[family truck]

I have a 1998 mule 2510 with less than 350 hours on it. It has a persistant problem with gaoline in the oil. It has been to the local
kaw shop and had the carb rebiult but the problem keeps coming back. It is very cold natured, fouls the plugs and registers too much oil on the dipstick a few hours after changing the oil.

Any expirience or advice on this problem? I plan on doing the work myself because the service guys at my local shop seems to be idiots!

 

[Kawi]

Welcome to the forum. Check your choke cable!!! 8)

 

[family truck]

Thanks for the advice, but the choke works fine- opens and closes fully. :?:

 

[DaveBoyers]

Gas in crankcase

Same here- my 3010 has more gasoline than oil in crankcase after only an hour or two. Dealer told me Mules are built with engines originally designed for use in generators, requiring full-throttle use, and will contaminate crankcase oil if not run that way.
Dealer has honed cylinders, replaced rings, pistons, fuel pump and carb, all to no avail. He's got three others with same problem, Kawasaki's answer: "Live With It".
My advice: Keep good records and prepare yourself for a battle if your engine blows, in or out of warranty. I don't understand Kawasaki's stonewalling on this issue, (or why they let it happen in the first place), but they're not winning any hearts and minds treating customers this way!

 

[bukshotbob]

gas in oil

I have a 1998 mule that dumps gas in oil and fouls rear plug also and would sure like to get a fix for it . It has 400 hrs on it and has always
fouled the plug. The dealers that I talked to say no fix. I am a retired
GM mechanic and I don't belive that. Bob

 

[joey]

This problem can be solved sometimes by checking to absolutly sure that the choke cable fully operates the choke to full open and fully closed. Also if the rod from the governor to the carb is at all been missed with and or bent this will cause the fouling. Also you may be able to get a vented fuel cap for the fuel tank.

 

[bukshotbob]

choke cable

Welcome to the forum. Check your choke cable!!! 8)

if choke is partly closed both plugs will foul if intake is correct.

 

[Woody]

#2 Rear Cylinder Spark Plug Fouls

I have this same problem on a used 2500 Mule. But I don't notice the gas in the crankcase, maybe because I have alot of oil and/or gas vapor coming out of the PCV tube. Does anyone have a suggestion we're I can begin trouble shooting this problem. Some more information, I do notice that the vapors don't start until the engine gets warmed up, some smoke out of the exhaust and he seems to be better if the oil level is at the safe lower mark rather then having the oil topped off at the high full safe mark. I have to clean the rear spark plug about once a week. The motor idles and runs just fine once the spark plug is cleaned.

 

[mike72]

may be a problem with carbs. I have a 650 v-twin that done the same thing, carb. kits fixed my problem.Trash gets under needle seats letting gas get past going straight to crank case.I hope this helps.

 

[tom moosbrugger]

I have a 1994 2510 and mine was putting gas in the oil. I reset my idle (leaned in the idle screw) so that it would hardly idle cold and idle fine when warm and the problem stopped. If you are having fouling problems there is supposedly something a Kawasaki shop can do, I believe there is a serice bulletin out on this problem.

 

[fancypants]

Mule 2510 Wont Start

Have had the same problem with fouling plugs. Also Dealer said everything was fine and still fouled plugs. Now, my Mule will not start. The fuel pump is working but not getting power to it. Any one know anything about wiring diagrams for 2510 (gas) 4x4 Mules? Have had nothing but problems with the oil in gas, fouling plugs, losing power, etc. What does the fuel pump have to do with the plugs fouling and why can I not get the fuel pump to work?

 

[FarmerK]

Has anyone cured this "gas in the oil" problem? If you have, please post it here so others who "Google" the problem might find your solution. We rebuilt our 2510 once because a crank bearing seized. It ran great for a couple months then the teeth on the plastic cam gear sheared off. We opted to replace the entire cam with one that has a steel gear on it (JD part). She sings and whines as I would expect with metal on metal but the power just isn't there and the gas in the oil has gotten progressively worse and the plug closest to the front carbons up (other looks fine). I've adjusted the choke, checked the air filter, changed the gas filter, changed the plug that fouls out, changed one of the coils, re-checked the valve to rocker arm clearance and now have the carb off. Someone else we know has the same problem with his Mule and can't seem to get if fixed.

 

[gary319]

Has anyone cured this "gas in the oil" problem? If you have, please post it here so others who "Google" the problem might find your solution. We rebuilt our 2510 once because a crank bearing seized. It ran great for a couple months then the teeth on the plastic cam gear sheared off. We opted to replace the entire cam with one that has a steel gear on it (JD part). She sings and whines as I would expect with metal on metal but the power just isn't there and the gas in the oil has gotten progressively worse and the plug closest to the front carbons up (other looks fine). I've adjusted the choke, checked the air filter, changed the gas filter, changed the plug that fouls out, changed one of the coils, re-checked the valve to rocker arm clearance and now have the carb off. Someone else we know has the same problem with his Mule and can't seem to get if fixed.

I don't know if this could cause the problem that you have stated but, you may check the fuel pump. According to what I have found out is that the fuel pump is supposed to shut off when the float in the carb gets enough gas to push the needle valve up into the seat. While checking my fuel pump I have found out that mine does not cut off and keeps on pumping gas.
What has caused me to check the fuel pump in the first place was that my mule died and acted like it was out of gas. The plugs (both of them) did foul ever since I have had it but lately is had gotten worse. I pulled the fuel pump off to check it using Kerosene to pump (instead of gas). Well, it pump fuel ok but, when I stopped up the supply line it keep on pumping although it did slow down!
I have priced a fuel pump and it is $166.00 and some change! I understand that there is an automobile electric fuel pump that will work so that is what I am looking for once I can find out what the PSI that is needed to get it to run. My email addy is [email protected] if you have any ideas. Please put "Mule" in the subject line!

 

[gary319]

Have had the same problem with fouling plugs. Also Dealer said everything was fine and still fouled plugs. Now, my Mule will not start. The fuel pump is working but not getting power to it. Any one know anything about wiring diagrams for 2510 (gas) 4x4 Mules? Have had nothing but problems with the oil in gas, fouling plugs, losing power, etc. What does the fuel pump have to do with the plugs fouling and why can I not get the fuel pump to work?

I had a fuel problem and it turned out to be the fuel pump! I read on here that some one had pulled the fuel pump a part on a Mule and found out that the contact points where burnt up. They filed them and cleaned them up and now they said the fuel pump works great. Well I did the same thing to mine and now it works great also. Here is what I did: in one end of the fuel pump (where the wires go in) there is a philip screw. Remove it and work real carfully (because of the wires) and work that end off of the reast of the pump. When you get it opened up you will see the contact points in question. I used an ignition file to dress them up. They where really bad, how it worked as long as it did is a wonder! Then I use a blast of compressed air and a small brush to get the loose stuff out of it. I re-assembled it and re-seated the big O ring after I tightened up the philps head screw.
Hope this helps, as a fuel pump for my Mule was over $200.00 and I am not sure that is would work any better than the one I have now. They are just not made for the long run,,they are cheaply made untill you have to buy one!!

 

[jetbike]

have rebuilt around 15 mules (2500, 2510, 3010) found three that had gas in case problems. rebuilt carb and kept oil on low side and didn't have any other problems. switched to a hotter firing plug. as for fuel pump i have replased mine with a napa after market. puts out about 8 psi

 

[leeschaumberg]

Gas in Oil Problem

Hello All this is my first post to the Green Motor Board. In this post I hope to cure your problem of gas in the oil. I have about 3000 dyno runs on engines from 1.5 hp to 5000 hp so I have seen some things. A qulafied engine mechanic should do all the following. Qualified may not mean a Kawasaki mechanic. Step 1 is never assume any thing! You can be correct or wrong half.A good mechanic earns between 20 and 30 bucks an hour or more so shop labor rate will be 40 and 60 bucks or more an hour.
2500 through 3100 series mules employ a larger than 600 cc vee twin. The problem is noticed after some one may have worked on the engine. This work may have caused the problem so we will have to check every thing.
1. Change the oil.
2. Using a differential pressure gauge check the compression of each cylinder. If the compression is down on any or both fix.
3. Clean and check the carb. Any water or dirt in the bowl needs to be removed. Also check float level and for any bent or damaged components.
4. Check for play in the choke cable when the choke is closed.
5. Start and fully warm up the mule. It may take many minutes to warm up the mule. Many people do not know the differance between warm and operating temp. Use a temp gauge to confirm.
6. Adjust the carbs low speed mixture now not when it is cold or warm. A cold or warm engine should not start with out the choke.
7. Check the ignition timing.
8. Drive the mule to check for more gas in the oil.

Another advantage of the diesel engine is no gas in the oil -HaHaHa

 

[Viny]

I have a 2000 2510 I bought new. Last year about this time it lost power, fouled the plugs and pretty much quit. This is the first time it had done this. I took it to the dealer and he changed the oil and checked a few things and told me to burn 91 octane gas in it and keep it revved high all the time. This pretty much fits the curve of everything in the posts above. A couple of days ago it did the same thing again.

I changed the oil, cleaned the plugs, started searching the internet and found this site. I've done some of the easier checks everyone has mentioned and am kinda stumped. Is there a main cause for this? It seems the main vector for the infiltration is through the carbuerator, either the fuel pump not shutting off or the needle valve not shutting off, etc. Wouldn't this cause the engine to flood out before the gas would have a chance to run down the sides of the pistons? Or, is this happening at engine shut-off? My engine never spits out dark exhaust like I would assume to see in a flooded condition. Also, I read some post where someone suspected a pcv valve. Do these things have a pcv valve? If so, where is it? My Service Manual doesn't point it out. Anyway, I'm just throwing a bunch of questions up on the wall to see if someone has gotten to the bottom of this. If it wasn't for this, I'd be happy as a clam with my mule.

 

[Viny]

OK, to whom it may concern. I think I now have gotten to the bottom of this as far as my mule is concerned. I am now chalking this up to a maintenance issue. I got brave and tore into the carbuerator. I think this is just a bit past the edge of my comfort zone. However, I removed it and during inspection found that there was some fine silty sludge in the bowl. I believe this was causing the bowl valve to stay open or seep. I cleaned this out and removed the pin holding the float and removed the plunger (?). Anyway, it looked fine and I cleaned the carb all out with carb cleaner and reassembled. My new attitude about this is that when I change the oil, I think I'll remove the bowl and clean it out.

Next, a quick return to the fuel pump. The contacts look pretty worn, but I think I'll replace it if I start having another problem or it gives out or if someone else posts some good advise, etc. I did do a quick internet search and found a replacement oem for @$125. So at least it's down from @$200 I saw in an earlier post.

Next, I want to address the air cleaner. When I had this gas in the oil outbreak, I found that the gas had also run down the air supply tube from the carb to the air cleaner under the seat and pretty well fouled it out. I think the downhill direction of the pipe from the carb to the air cleaner is a bad design. I took the liberty of replacing that pipe with a new pipe I built from pvc. It now runs fairly straight dowhill from the carb (lower than the air cleaner) and then hits a "t" junction and back uphill to the air cleaner. I then continue on down from the "t" about 4-5 more inches and put a screw cap on the end. So, now I have constructed a resevoir to catch the gas in that can easily be drained out by removing the screw cap and replacing. I wondered if there would be any affect on power with the extra distance of pvc, but it's not much and I used 1" pvc which is the same size as the original tube. I'm interested if anyone has an opinion of this.

On my test run, it ran perfectly. Plenty of power and no hiccups, etc. We'll see.............

 

[Viny]

Oh and one more thing. I saw in an earlier post where someone had mentioned using a hotter spark plug. I checked the NGK web site and found out that the BMR2A is the hottest spark plug in that series. It's not intuitive, but the "2" number addresses the heat range and the lower the number the hotter the plug. Anyway, I hope this helps....................

 

[YurFatMom]

If you are getting gunk in you carburator bowl, dont clean it everytime you change the oil, just get some $.50 fuel filters and change them 2x a year.