I just acquired a John Deere with the kawasaki 4.5hp engine. it runs and I like it but it is leaking pretty badly. havnt located leak but I was told it was bottom seal. not knowing jack about small engines that meant nothing to me.
now I am wondering if its worth the work for me to begin tearing it down to fix. I already had to remove the carb cause mower wasnt getting fuel and would die. I fixed that issue...well kinda of...mower now starts but the bowl is leaking fuel bad so I need to fix that. I know new carb is $100
Let us know what you find. I have several of these engines and it is my favorite mower engine of all time (albeit a bit on the heavy side), and well-worth fixing IMO. None of mine have any oil leaks (yet).