MTD Sprinto oil leak

[sparxy17]

After using my MTD Sprinto (6.5hp Kawasaki) for about an hour I noticed that oil was leaking from the engine. It now looks like it is coming from 'near' the spark plug, and I have removed the rear block (not sure what this is) where oil is clearly visible on the vertical faces. It's not clear where it's coming from. I was hoping to find a worn gasket between these two faces but without removing this section completely it's difficult to see. Anybody experienced this before. Engine was still running fine despite oil leak before I put it away. Pics attached. Thanks in advance.

 

[motoman]

I'll take a wild guess and say it's dribbling slowly from the valve cover. It may be burning off the head fin which get very hot ( and looks clean in photo). The best way to trace is clean the area(cold engine) of ALL oil and dirt with a stiff brush and WD 40 or kerosene or? and wipe dry. Start engine and watch. This takes a long time for total operating temp to be reached. Read a book or sip coffee (sorry, tea) Hope this helps.:smile: