I have a 4hp, Eager 1, Craftsman lawn mower. When I start it the engine it runs at top rpm. I can lower the rpms to an idle by pulling back on the governor lever against the spring tension. I adjusted the governor per the instruction given on this forum. It didn't help it still runs fast. When the engine isn't running, the governor linkage holds the carb wide open. Does the governor then adjusts to the load put on the engine when it is running? I"m beginning to wonder if I am missing something?

Give us the model and spec of this Tecumseh engine, or the SEARS model number, we can find engine with Sears mod num.
The throttle on many small engines will be wide open when not running, when started, the internal governor weights will act with the governor linkage to close throttle.
Anything unusual happen to engine just prior to the overspeeding condition ??
thanks,

To adjust the governor linkage, loosen governor lever clamp screw. Twist protruding end of governor shaft counter-clockwise as far as possible, use a screwdriver in the slot, move the governor lever until carburetor throttle shaft is in wide open position, then tighten governor lever clamp screw

If after you adjust as per above instructions, the engine still runs too fast, there is the possibility that the governor itself is not working. This would require an engine tear down to inspect and repair the governor components.

its also possible that if you have taken it apart recently, that you might have not put the govenor linkage in the right hole on the carburetor, cause there are about.....5 to choose from

its also possible that if you have taken it apart recently, that you might have not put the govenor linkage in the right hole on the carburetor, cause there are about.....5 to choose from

Also, you want to be sure that the throttle shaft in the carburetor is free and not stuck in the WOT position, I did not even think about that earlier.

Thanks for putting me on the right track. It turned out that the spring that was attached to the governor lever was not installed properly by Me, and it was causing too much tension and not allowing the governor to work. Now that I've reset it, it works fine.