Modern Vespa

Hi Guys - need your help diagnosing the problem with my Pre Leader 1998 ET4. It's not normally the best starter in the world from cold , but today when it did eventually start it was very lumpy and didn't sound right plus a little bit more smoke from the exhaust than normal. I thought I might have flooded it as I have to give the throttle a few twists normally to get it to fire up. Anyway, it cut out after a minute and I thought I'd leave it for a few hours to evap the excess fuel in the carb. I looked in the oil sight glass and I couldn't see the oil level - which is normally exactly where it should be - right between min and max. I undid the oil filler cap and oil started to gush out. The oil also smelled alot of petrol too so I imagine petrol has got into the oil - is that probable?? Anyway, I suppose I'm going to have to drain the oil out and refill, but is there anything else I should be aware of - like is my engine nackered??

Sounds like your fuel tap has died. Your engine is probably fine. Your carb is probably getting a constant supply of fuel and flooding the engine. Could also be your float.

Thanks for your reply dougl. I'll check it out. Presumably I'll have to drain the engine oil as it's probably contaminated with petrol ?

Yeah I would. But it will evaporate fairly quickly, although the lubricant property of the oil would be significantly reduced.