any lawnmower engine wizards in here?

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:13 PM

I can work on fuel injected cars for a living, but carburetor issues on a simple 5.5 hp tecumseh small engine can fuck me up.....

Problem: Engine starts but sputters and doesnt wanna stay running. Pressing the primer while running will keep it running. This tells me theres some sort of fuel supply problem.

what i've done: removed jet out of fuel float bowl and tried to clean it as best as i could. this allowed it to run from decent lengths of time after the thing would only run for several seconds. I've been able to mow most of the lawn, however its back to crapping out too quickly and doesnt maintain a constant steady running rpm

Should I replace the fuel float bowl? Remove carburetor and attempt to clean it?

Known things about this motor: low hours, brand new cylinder head and spark plug with plenty of compression and nice blue spark. clean motor oil

**KMdef9** · 05-08-2011, 04:15 PM

Try to run some fuel cleaning throughout it.

Is the gas good? Might need some heat.

**FasstChevys** · 05-08-2011, 04:16 PM

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your carb gasket (the one between the carb and the bowl) is bad -

If that's the problem, it's letting in excess air, and not letting it run.

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:18 PM

drained out old fuel that was SEVERAL years old. We used a grass cutting service for several years but fired the guy cause he was a ripoff. I drained out the old gas and replaced it with brand new crappy gas available now lmao The engine has gotten plenty hot as I was able to cut and entire lawn with it, when I got to the backyard it started fucking up and cutting out and wont cut through a heavy load IE thick sections of grown grass. a 5.5 hp mower should eat though nearly everything

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by FasstChevys

I'm going to go out on a limb and say your carb gasket (the one between the carb and the bowl) is bad -

If that's the problem, it's letting in excess air, and not letting it run.

the gasket between the manifold and head or between bowl and carb? Your logic makes sense

**FasstChevys** · 05-08-2011, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by 310stanger

the gasket between the manifold and head or between bowl and carb? Your logic makes sense

between the bowl, and the carb - I changed mine last year

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by FasstChevys

between the bowl, and the carb

will try that, it makes sense. The old gas probably fucked it up.

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:23 PM

that gasket is logical because like I said when I cleaned that jet, there was all sorts of crap in that jet which is IN the bowl itself. If theres that much dirt in the jet, me thinks that gasket is probably fucked too

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:26 PM

the toughest part of this job is gonna be trying to communicate with the guy at sears who gets 9.50 an hour to try and order this 2 dollar gasket lmfao

**FasstChevys** · 05-08-2011, 04:26 PM

good chance - and the good thing is, the gasket is only 6 to 10 bucks, so you really aren't out anything besides a little time - I hope that's the problem!

**FasstChevys** · 05-08-2011, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by 310stanger

the toughest part of this job is gonna be trying to communicate with the guy at sears who gets 9.50 an hour to try and order this 2 dollar gasket lmfao

lol - they're pretty standard - I went to a local small engine repair shop, and he knew exactly what I was talking about - no problems.

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:28 PM

the good thing about this engine is you can get it down to a freakin bare block in like 10 minutes lmfao so easy to take apart

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:29 PM

good point. bypass sears, go to small engine shop. those good "been there 30 yrs" type shops are a dying breed now unfortunately.

**snaggeltooth** · 05-08-2011, 04:55 PM

I take it you have checked for good spark ....

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by snaggeltooth

I take it you have checked for good spark ....

Did you read the thread at all? lol j/k man. Yes the spark is very strong and blue. I even tested it on myself and it went through one arm all the way to the other lmfao

**310stanger** · 05-08-2011, 04:59 PM

Its definitely a fuel delivery issue. I'm gonna replace the bowl gasket this week and see what happens, even if it doesnt fix it, its cheap anyways.

**INMY01TA** · 05-08-2011, 05:35 PM

I bought the $150 lawn mower Walmart sells last year. Had a Briggs/Stratton engine. I used it three times and it would never start again. I then read the reviews of it at Walleyworlds website and found many others had the same issue. In fact, almost every place that sells lawnmowers (sears, home depot, Lowes, etc) sells a $150 mower with this same Briggs engine and all have the same junk reviews. How they get away with ripping this many people off I'll never know. I know this doesn't help you but just saying I can relate to your frustration.

**suede** · 05-10-2011, 12:33 PM

also might just double check the float, we had one my dad tore apart, ended up bending it a touch too far down so the fuel level was a touch to low and wouldnt run worth crap but bent it back up where its sposed to be and took off like a champ....

**joejenkinsglass** · 05-10-2011, 07:20 PM

What about the fuel filter? Thats my guess anyway or the line has a blockage.

**99'CajunFirehawk157** · 05-10-2011, 08:21 PM

Any carb left sitting for years w/old gas needs to be taken apart, soaked in a carb cleaner and rebuilt, likely has some clogged passageways...and/or something broke loose while you were running it and clogged one of those up. Always best to drain a stored mower AND run it until it runs out of fuel, just saying...

BTW-99% of mowers sold by home depot, lowes, sears, walmart, kmart are made by MTD and re-badged for another company.