@bill_kapaun yep, that is what I used, as well as a push pin. Mine looks just like the photo above with 2 holes on the sides, one solid hole from left to right. The main jet opening goes down into them and they are larger than the jet opening. I used te red straw that came with the Carb Cleaner and shot it from all three openings ensuring it flowed thru freely. You guys have been great with the feedback, I really appreciate it. Phil

It's about time to start a new thread because it obviously isn't coming from the top of the motor. After sealing the breather up with RTV I re-assembled and even managed to get it started. Pushed it back and forth a couple times and was real happy. Then I could smell it. Then I could see the smoke starting to come from the muffler area. Put it away to tear back down when I had a chance. The entire top of the motor looks about the same but I can see a particularly oily area under the coil. So here is the pic [IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a386/sfhellwig/oilymess.jpg[/IMG] I pulled the muffler and it didn't seem an oily mess itself. Thinking maybe a valve I thought I could try a compression test. The oil that is pooled up is in an isolated place, I don't see how it got there. The spark plug looks pretty ugly for being put in last year. I'm afraid for the isolated area that I may have a crack in the cylinder. Sounds like a chance at least. Maybe a compression test will show this such as when pressure testing a cooling system. If it needs rebuilt I think I may be up for that but a cracked cylinder means she's done for. Any suggestions? I'll see if I can borrow the pressure tester from the store and see what happens but it will likely take a few more days for those results.

I am working on this same model. To clarify, the mower deck is made by MTD. The engine is the Honda GC160 with the auto choke system. The following is my opinion: I thought the mower was ok for a light weight mower. $239 seems a little high when compaired with similar mowers in Walmart (I have not looked this year). The engine started easily and ran smooth. I noticed problems with the auto choke system sticking during the mid point in it's cycle. The method of mounting the top cover with fuel tank is very simple - easier than engines produced by other manufacturers. The method of mounting the carburetor is more complex than the method used by Briggs and Tecumseh. The engine seemed to have fewer areas of oil seepage than the other manufacturers, but the Governor shaft seems to seep quite a bit. The cooling fins are less likely to collect grass/debris than the Briggs Quantum. The Honda GC is an easier engine to start than the primer Briggs Quantum and the primer Tecumseh. The ready start Briggs quantum is a more consistant starter than the auto choke honda. The ready start Briggs quantum and the manual choke Honda are very similar and very good in their starting qualities.

I'm glad that you are happy with your purchase. I have a ten year old Honda. My experience: The engine is indestructable. After 10 years, the carb has gotten gummed up and my choke sticks. Not unreasonable. Simple solution was to quit using the choke. It still starts first pull most of the time even without choking it. I will get around to cleaning the carb one of these days. No complaints about the deck. My deck is steel and shows no rust and very little wear. I have the double blade mulch setup and it does a good job mowing. I mulch most of the time and it only leaves cut grass on top of the lawn if I let it get too long before cutting. But...... I have a slight incline in my yard. Slight. I've had to replace the wheels once because they wore smooth and slid on the incline. I'm getting ready to replace them again because the second set it almost smooth. BTW, my lawn is about 1/3 acre, a corner lot in a subdivision. Cables. I have to replace the cable to the self propelled clutch about every other year. There doesn't seem to be anything that is stressing it, it just breaks after a while. I've replaced the safety/blade clutch cable a couple of times as well. The self propelled cable also needs adjusted yearly. The clamp holding it doesn't seem to be as secure as it should be and it slips, causing the self propelled mechanism to be hit or miss. The bagger frame. It fell apart. Three welds just gave up and it fell to pieces. New ones are quite costly and the replacement seems to be constructed exactly the same as the old one. The fabric bag actually lasted longer than the frame! The handle. The paint came off of it after a couple of years where I hold it while mowing. This isn't my first go around with a mower and I've never had this happen with far cheaper models. I had to cover it with electrical tape to keep it from rusting. Also, the plastic bracket on the right holding the two drive levers crumbled after a couple of years. These are all niggling problems to me because I do the repairs myself. I've always managed to figure a way to mow even when it is broken. On the other hand, if I had to take it in for repair every time, I would probably be pretty unahppy. I'm sure I've spent enough to buy a new one and my wife mentions that every time it breaks. I just hate to get rid of it when the engine and deck are working so well. I'll probably consider Toro and Snapper whenever I break down and decide to replace it.