Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Lawnmower wont start and has oil in carborater, carborater, compression test

Question
I have a murray model #24050c, it's an older model that i got from a friend. I try to start it and it won't start. It has oil in the carborater and in the exhaust system part of the motor. I changed the spark plug because it was old and it had burnt oil on it as well. When i try to start it i can smell the gas too. Please help me figure out what is going on with it.

Answer
Are you absolutely sure it is oil rather than gas? Gas flooding over that much is much more common. If it has been flooding itself out with a high volume of gas then sometimes it also goes into the crankcase thinning the oil out and allowing it to pass by the rings and into the cylinder mixing the oil and gas together. If the mower hasn't been tipped toward the carburetor side I doubt it's straight oil. If the flooded mixture is mostly gas I would suspect it is a problem with the needle and or the seat, requiring a rebuild. Also a oil change to remove the contaminated mixture. Nothing short of a blown piston, or such would account for that much pure oil in the cylinder, unless as mentioned before the mower was extremely tilted. You will also need to remove the spark plugs and crank it over to throw the mixture out thats n top of the piston or it will be hydro locked (Unable to compress the mixture) and will act as though it is seized. After doing so and changing the oil be a good idea to do a compression test before going further.....Tom