Sudden Temporary Oil Loss

[smallfarm]

My 52 cub NEVER uses oil, until this weekend. It went through almost 2 quarts mowing 1/2 acre of high grass and weeds. Good thing I stopped for lunch as I check gas oil coolant every time I get on it. As typical it used no oil the rest of the day. Boy did I keep an eye on it. C2 is off and snow plow is on. Anyone have any thing like this happen? Ran strong no noticeable smoking or blow by out the fill pipe. It was working pretty hard, but no harder than after lunch. Nothing at front oil seal, nothing in the bell housing, air bath not overflowing.
Thanks

[inairam]

were you mowing on a hill?

The 52 still had the short tube for the dipstick/ breather. Could it have spilled out of there?

[Dale Finch]

Any chance when you checked it, you didn't shove the dipstick ALL the way down? I've done that before, more than once, and it definitely gets your attention!

[smallfarm]

There is a bit of a hill but I have moved it before with no problems and I doubt it is enough to cause a problem. Actually I was in the flat part to start. And the oil level hasn’t changed from 1/2 way between the marks all summer. This cub is my main lawn mower with a C3 and gets a 2 hr workout regularly all summer. I checked twice when I saw it was low so I doubt I failed to push it in properly. Further it took almost two quarts to bring it up. Honestly I’m just glad I still have an engine.

[Don McCombs]

Was there any oil on the deck?

[smallfarm]

No signs of leakage anywhere. No smoke. Coolant looks good. Total mystery to me. Especially since it lost a lot in about an hour and nothing after AND can’t figure where it went.

[Don McCombs]

Definitely a mystery.

[Gary S.]

If it had been burning it, 2 quarts in an hour or so it would have had to look like a mosquito fogger. I guess you will have to keep a real close eye on it and see what happens. On a similar vein but not your problem my dad had bought a new '00 Lincoln. Around town it used no oil but as soon as he'd head to Florida it would go through a quart in 600 miles. Second day out it would use no oil.Coming or going,only on the first day. This went on for several years,the dealer would change the oil marked the stick he'd go back in- no oil used. Leave for Florida,1qt gone. Marking the stick made no sense it never used any around town. Finally on his own he changed the PCV valve,problem solved! Then started seeing the same problems on Crown Vic's and Grand Marquis in newspapers and Popular Mechanics when they had those ask the mechanic type Q&A. It's going to be something simple.

[Jim Becker]

Any chance when you checked it, you didn't shove the dipstick ALL the way down? . . .

I'm thinking along this line. Are you sure nothing happened to the dip stick? You didn't have to replace a lost one did you? Did the filler tube come loose?

[smallfarm]

Didn’t think of that. Just checked fill tube. It is tight. Original dip stick is in solid condition. Carefully checked top of dip stick top for defect that would keep it from going in all the way. May drain and check amount of oil in crankcase to verify it is not overfilled. Just to prove I am crazy — and because I do everything backwards — I will check hydraulic tomorrow to be certain the impossible didn’t happen and my hydraulic pump leaked backwards.

[Gary S.]

Here is a question for you. Say you didn't put the dip stick all the way in and your 2 quarts low. Did you replace those 2 quarts? If you did would you not be 2 quarts over now that you are sure you have the dipstick in properly?

[smallfarm]

I did put nearly 2 quarts in—an almost full bottle and a new one. It reads good so, as you know, it can’t be overfilled. Unless something i can’t see is causing a false reading. But, likewise, magically loose significant amount of oil without going somewhere? Then equally curious— stop using it.

I am hoping someone head of this before and has an explication. When working the engine hard I keep an eye on oil pressure, radiator overflow and oil vapor/ blow by and never noticed any.

[ricky racer]

Turn the dipstick around and check it again. Check it once with the marked side of the dipstick up and once with the marked side down. You'll probably find that you'll get two different readings.

[Clemsonfor]

Can a drain be plugged in the bell housing or enough gunk that the rear main allowed it to leak into the bell housing and that oil is now contained in the bell housing? These tractors I am not as familiar with as my Yanmar or cars and trucks so I am not exactly sure if the design allows this to even happen?

[indy61]

Make sure to check oil level on level ground, a slight incline can make a difference.
If there was no visible leak or smoke than I doubt it used that much in that short of time.