Oil leak. Phooey

Thanks for allowing me to join and ask my question. The pictures are my Snapper RER with 10HP Briggs engine. An oil leak developed after an oil change. I assume retightening the drain pipe caused a hairline crack to develop. I can observe the oil coming from the casting at about 3 to 5 seconds per drop. I cannot see any crack but am confident that is where the leak is coming from. By jamming a piece of plastic up against the casting I can stop the leak. A suggestion for a better way to deal with this without removing the engine would be greatly appreciated.

Get a standard oil plug .
tip the mower about 45 degrees sideways oil drain up.
Remove the dip stick tube and stuff some rag down there to pug off the drain section from the sump
Clean the threads with degreaser then carb cleaner.
Apply a good amount of liquid thread sealant to the plug and screw it in
leave the mower like that till the sealant sets.
Buy an oil pump and pump the oil out from now on rather than draining it.

bertsmobile1 said:

Get a standard oil plug .
tip the mower about 45 degrees sideways oil drain up.
Remove the dip stick tube and stuff some rag down there to pug off the drain section from the sump
Clean the threads with degreaser then carb cleaner.
Apply a good amount of liquid thread sealant to the plug and screw it in
leave the mower like that till the sealant sets.
Buy an oil pump and pump the oil out from now on rather than draining it.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the suggestions. I was thinking along similar lines but hadn't considered closing it off permanently and using a pump for oil extraction. Thanks, probably going to do something very similar to what you suggest.