I guess it's time to give up on my lawn tractor

[VetteOwner]

leave the head alone, most mowers leave black deposits on em, its a lawnmower not a car....

generally when a mower wont run its the basic 3 things: fuel, spark compression.

fuel issues generally mean the carbs gunked up, a can of carb cleaner fixes that everytime

spark it can only be a few things: the plug, magneto, and or any safety devices (what usually causes issues)

compression well it generally doesnt go bad if A theres enough of the right oil and B someone didnt use regular gas in a 2 cycle

[theclencher]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

leave the head alone, most mowers leave black deposits on em, its a lawnmower not a car....

Well he said it was oily and it smokes to beat hell.

Flatheads come off so easily you almost can't not do it, to check what I mentioned above.

Don't know what you have though. OHV? Twin or single? Is it consuming oil? Is the smoke gas or oil?