J-Mech, thanks for the response. Yes, the reed was removed for the picture. Tomorrow I'll use a small wire and check the drain hole. Should I replace the two gaskets since they probably have oil on them? If the drain hole was plugged, do you think that might be my problem? Thanks again. :bigthink:

Is the drain back on the bottom side?

Yes, the drain hole is in the bottom of the breather plate.

J-Mech, the drain hole is clear. The gaskets that leaked were Kohler parts. I cut two more out of gasket material and am going to install this afternoon. Maybe I did not tighten down the cover plate enough. I was worried about collapsing the cover.

Ok. Yeah, tighten it down. You can't get stupid, but it needs to be pretty tight.

Huh? Are you saying that the decal is meant to go directly on the fiberglass dash housing instead of the tin dash plate? That would suprise me. It looks like there was originally a decal on the tin, which is probably why most of them fade and wear off after 30+ years. Have you ever seen one applied directly to the dash without the tin?

The original tins are painted not decals, yes I've seen a few at shows that have the decal directly on the fiberglass. The fact is that decals do not like to stick to rough textures very well especially ones printed on chrome vinyl since its a lot less forgiving .

I wish you had chimed in earlier when I was asking about the decal and tin. I know I'm not the only one doing a project like this for the first time. I'm working through each problem one at a time. Asking dumb questions and learning as I go. If the decal doesn't last, so be it. This machine will not be parked outside as long as I have it. This project started as a need around the yard and also kind of reconnecting with my Grandfather. I thought about applying the decal directly to the dash but that seemed kind of hokey. You know, decals on toy cars. I thought the 3d look with the embossing and cross hatch would look good and it does. I was going to punch a new dash tin out of sheet aluminum(CNC punch,in fact even drew it up) to give a little raised appearance but decided even that would not look good. If it doesn't last I can always go back and do it another way. At least I know how to take it apart now! Thanks again to everyone that's helped on this fun project. I need to get it done so I can start on the tiller before spring!

Steved, don't fret over putting the decal on the dash tin. I looks great. I would have done the same thing because putting the decal directly on the dash would have looked odd. Another option, not for the faint of wallet, though, is to find a NOS dash tin. I've used a couple. Makes the restoration if you are going for a real original look. I wouldn't go to that expense for a worker, though.

You are doing a great job. Can't wait for the final pics!

I'm having a fit getting all the linkages re-set on this engine after pulling it for the second time to fix a leak. I decided to start over at the very beginning and clean and reset the carb. The float level was a little off the 11/64", not much. Going through the manual very carefully, I noticed I had not set the float drop. The manual calls for bending a tab. My float does not have a tab. Does this matter? Thanks for everyone's help!