The first two things I would try before spending any money are: 1/ Do a compression test. 2/ Torque down the cylinder head. If you're still having problems, it could be anything from rings to a warped head. Bye

 

I agree with Belarus - Id also check the oil - make sure gasoline isnt working its way into the oil if the carb over flows.

Oil could be sneaking past the valve seals into the combustion chamber .

I have a 12HP OHV teccy motor with a bad breather/valve seals - i wondered why the breather was plugged off- i found out after the air filter was saturated with oil ( was leaking out the carb) - motor ran horrible and smoked alot.

 

I checked the oil last night again for smell, and it smelled like gas. So I guess over the winter gas was getting by the float needle into the gas. I have been told by other sources to drain the oil, and clean the carb all out. Does this seem like I am on the right track?

 

I checked the oil last night again for smell, and it smelled like gas. So I guess over the winter gas was getting by the float needle into the gas. I have been told by other sources to drain the oil, and clean the carb all out. Does this seem like I am on the right track?

Yep, and install a manual fuel shut off valve..

 

Its a common problem for older tractors having gas leak by the carb- if youd continued to run the motor with gas diluting the oil, it wouldve ruined the berings and destroyed the motor .