# Honda GX140 Blowing Blue Smoke After Running for a While



## BigDeeBee (Nov 24, 2020)

I currently have, in my possession, a Honda (EM2200x, I believe) generator with a GX140 engine. A customer brought it over complaining that it starts fine, then dies, and smokes a lot. The first thing I did was check the oil. When I pulled the dipstick, the crankcase was overfull with gas. I believe this was due to it being transported without shutting off the fuel. (I've heard that's a common issue with these engines) So I drained the gas from the crankcase and refilled it with Valvoline 10w-40 atv/utv oil. (Manual calls for 10w40 for a wider temperature range) I went ahead and cleaned the carb. Not surprisingly, it was a bit plugged. I put it back together and it fired right up and ran/runs fine.

Now onto the issue: The blue smoke
Initially, I thought the smoke was due to the crankcase being well overfull with gas and oil. However, the issue persisted after draining and refilling with fresh oil. I filled it to the top mark on the dipstick, and fired it up. It ran fine for about 30 seconds to a minute, then started blowing blue smoke pretty heavily. So the next thing I did was grab a turkey baster and suck out some of the oil (to about the halfway mark on the dipstick) to double check that it wasn't an issue with too much oil in the crankcase. I've tried running it a few times and each time, it runs fine without smoking, then it warms up and starts blowing blue smoke. It's clearly burning oil, but I'm looking for opinions as to why. I'd imagine it's either the piston rings or the valve guides, but I'd like to tear into the right thing the first time. What are your guys' guesses? Rings or guides? Could it possibly be a valve clearance issue? (And by when it warms up, I mean for about a minute maybe a little more, not fully up to operating temp)

I did a little looking, and it seems that either issue would be about the same cost in parts. I don't have a compression tester so I couldn't tell you what it tests at, I could possibly borrow my buddy's, but it feels good and strong. I put a small amount of oil in the cylinder and pulled it over (after running and noticing the problem, not before) and it felt about the same.

I also found a post somewhere about it possibly being a breather issue, and the guys there said to try running it without the air cleaner to troubleshoot this, but it made no difference here.

Anyways, any help would be appreciated before I go tearing into it.
(Any other troubleshooting techniques would also be appreciated)


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

More than likely it is either the rings or guides but you didnt mention anything about the fuel being used. Is it the correct type? Old or fresh?


----------



## BigDeeBee (Nov 24, 2020)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> More than likely it is either the rings or guides but you didnt mention anything about the fuel being used. Is it the correct type? Old or fresh?


Fresh premium gasoline. 91 octane rating I believe.


----------



## paulr44 (Oct 14, 2008)

The breather is a simple reed valve. Try running it without the air filter, as if it's oil saturated that's a problem.


----------

