Calling All Motor Heads or Small Engine Gurus (lawnmower question)

[Benton]

You did put the oil in the oil hole and not the gas hole, right? It just seems like a lot of oil you're talking about.

I would recommend draining the gas and oil out (pick a spot in your yard you really don't like or get some drip pans). Just make sure the oil doesn't drain into the gas when you flip it back over. Take the air filter off and buy a new one, or at least give the old one a good washing and let it air dry (don't be too rough with it if the filter is old, they tear easy after they start to harden). Put it back together and put some new gas and oil in it. If the filter was soaked in oil on one side — even if it was dry on the otehr— the motor probably wasn't getting enough air to crank.

For a push mower, there's not a lot to it. You can generally take it apart and put it back together in an hours with a few tools. My first week of a high school auto mechanics class consisted of taking apart a Briggs & Straton and putting it back together so you could pull it. You worked in two man teams and tried to get the lowest time.