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Hi all, new member looking for some help. Have a Troy Bilt pony that's about 5 years old. The other day I went out to cut grass and it wouldn't start. Thought it might be a fuel issue so I pulled the fuel hose off the top of the engine. Cranked it and it caught immediately but spit out a ton of gas and oil through the port where the fuel hose was attached. Checked the oil indicator and what drips off the end is black but the consistency of gas. Added more oil and tried again. Same thing, spits out lots of gas/oil but fires up and runs. Attach the fuel hose and it won't run at all. Won't hold the oil either, seems to immediately disappear. I know nothing about these engines but I'm assuming this is a major problem? Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks
Jason

Jason.

What has happened is the float valve in the carb has not shut off the fuel properly.
The float bowl has filled up to the top then overflowed out of the air vent, dribbled down into the cylinder
Then past the rings and filled up the crankcase.
So you have to start by fixing the carb which is to pull it apart & clean it and /or install a rebuild kit
You will find the process here http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/
I like to fit an inline tap between the tank & the pump so you can turn it off to change the filter, work on the carb, replace the pump ( if it has one ).
Makes things easier & cleaner.
It is not the fix to your problem as the engine will run very rich if the float is not cutting off the fuel.
Once the carb is right you then have to drain the contaminated oil and replace it with the right amount of oil.
Cheap Walmart oil will do because you will try & start the engine and if it runs ok, change the oil again right up then mow and change the oil with good quality mower oil after that.
Cranking the engine with a sump over full can do a lot of damage as can cranking the engine with a lot of liquid gas in the cylinder cause liquids don't compress.
So it is either rebuild , suck it and see time

Thanks so much for the reply, I'll start working on that tomorrow. Thanks for the link too!

Quick follow up question. After looking at what spewed out of the fuel feed hole yesterday I realized that it's more oil than gas. Can the float valve issue cause all the oil to dump into the carb then spew out the top like that?

Thanks again

Doc Oc said:

Quick follow up question. After looking at what spewed out of the fuel feed hole yesterday I realized that it's more oil than gas. Can the float valve issue cause all the oil to dump into the carb then spew out the top like that?

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Yes
the engine has to vent
It vents into the carb ( EPA requirement )
When the level is too high the vent tube gets lots of oil which ends up in the carb or air filter depending upon the plumbing