I have a Tecumseh 3.5hp horizontal shaft engine (H35-45776Y) with breather tube (rear) terminating in the air filter box. The problem is this breather tube leaks oil and the air filter gets pretty clogged - so much that hard to start when engine hot. So I took the valve cover off to see what I could see .. I saw a little black screen about 1" x 1" x 1/8" pretty wet with oil. Behind it is a little metal plate with small holes (about the size of hole punch holes).. and about 1/4" behind this plate is another plate with one small hole going into the engine. So, wondering how to fix the issue or where the problem really is - if inside the engine compartment not sure how to fix. Also, the little plate with the holes and the plate about 1/4" behind it seem to be pressed into the engine block. Hoping someone may recognize this issue and give me a tip or two. Also, in this engine diagram I have I see a Breather tube grommet - but it isn't even on the same side of the valve cover as the breather tube so a bit confused if drawing just wrong or if I'm missing some part here. My breather tube connects into the Valve Cover and has what looks like a grommet directly on back side where tube connects.. Please help.. Thanks

There are several things that can cause this. Make sure the oil level is correct and that the crankcase is not over filled with oil. An oil leak anywhere in the crankcase, such as the dip stick tube, sump gasket or top and bottom oil seals, will result in a loss of crankcase vacuum. A faulty oil breather. Worn cylinder and or rings causing "blow by" into the crankcase.

Thanks for the advice. Question here - looks like the breather is pressed into the engine. How would I go about replacing it to see if that fixes the issue? I am not seeing oil leaks other places although the shaft for the governor coming out of engine has movability to go in & out about 1/4" atleast - not sure if this is of concern or feeding the issue. In any case, is the breather the metal plate with holes with another solid metal plate behind it with the one small hole? If so, is there somthing on the other side of that one hole (on the engine side) supposed to keep the oil from leaving the breather valve? Also, is the breather only to pull in air or to bring air in & out... As you can see I'm kind of a novice here but ready to roll up my sleeves and get dirty.... Thanks for any help...