I have a Sears Craftsman 4.5 lawnmower, model #917.388040. It's almost 2 years old. I was mowing my lawn and suddenly a lot of white smoke started pouring out of the left side of the mower. It was so bad my neighbors came over because they thought it was on fire. I shut it off and noticed oil on the front of the mower. I know it's not the oil filler because I just replaced that. My neighbor said it might be the o-ring and if it is, I might as well buy a new mower as it costs almost as much to replace this. I can't afford to buy a new mower right now. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me in this matter.

Rose Riker, May 2005

On some Craftsman mowers, there is an oil reserve on the top of the moter under the flywheel. This has been known to blow its seal. That sounds like your problem. A shop should fix it for about $70. It is a cheap part and easy to do but they will charge about two hours of labor.

cholbach, June 2005