower just smoked and smoked.  that day i started it and drove around the parking lot and it ran just fine.  this afternoon when i started it i had the same problem the former owners had. i shut it off and immediately checked the oil.  from previous experience rebuilding a jeep engine i know that if the oil looks kind of an olive green color there is water or some other substance in it.  after speaking with my supervisor i learned that husq has some problems with putting the wrong gas cap on the tank so we assume there is gas in the oil.

so my question now is does it make sense to you that there would be gas in the oil and if it is repairable what is the easiest way?


thank you for your time
nick

Answer
Only way I know that gas would be in the oil is a bad flooding problem, so much gas in the cylinder it washes by the rings being the gas is so thin. Can you tell me if this is the ELS engine, the extended life service type. These engines have had numerous problems. If gas is present in the oil you should be able to smell it on the dipstick. Secondly, if there is a substance in the oil it should be somewhat over full too. These are the initial things to check first, never know what a home owner does with a mower. If gas is in the oil it will smoke like crazy being the oil is much thinner now and can pass into the cylinder by the rings.Best to change the oil and start fresh while trouble shooting, let me know what you find........Tom