I'm the world's worst mechanic. The 8hp Briggs and Stratton engine on my mower got a bad case of hydrostatic lock the other day. The piston wouldn't move. Gasoline had drained through the carburator and filled the cylinder. Gasoline won't compress. When I took out the spark plug, gasoline ran out. It also filled the crankcase, dilluting the oil. So I took off the air shroud, the air filter and the carb. It seems the float stuck down and kept the float valve from regulating the flow of gasoline. It emptied the tank. So I started cleaning it up. I had to disasemble the carb to get the float valve working. Leaf dust from last fall, dry grass, dirt, bugs -- there was a little of everything in there. I drained the gas-oil mess out of the crankcase, and replaced it with new oil (it needed changing anyway). Then I put everything back together. And you know what? Started first crank. Every now and then you win one. Even if you're the world's worst mechanic.
Howard