Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm told that my Ryobi seized up due to no oil in the fuel. I can't believe it. Is there a way I can check the fuel I have left to tell for sure?

I suggested the kleenex trick for a reason.  Guy/gal comes into repair shop (seen this happen many times) saw/trimmer won't start.  Upon tear down you find scored/scuffed/seized piston.  Guy/gal swears up and down that he/she was using mixed oil.  Dump the gas tank and sure enough - the gas is mixed.  But being the astute mechanic that you are you grab the screwdriver and head for the carb.  Since the machine would not run the only proof is going to be the gas left in that carb.  How to get it out with out wasting it?  Use a kleenex or paper towel.

Sherri

Sherri, What is the kleenex trick. What do I do and look for? Jonathan

Jonathon

pull the carb and dump any remaining fuel out onto a clean white tissue so you can see the color of the fuel to determine if it was indeed premix or straight gas. it wont tell if the premix was the right ratio, but at least will help determine if the fuel was mixed or straight gas

OK. Thanks alot.

Jonathan,
You can also use a piece of white paper too give you a comparative.
Put one drop of the mix you have in the unit on the paper.
Put one drop of "straight gas" next too that.
Put one drop of known good mix next too that.
Let them dry for a few minutes.....The darker the spots.....the more oil was present in the mix.
There are other reasons for seizures.

I used to have a ryobi trimmer and it did the same thing.  Sent it back to Ryobi to have it repaired under warranty and guess what, they told me the same thing.  IT was a bunch of garbage because I knew the gas had oil in it and it was the correct mix because I just made it that day.  After enough complaining I finally recieved a return phone call from one of the "VP's" of the department.  Acutally he was very nice and good to speak with.  He assured me that the problem would be taken care of and it was.  Within a week of speaking to him I recieved a new trimmer.  However, it took me a month before I spoke with him.  THis was several years ago.  Once I recieved my new trimmmer I promptly sold it and purchased a stihl.  If it is under warranty argue like crazy and don't stop until you become a pain in the a** and get someone to listen to you.  I know from personal esperience and from others who have owned Ryobi products that they always use that same excuse of no iol in the gas so they won't have to repair it.

a couple things to look for when checking out blown 2 strokes.

1...if the piston is scuffed on the exhaust side only then you have a breakdown of luberication,can be caused by many things but it is most surely a lube problem.

2 if the piston is scuffed on the exhaust side and the intake side then you have a raw gas situiation. the only way the intake will scuff is with no oil there will also be a lot of grey soot type material in the crankcase.

a ryobi will usually scuff on the exhaust side because the motor ran lean.

even though you mixed your oil right and the carb is adjusted right ,there is sometimes still a failure.more often than not its because the gasket between the cylinder and block leaked.sometimes one of the bolts will loosen up and this causes an air leak,running lean.

other times the plastic cover on the end of the crankcase will warp and it to will leak causing it to run lean.

if there was a gasket failure then its warranty and they have to fix it for you.

let me know what the motor looked like inside and i can give you a bit more info.

later chris 

I did the kleenex test today and it confirmed that I had forgotten to add oil to the gas. My first time, and hopefully last.  I'll ask the repair place that has the trimmer to give me an estimate on a repair, but with at least 5 years on the machine, I'm inclined to get a new one. The guy is not charging for the estimate even though I bought it at Home Depot. He carries Stihl products so I 'll check them out. Thanks to all of you for your advice.

Uh oh, maybe you needed to let the oil drain off your fingers.    lol       Sthil's are very good units, and possibly the best or next to Redmax.  

I replaced the seized up Ryobi with a Stihl FS 55 RC. I would have liked to have gotten a commercial machine, but the budget couldn't handle it. It cuts much better than the Ryobi and doesn't get bogged down in thick grass like the Ryobi did. I'll try ebaying the Ryobi for parts. Not sure if there is a market for that, but can't hurt to try.