Any small engine mechanics?

jmccracken1214

jmccracken1214

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Ive got a older craftsman push mower, briggs motor... Its my sisters and has been sitting for years, I had to replace the plug and a spring on the carb. Well, above the carb. The piece with the red line on it turns out all the way as soon as it starts, and then mower cranks up wide up and dies a second later, but if I can hold that piece from going all the way, itll stay and run fine, but nothing seems to hold it where it needs to be.

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@ImYourHuckleberry
 
Well I tried to tag him
 
jmccracken1214 said:
Did you ban him ?
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Haha no. I’ve always had trouble tagging him. It’s cause of his name. Look him up and send him a message. Hes pretty good and lives in Lexington
 
Most likely the old gas varnished and has clogged jet(s).
Get a can of carb cleaner and a piece of multi strand copper wire. Tip the mower on its side, carb up top, remove bowl, then float with pivot pin (Don't drop/lose it!)
Strip @ 1" of the wire twist as many strands that'll fit into the holes and use like a pipe cleaner. Don't use drill bits or steel, it'll ruin the ports. Spray with carb cleaner, assy, add fresh fuel.
If you've the cleaner and wire it's a 10 min fix.
 
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Pink_Vapor said:
Most likely the old gas varnished and has clogged jet(s).
Get a can of carb cleaner and a piece of multi strand copper wire. Tip the mower on its side, carb up top, remove bowl, then float with pivot pin (Don't drop/lose it!)
Strip @ 1" of the wire twist as many strands that'll fit into the holes and use like a pipe cleaner. Don't use drill bits or steel, it'll ruin the ports. Spray with carb cleaner, assy, add fresh fuel.
If you've the cleaner and wire it's a 10 min fix.
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I tried all of that last year, and it was doing the same thing. I took the carb off and cleaned it all the way through first, then ended up rigging up a random spring before ordering the right part and it ran for half a season, then the spring got stretched, and it started doing this again. I drain the gas before i put it back up and removed the carb bowl to drain it as well. Maybe I need to try it again though.
 
jmccracken1214 said:
I tried all of that last year, and it was doing the same thing. I took the carb off and cleaned it all the way through first, then ended up rigging up a random spring before ordering the right part and it ran for half a season, then the spring got stretched, and it started doing this again. I drain the gas before i put it back up and removed the carb bowl to drain it as well. Maybe I need to try it again though.
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I was also having issues with water from condensation building up in the tank. Do you get any droplets in the fuel bowl? If so, drain, put in a bit of HEET (alcohol to disperse water), let it run out, then refill.
Past that, I'd have to open it up myself.
Good luck!
 
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Reading somewhere put a small engine carb in boiling water to clean it.... something about the ethanol gums up small ports and boiling water loosen and removes it.
 
I use a strand of brass from a brass cleaning brush to clean out the tiny jet holes.
Check your fuel line, sometimes they will get soft and stick internally causing fuel to be blocked.
You could have a sticking needle valve, inexpensive to replace along with the bowl gasket.
 
@LeeMajors has proven himself pretty handy with a small engine in my experience
 
carb rebuild kit, or new carb... damn alkyhol in th' gas!

Afterwards, start using only akyhol-free gas from BP or where ever you can find it, for all of yer small engines...
 
Boiling a carb in lemon juice and rinsing after with water is my favorite carb cleaner. Beats any spray you can get. I would try it if you think it has crude in it.
 
Do what I do with old push mowers. Throw them in the garbage and go find a Honda outdoor power equipment dealer. Ain't worth the hassle, I've got a building full of small engine crap that I just scrapped because I have neither the time or the patience any longer. The plan worked: ethanol in gasoline ruined an entire industry of small engines that were reliable
 
jmccracken1214 said:
Ive got a older craftsman push mower, briggs motor... Its my sisters and has been sitting for years, I had to replace the plug and a spring on the carb. Well, above the carb. The piece with the red line on it turns out all the way as soon as it starts, and then mower cranks up wide up and dies a second later, but if I can hold that piece from going all the way, itll stay and run fine, but nothing seems to hold it where it needs to be.

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Its starving for fuel. Best bet is to take the carb apart Put it in a crock pot with pine sol on high for 6 to 8 hours. Rinse with water. Blow every port with air to dry. Let it sit over night. Then put it back together and back on the mower.

Add some berrymans b12 chemtool to the gas. If there is any crud left in the carb. That will clean it out
 
Sorry I’m late to the party. I have a parts cleaner from harbor freight that you are more than welcome to try. It works good with purple power or just plan dawn dish detergent. But in my experience, 80-90% of the time I just replace the carburetor. It’s usually cheaper after spending hours trying to clean the carb. Most of the time I can get a carb for under $25 verses a carb kit that cost $10-15 then having to clean and install it. Plus I’m sure you’re doing this yourself so I’m speaking in terms of if it were my equipment.

Oh and I usually get my carbs off eBay or amazon. It depends on what customers want. Sometimes you can get a factory carb cheap but the aftermarket are usually cheaper and they seem to hold up. I haven’t had any come back to me or had any problems out of my equipment yet.
 
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jmccracken1214 said:
The engine has never had regular gas. Always ethanol free
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Then it's a clogged jet. Soaking won't get it if'n it's a grain of sand or the like. Remove each jet (might have two) and look through it, clean out the obstruction.

Change the fuel filter.
 
Exile_D said:
I was just about to post something similar for my pressure washer not running right! Off to figure out where to get a replacement carb for it now!
:cool:
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I clean my pressure washer every year. You don't need a new carb nor, usually, to take the whole thing off. Just drop the bowl from underneath and blow carb clean up that sucka.
 
jmccracken1214 said:
I took the carb off and soaked it in ultrasonic cleaner for a while, sprayed it off with brake cleaner. Doing the same thing
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Did you use any chemical in the cleaner. If not all you did was ultrasonically vibrate the carb in in the cleaner. You have to use something to eat the gunk out of it
 
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Goofyfoot2001 said:
I clean my pressure washer every year. You don't need a new carb nor, usually, to take the whole thing off. Just drop the bowl from underneath and blow carb clean up that sucka.
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Ok, this is off topic and not the basement, so I'll ask... how and/or with what do you blow the carb? ;)

Also, what are you guys using to capture the fuel that leaks out and how do you dispose of it?
 
Exile_D said:
Ok, this is off topic and not the basement, so I'll ask... how and/or with what do you blow the carb? ;)

Also, what are you guys using to capture the fuel that leaks out and how do you dispose of it?
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Most carb cleaners come with a straw on the side of the can that works well in getting in small passages and will clean the jets in reverse by just blasting them with the straw inside of the passages.
I may actually hit it with some compressed air around 30-40psi from my air nozzle gun with rubber tip.........$5 at harbor freight.

Catch old gas with the same catch device you catch used oil on oil changes.....drain pan, etc. I usually swirl it around and dump it in a half-full used oil container. If the recycling place complains, just tell them Must've been ALOT of blow-by in that oil change and besides, gasoline was a part of oil once upon a time anyhow.
 
jmccracken1214 said:
Simple green
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An ultrasonic cleaner and simple green work magic on carbs - my small engine mechanic buddy uses both of those.
That should have cleared just about everything out of all passages. I would probably load up that mower and take it to the dump lol. I just did 3 like that from my Moms. If you want to scrap em for cash, take the engines off first ;)

The problem for the last 15 years has been: EPA stuff has jetted all of these things so lean that the carb jets are TINY.....and then throw ethanol+water in the mix and it's a nightmare of epic proportions.

Electrics are gonna take over just about all jobs that a riding mower cant do. The blowers and trimmers are already sorted out thoroughly with 40V doing a great job on 1/2 acre and smaller properties. No gas, no carbs, charge and go.
 
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Ethanol free gas is your small engine’s friend.

I buy about 25 gallons every 6 months, treat it with Sta-bil, and dump the leftover in a car or truck before refilling. I only use a few gallons usually, the excess is for the generator in case I need it.

And except for the mower I always run the engines til they quit on empty - blower, chainsaw, pressure washer, genny, edger.
 
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Looks like it's running fine to me, but the governor is sticky, especially if you can hold the throttle plate (the black thing) with your hand and it will run steady. The whole mechanism should pretty much flop around when the engine is off, but it should be spring loaded with no drag. Assuming it was running normal before the last shutdown, this would be my diagnosis, otherwise a surging governor set too sensitive, but your engine seems a bit extreme even for that.

Most likely gum around the throttle shaft or something causing drag on the flyweight or airvane governor - whichever it has.
 
jmccracken1214 said:
I took the carb off and soaked it in ultrasonic cleaner for a while, sprayed it off with brake cleaner. Doing the same thing
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Buy a new carb. Cleaning one only works less than 10% of the time anyway. If it’s my equipment, I always outweigh the cost difference between a carb kit and my time cleaning it versus putting a new carb on. And rarely does cleaning it win.
 
Where do you buy a new carb from that is reputable and won't be a piece of junk? Are all these carbs interchangeable or do you need to find one for your specific equipment?
 
Exile_D said:
Where do you buy a new carb from that is reputable and won't be a piece of junk? Are all these carbs interchangeable or do you need to find one for your specific equipment?
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They are very specific. I buy mine from Amazon. There are 3 particular sellers I buy from.
 
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