From what i have read about your problem--let me say this: Whatever your job classification is--i think you had best stick to that, and let a mower repairman fix your mower, if at all possible.
I think, from your description, you turned the mower on the wrong side, and engine oil drained into the intake manifold, and then the air filter, all of the air passages in the carburetor, and the crank-case breather!
Also, if the engine has a dip-stick, where you check the oil, you must take out the dip-stick to check the oil, and if it needs oil, pour it down the dip-stick tube, allow it to settle, then check the oil with the dip-stick., wiping off the stick each time!
If you don't get it to run, then professional help is advised, as i can tell by how you described the problem, you would be better off cooking food, than trying to get it to run again!
And, if all else fails, and you have to buy another one--please ask questions about the care and feeding of a gasoline powered lawn mower and its engine! None of us were born with that knowlege, ya know!

Eh? Cooking food?

Anyway, this is the thing.
I've changed the oil/plugs and air filters on dozens of different gas powered engines in my time and I know which way to turn the mower to drain the oil out...
This is what was so odd about there being not a single drop of oil coming out.
It wasn't until it was running that the oil insanity began happening and the obviousness that it was flooded with oil, making me wonder where that old oil could have been hiding and if perhaps there was a blockage in the oil tank?
Before starting, the dipstick was showing a low amount of oil, but not dry.

I tapped the old blade adapter to hold a bolt to the crank, wondering if perhaps the lack of momentum of there being no blade on the mower could be causing the odd rope yanking back issue, so the blade is now being held with an effective shear-bolt rather than the 20 dollars a pop blade adapters.

I've since tried a carb starter/helper...You know those spray cans of unpleasantness you can buy, and it got a few pops and splutters from the engine but it seems very likely that the carb is clogged with oil.

I truly don't have time to take the engine apart.

What is the most likely way ahead here? And what on earth is up with the rope pulling back on trying a start?
I've had old and greased up engines before that didn't do this.

"Anyway, this is the thing.
I've changed the oil/plugs and air filters on dozens of different gas powered engines in my time and I know which way to turn the mower to drain the oil out...
This is what was so odd about there being not a single drop of oil coming out. "

RB> C'mon...the oil didn't just hide somewhere - gawd! Clearly you turned the mower on the wrong side then filled the sump. Didn't you check the oil level BEFORE string the engine? That is a basic for maintenance on any engine.

"It wasn't until it was running that the oil insanity began happening and the obviousness that it was flooded with oil, making me wonder where that old oil could have been hiding and if perhaps there was a blockage in the oil tank?
Before starting, the dipstick was showing a low amount of oil, but not dry. "

RB> Not possible with twice the oil in the sump, unless you failed to insert the dipstick all the way.

"I tapped the old blade adapter to hold a bolt to the crank, wondering if perhaps the lack of momentum of there being no blade on the mower could be causing the odd rope yanking back issue, so the blade is now being held with an effective shear-bolt rather than the 20 dollars a pop blade adapters. "

RB> Given that the key sheared from some unknown excess of force I would not be at all surprised if the flywheel key sheared as well. Maybe that mysterious noie you heard ealier was the blade striking some solid object.

"I've since tried a carb starter/helper...You know those spray cans of unpleasantness you can buy, and it got a few pops and splutters from the engine but it seems very likely that the carb is clogged with oil."

RB> Time for disassembly and cleaning.

"I truly don't have time to take the engine apart.

What is the most likely way ahead here? And what on earth is up with the rope pulling back on trying a start?
I've had old and greased up engines before that didn't do this."

RB> See above. You have broken something else. You would do well to take the advice of the other poster. Allow a mechanic with the skills and tools to maintain your mower. You will save money in the long run.

If the engine kicks back when pulling, it's almost certainly a partially sheared flywheel key.

It will require more than a spoon and fork to repair. :)

It requires a few sockets, torque wrench and maybe even a puller.

Maybe the old oil was so thick and sludgy and cold that it wouldn't pour out?
If I'm reading this as you meant it, you tried to start the mower without the blade? Most of the time this won't work because the engine is set up to use the blade as part of the flywheel momentum.
You do not need to take the carburetor apart to clean it because it got oil in it. The fuel will clean it.
I think this whole episode started with the fact that the oil was not changed in the mower until it turned to sludge and wouldn't even pour out. There are several ways the crankcase could have been cleaned out, like adding some Marvel Mystery Oil, briefly running it, letting it 'soak' overnight, running it until warm, then dumping it.
I can't tell what you have done to the blade, blade driver and flywheel key, but from what I can gather it doesn't sound safe to run.

- The whole spluttering and not being able to stay running thing happened to me this spring too. Turned out to be a sheared flywheel key. If you do your research online (try youtube) you can get the $3 part and fix it yourself. The flywheel key can be the cause of the jerky starter cable too.
- There are a few posters on here (some of which you've already seen) who are nothing but jerks. If there is a moderator here they should check into those two, and consider banning them, because they are absolutely counterproductive to what should be happening here - help. Rudeness is not okay.

Good luck with your mower.

Well, you will admit that there are folks in this world who can bake bread, and others who can fix mowers, and others who can fish and catch them, but those folks can't necessarily do all of those things with any good results!
So, that being said--don't ask me for help, and i won't offer it! We don't need snide remarks here, so bug off! Rusty Jones

That's the point, Rusty, you are not helping when you tell people to let a mower repairman fix their mower. Guys with a decent amount of mechanical inclination ask questions, then go do it themselves and this is supposed to be a forum for that. If you don't want to help, maybe it would be best if you bugged off.

Well, it would appear that i have dissed some of you with my replies, so let me ask for your forgiveness, and i apologize to anyone whom i have made feel badly! I shall now sit back and "copy the mail", and let the experts do their thing!
Yours: Rusty Jones, The Mower Man

On this anniversary of D Day, we're going to thank Rusty for his service. No negative comments to a defender of freedom.

This has to be one of the strangest threads I've ever read.

C'mon, man! What about those ones where the blade cannot be tightened and falls off when the engine is started? Aren't they pretty strange? Nobody ever figured out why, just like why the oil defied gravity in 'Bread's' mower and drained uphill will forever remain a mystery. It all fits in the same category as 'unintended acceleration' that crops up every few years on one kind of car or another - Audi, Toyota, whatever, and they cannot find out why. It's because people are idiots. They hit the gas instead of the brake, then try to blame the car. Then others claim it happened hoping they can get a better car or some money.
Now 'breaddrink' has had this mower at least four years and never changed the oil, or he would know how. We also have the description of the oil ('thick black gunk') AFTER he added 18 ounces of new oil, so imagine what must have been in the crankcase before that.
So, I'll stick with my original thought - the old oil was cold and about the consistency of grease, and would not pour. After the new oil was added, somewhat diluting the old and severely overfilling the crankcase, the big spill happened upon starting the engine. All the other damage, like the sheared keys, came about from trying to start an engine locked up from oil in the combustion chamber and/or with no blade attached. 'breaddrink' had to fix the sheared keys, put the blade driver back like it was, attach the blade, check the oil level and quality, check the air filter for being oil-soaked (if pleated paper) and start the mower. I doubt if that happened.

Well, after reading the preceding stories and questions and statements and dissertations, about how to treat yer mower, and how not to, and the nasty remarks made to and about me, i have the feeling that some of you got out of bed on the wrong side, or put yer shoes on the wrong feet!
I have the feeling that the original poster should stick to cooking, and pay somebody to mow his lawn! It would certainly be much cheaper. And also pay somebody to fix it, although i feel it has taken its last trip to the dump!
But, several weeks ago, i spied a really nice looking leaf gathering machine (A Craftsman ) sitting out for the G-man, so i grabbed it and took it home. It was brand new! The engine was shiny, the steel deck and blade cover was new looking. The engine also had a very large hole in the crank-case, and there was no indication of ever having had any oil in it! HMMM! Can anyone figure out how that came to be???
Back about 6 years ago, my friend operates a sell-anything store. He took me back into the back room and showed me a brand new self-propelled Southland mower, that they had sold, but the buyer brought it back, saying the oil was watery! Said he didn't try to start it, but brought it back and got a refund! The store guy didn't want to sell it again, so he gave it to me. I took it home, checked the oil, saw none in it, so i put new oil in it, started it up, and it ran for 12 more years, in the hands of one of my other friends!
Ahh yes, buy the kids shoes, send them to school--and they eat the books!
Previous treatise by: Rusty Jones, the aging(87) WW II Veteran! Happy Memorial Day to you all! May we all live forever!

Where's Ewalk when he's needed.
Prolly fishin.

Ipod : Almost Dude , just cleaned out the fishin boat and relined the fishing reels lol .

Note: As for the lawnmower quite a thread indeed . Sounds like Sax and RB are probably on the right track . Also Hydro lock from oil flooding into the combustion chamber will also cause the kick back scenerio , although the sheered flywheel key is the most often basic cause . An Rusty , Baking Bread or Breaking Bread often is more Palitable than Crow . Happy Memorial Day to my Friends South of the Border , Job well done Rusty ! :)

P.S. The Blade adapter solution does not sound mechanically safe .

I was asked a question about a Honda lawn mower. The owner sez that sometimes, the thing will start on one or two pulls, but another time, it kicks back. He took it to the dealer's shop, they pulled the flywheel, and the key was not sheared! The owner said his kid hit a brick with it and the trouble began after that.
I was wondering: Could the key in the blade adapter being sheared cause the problem? I don't know if it was, but sometimes the thing would kick back, but other times, it would start right up. Any ideas?
Thanks to all who don't think i should be a cook! Happy Memorial Day! Rustyj

This should be a new thread, Rusty. I had a Tecumseh the other that that would pull the rope right out of my hand with kickback, but the key was perfectly intact. I just gave it back to the owner and left well-enough alone.

A hunert years ago, when I was in training to be a soldier
in the Army, if you flunked out of infantry training,
guess where they put you??? Cooks school, (The Spoon Platoon).

I can make bread . I use a Zojirushi bread maker. I can mix up a loaf in 5 minutes. Easier than mixing concrete. The time it will take to drop off and pick the mower for repair will likely take longer than fixing it yourself. drain the oil from the correct side. Pull the plug and pull it through a few times to expel whatever is locking the engine. Use the spray to clean any gunk from your new plug. Put in fresh oil to the right level. Try again. If the rope is still herky jerk when you pull it it is likely a sheared key. Dunno about your blade holder, but you need the blade to start. As mentioned it is part of the flywheel