My toro lawn mower's cord gets stuck when I try to pull it and it blows a little white smoke. Help please?

Question

When I try to start my toro lawn mower (22in front drive recycler with 6.5 HP engine), the cord gets stuck and won't start. I also see a little white smoke coming out in the area down by the spark plug. I changed the oil in it before I used it last time, and I guess I did put a little too much oil in it, but drained it out just now and still the same problem. If someone can help me, I would appreciate it. Thanks a bunch

Answer 1

Sounds like a couple separate issues.  One the starter cord or starter assembly.  You can remove the starter assembly and either change the cord or lube up the starter so that it works smoothly.

The other issue is putting too much oil in the engine.  When you do this oil gets into the air filter box via the crankcase vent hose.  If you have oil on the air filter you may have to change it.  It may smoke a bit but it should clear up.  Make sure that the oil level is not above the full mark.  Some engine are more sensitive to this than others.  

Answer 2

Take out the spark plug. Cover the hole with a rag. Pull the cord a few times. Clean spark plug. Replace spark plug. Start engine. It sounds like you got oil in the cylinder.