mule 3010 oil in air filter problems

[cody25]

I have an 2002 3010 gas mule with 440 hours on it. I have had it in the kawasaki dealer here 4 times since new. Every 3 to 5 months oil starts getting into the air filter causing mule to run rough then will not hardly run. The first time they said to much oil in the machine but I have never touched the oil in it. Now they say vent hoses are plugging causing the oil to back into the air filter. They said they put bigger hoses on and fixed it for good but it is doing it again and has to go back in. This is costing 300 to $400 every time and I am fed up. The mule is used on our ranch daily and is not abused in any way. Has anybody had any problems like this or any suggestions??

thanks for any advice

[Koboss]

My only advice is trade it in on a diesel mule, they are problem free i use mine every day and it works hard. those gas engines Kawasaki puts in the mules are garbage.

[Kawi]

Before you let them do anything else make sure they do a leak down test and a compression test and see if you can narrow the problem down. The other thing to check is to see if the oil smells like gas.

[cody25]

got mule fixed again they talked with kawasaki and said it has been common problem with no real solution except to plug oil vent hose to air box and send it to outside like older model mules. they said reason was in the first place to vent it thru the air box was for polution regulations. we will see how long this theory holds up.

[howdy]

Hi, I have read and been through the same thing and did everything the others has told you. It cannot be fixed or at least nobody yet has fixed mine. Try this , buy a backhoe,dig hole , cover up the thing, buy flyswatter, wip the next sales person severly about the head and shoulders if they say how good they are.

[admiral]

My Mule was running rough for a few days and now it will not run at all. It is 4 months old, air filter is completely clogged with oil. Will it run by simply replacing the air filter or is there more that needs to be done? Does anybody know?

[QKENUF4U]

i would replace the oil, vent the crank case to the atmosphere like stated above and put a new plug in it. crank it over a bunch to clear the cylinder BEFORE putting the new plug in.

[cody25]

since they fixed it where oil will not go back into air box it has run great. I am still crossing my fingers it will hold up.

[sandslider]

Mine just puked a crap load of oil into the air filter... wish I had read this post before buying the gas model. I might have sprung for the diesel.

[usnavyvet]

I had the same experience a year ago. I had changed the oil and overfilled it.
It kicked oil back into the air filter and clogged it. I also found the plastic sleeve that they install was full of oil and that permitted the oil to back up into the filter. I removed the plastic drip sleeve and installed a piece of tubing, put in a new filter and am more careful when I add oil now. So far I have had no more problems, I average about 100 hours per season on the mule.

[OneWildMule]

Cody25:

Did you have any more trouble with oil in you air filter?

[Thumperacres]

Have been working on my S-i-L's 3010 with fouled spark plugs and high oil level that thinned badly when hot, it has an oil pressure gauge and it dropped about 20 psi when I finally got it running decent. Concerns: S-i-L said it was run out of gas and didn't run right after refueling ! I suspected contaminated fuel, but the bowl drain screw was broken off flush with the bowl from previous attempts to remove it. MULE had been used by lifeguards somewhere on the ocean and is rusted badly underneath. Would not stay running unless it was very cold out and then only for a short while. R & R 'ed the float bowl expecting to find a problem in the needle and seat area, found none it was clean as was the bowl. Gave up yesterday as I was tired of hitting my head on the transmission support. Went back out today and leveled it up on my scissor car hoist so I could work on it w/o damaging me. While under the unit, oil from the duckbill on the air filter housing dropped on my arm. Removed it and the filter and the air box drain which was full as was the bottom of the air box. Appeared to be blow-by from the overfilled oil. Decarbonized the plugs and got it running with the air box cover off and and a temporary fuel tank with 50% sea foam/fresh gasoline mixture. It settled down and ran OK even was able to drive it to warm it up to change the oil/filter. Checked Fuel Pump pressure and it was 3 psi, and it ran OK back on the pump rather than the temporary setup. left it running as I reassembled it from the air box out. All went well until I slid the old air filter into place. It stalled out. I removed it and it restarted. The old one looked OK using a light and did not appear to be plugged as the monitor on the air inlet pipe wasn't out of range, I checked it early on. Put the new filter on I had in stock and it ran fine, road test was fine. Will let it sit overnight and see how it does tomorrow. Will think about a liquid vapor separator for the crankcase vent with a hot rod crankcase filterv above that rather than have it go to the air box. Unit has 622 hours showing but no maintenance history came with it. Hope it helps someone someday.

[Surf]

Originally Posted by cody25

since they fixed it where oil will not go back into air box it has run great. I am still crossing my fingers it will hold up.

So what's the verdict? I just found this site as I'm so ****ed since this last year I have purchased 4 air filters for my 3010. What gives? Isn't this a thing that Kawasaki should have sent notices out on? Cody is your Mule still running good?
Thanks
Surf from Wisconsin

[RCW]

Thumperacres, do not open the vent hose with an additional vent and leave the pathway to the air box unplugged. That will pull dirt into the engine without benefit of filtration.

Surf, the newer 3010 gas rigs (as do a host of motorcycles and atv's from just about every manufacturer) have a well known and documented problem with oil volatiles blowing through the closed loop vent system and clogging the air cleaner. The solution is to do exactly as described above by disconnecting the vent hose from the air box, plugging that hole, and then to lengthen and route the vent hose to the atmosphere. I go one farther and stuff the open vent hose with a "chore girl" metal scrubber to keep bugs and crap out of my engines. Just remember to clean them once in a while or the metal chore girl will clog and lead to excessive crankcase pressure.

[Surf]

Originally Posted by RCW

Thumperacres, do not open the vent hose with an additional vent and leave the pathway to the air box unplugged. That will pull dirt into the engine without benefit of filtration.

Surf, the newer 3010 gas rigs (as do a host of motorcycles and atv's from just about every manufacturer) have a well known and documented problem with oil volatiles blowing through the closed loop vent system and clogging the air cleaner. The solution is to do exactly as described above by disconnecting the vent hose from the air box, plugging that hole, and then to lengthen and route the vent hose to the atmosphere. I go one farther and stuff the open vent hose with a "chore girl" metal scrubber to keep bugs and crap out of my engines. Just remember to clean them once in a while or the metal chore girl will clog and lead to excessive crankcase pressure.

You are talking the hose that comes off the top of the engine to the air box correct? Also there is a tube that comes out the bottom of the box on mine that is clear and is crimped on the end. Should this be as such? What is this short 3" tube for if it is closed?

I've pulled the air box loose and oil when all over. Should that have been draining out the tube that is on the bottom that is crimped?
Thanks again, as I said on another thread,,, I'm impressed with this Discussion board and wish I had found it a long time ago.
Surf


edited to add,
btw, I have had my mule since 02 and it just started doing this about a year ago. I have a little over 1000 hours on it and just replaced my first set of tires. Ebay is awesome! all 4 tires with shipping only cost me $215.00

[FamilyCorner]

We just bought (today!) a 2007 3010 Mule 4x4 with 11 hours on it. We got it home and drove around the neighborhood a little to try it out. Within 15 minutes we were blowing white smoke and losing power. We got it home and hubby opened it up and found the same thing all of you had.

After reading this he's relieved that there is a possible solution. We wanted to say thanks for everyone's input here, he's going to give this a try tomorrow morning and hope this solves the problem.

He also wanted me to tell everyone Harley Davidson makes a after market crackcase vent filter that would work perfectly for this issue. We are going to get one tomorrow and try it out and will let you all know how much it costs and if it works. He used to have this same issue with his older Harleys after they would sit for a while they would sump and then puke oil. To remedy that he would put that aftermarket filter on and it would solve the problem. Will let you know if it works!

[RCW]

I just stumbled onto a real fix for the hose blowing oil into the air box by accident. Kohler makes a 720 cc lawn mower/garden tractor engine that has an oil recovery tank sitting on the top of the valve cover.

The engine is found on John Deere G100 garden tractors, so John Deere dealers have the part in stock. Pick up that little tank and install it in the line to capture the oil and return it to the engine and it still lets the air flow to the engine breather. The straight in-line connection is the engine side, and the 90 degree hose connection is to the air box.

Cheap fix and no worry about sucking dirt into the engine through the breather lines and shortening engine life, which running them open will allow. This also allows the engine to still meet the stringent EPA guidelines.