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My John deere has a Kohler 17.5 and it starts but only runs for seconds at high speed them it pukes oil into the carburetor and out the exhaust. Why is this happening? Thank you.

Make certain your oil level is not too high (over-filled). But sometimes, if the mower sat slightly downhill over the winter, oil can pool in the cylinder and wind up in the muffler. This will usually burn off. Sometimes it is a carb issue. Your mower may require a carb cleaning.

I had an issue with my tractor where it would do the same thing as yours is doing. The float valve in the carb stuck. When it sat, gas ran into the engine and ended up in the oil pan. Apparently, the thinned oil runs past the rings causing the smoke and stopping the engine after a short run. I cleaned the carb, installed a shut off valve in the gas line, drained and refilled the oil and it was good to go. It is not an uncommon problem.