In this picture I had a blown head gasket. You can see the breach area at around 2:30 o'clock. Mine was a slight breach visible on the gasket side that faces the cylinder. My mower ate about 2 ounces of oil per hour, a lot less then your but perhaps your breach is much larger. Certainly look closely at that head gasket, as the others have suggested. With my new gasket, installed in the spring, my mower ate absolutely no oil this entire season. Sniffing your oil dip stick for gas is another possibility. I would suspect that if your carb is leaking gas into the combustion chamber and then into the oil, that your mower would also take quite a few cranks to start. If it does, then flooding could be your problem, if it doesn't then I would suspect the head gasket. By the way. My tractor is also a 16.5Hp B&S made in 2004. If it is a gasket breach let us know and we will give you the upgraded torque values and sequence to keep it from happening again...or at least delay it somewhat. This post was edited by optsyeagle on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 11:50

Anyone with a hammer, flashlight, camera, and a ladder can become a home inspector. Watch mike homes. If the home builders and general contractors did over here what they do over there 85 percent of them would be out of business and in jail. So would half of the inspectors. Prime exp. Put up a partition wall in the basement in this province without floating it The inspector will issue a stop work order. That is how lacks the codes are over there. If you smell car exhaust coming from your attached garage you don't need a home inspector to figure out there is something wrong. Yes i think you could be right. The inspector was there to collect the money and he or she hadn't a clue as what they were doing.I can still legally pull a gas install permit. Haven't been in the trade for 10 years. Obviously some codes have changed by then. Think i'll do a job now without up dating myself with the new codes ? NOT. Actually i'll not do the job.

Boxerpups, I am thrilled to hear from you. I so appreciate your taking the time to research pics for me. It is MUCH more noticeable than the Broan pic you shared. I would be very happy if it were to look like any of the samples you posted. I'm also glad for the encouragement that it's possible to have the two pieces smooth and flat -- I swear talking to the contractor and carpenters made me feel like I was going crazy... as if my expectations were outrageously high. They insist that the pieces aren't manufactured properly, whereas the tech support team said they have received zero complaints of this type about this vent, with the caveat that the pieces are very easily bent. I don't know who/what to believe. Ahhh... this too shall pass. And, at some point it will all be done to my satisfaction.

Long grass wouldn't worry me, nor a bit of a mess I suppose, but what I can't understand is when what I would consider a part of the sale is taken away. The gazebo for instance, or shrubs. I would feel that what I had seen, was what I was buying, unless the sellers asked me would I mind if they took this prized rose that reminded them of their old dead Aunt Mary. Or, could we take some of the daffodils, would that be all right? And yes, of course it would be. Yet, with some people, it is considered normal to rip out shrubs and young trees to take to their new place, after the sale. So strange. Anyhow, I am glad that you've 'moved on', musicgold, as it's NOT worth the angst to pursue this sort of thing. But please, next time, refuse to settle unless and until they put back what they take.