OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions on Other Engines Victa v40 Chonda Smoking badly

Hi Guys,
I recently acquired a Victa V40 Chonda from the local recycle centre. I have come across quite a few of these and the vast majority after a good clean up function well.
This mower was an exception because it was missing a starter and the carby was badly damaged simply because the previous owner didn�t know how to remove the carby studs from the block. I ordered a new copy carby for the GXV120 and the mower was back up and running after the general once over.
Work to date,
- Cleaned spark plug � good condition with nice blue spark
- New gxv120 chonda carb as the previous carby was beyond repair
- Valves adjusted according to spec. .15mm inlet and .20mm exhaust
- Re-adjusted the linkages to get nice one pull starts
- Changed oil as it was pretty black and sludgy.
The mower started up quite easily however it was blowing smoke which make me think oil was in a combustion chamber. Further inspection revealed oil in the breather tube which made me take off the flywheel and check the pcv valve. I cleaned the area thoroughly and found the disk in good condition with no noticeable faults. Their did not appear to be any blockages.
I started the mower back up after cleaning the pcv system and still the same problem. I.e smoking badly. I doubled checked the choke operation and it opens and closes perfectly so the mower is not stuck on choke. This repair did however remove the vast majority of oil from the breather tube area.
I tested compression and its 115 psi after 4-5 pulls of the rope which I though was pretty reasonable.
After doing some reading I though the head gasket might be shot between the cylinder and the valve chest. Inspection revealed this wasn�t in fact the case well judging by the condition of the head gasket.
The valves were really chocked up with carbon so I completely dismantled the head and lapped the valves � all appeared to be in a good condition.
The cylinder bore was in excellent condition with no damaged noticeable.
This is the strange thing � see my photo of the head gasket and the fact it doesn�t line up on the head via one of the oil cooling galleries. I�d like to know if this could be the problem because I am a little stumped at the moment.
The gasket only has very minor damage on one of the corners however I am thinking it might be best to get a replacement unless you guys think otherwise.
As usual any suggestions on this job would be appreciated.

Jaffa