The Dead Lawnmower

My newest lawnmower has died.  This is the Simplicity Agco Allis 1616H.

I was mowing over the weekend some super tall grass due to the recent rains.  While in the tall grass, the mower just didn't have the power.  It never really had any good power to start with, but it seemed a little worse.  I"m sure the engine got a little more hot than normal mowing this tall grass.

The next day, I finished mowing.  During this session, I would notice occasional puffs of blue smoke blow out the exhaust in the front.  I wasn't even sure I saw it because it was so quick and intermittant.  While driving back to the barn after finishing, the "check oil" light came on.  Upon opening the hood, the left side inside the hood was drenched with oil, and the entire left side of the engine was soaked down, too.  The dipstick shows a very low oil level, of course.  I'm guessing the head gasket blew out, but I'm not for sure.  At least I'm hopeful it's just a head gasket and nothing else.  I'll know more when I take the engine out and inspect it further. 

I'm still waiting on hydrostatic linkage parts for the 420, so I'll be mowing with the 316 this upcoming weekend.  It's dependable for being 27 years old.