Power mower starts, before dying seconds later?

over filling a small engine with oil can be a pain in the butt, because with briggs and stratton motors the crankcase uses a breather to pressureize the carb to permit the flow of fuel. To much oil can limit the pressurization and will eventually kill the motor. All you have to do is drain all the oil out of the motor, pull the spark plug out and spray in some carb. cleaner to help clear any excess oil out of the cyclinder and pull the rope or turn the starter over a couple of times to clear the rings of oil too. Once this is done, add the correct amount of oil and the motor should be fine. If it continues to be a problem, it could probably use a carb tune up.

David
July 2007