Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Have an 8 year old Murray Lawnmower from HD with a 5HP Easy Start B & S Quantum engine. 

Tried the typical press prime three times, pull and nothing, press prime a few more times and nothing.  Used to start right up.

Runs only after studdering three or four times with some sprays of an old ether can into the spark plug hole.  Will start again instantly if warm.

Replaced the air filter, spark plug and cleaned out the fuel bowl (was pretty clean) and the carb nut orifices (with spray cleaner and compressed air) along with an oil change.  Using fresh mid grade fuel.  Cleaned up typical dirt and stuff around the carb area.

Could this be a problem with the priming, and if so, what should I do?  What else could it be?

Runs pretty good once it's in use.

theres a possibility the head gasket is leaking a bit or if you havnt replaced the plug, then try that......i cant count the times ive seen a plug show good blue fire when you pull it and ground against the block, yet not run for beans. sometimes a plug gets weak enough the fire blows out under compression. if that fails check compression both dry and wet. (check it then squirt a teaspoon of oil in the cylinder and test again) you'll have to get compression specs from a briggs source, but it it shows low, and then substantially higher after the wet test, rings are worn. if it remains low, usually its a burned valve.

Follow up:

After priming several  times and trying to start it, there is gas on the spark plug electrode.  Significant?

   One thing I have found in the past is to make sure you have a very tight seal between the filter housing and the carb if you have a primer type carb. It will act just as you have described. If you have a hole in your float or a bad float valve, most of the time it will cause the carb to leak fuel. A bad float valve will not stop the fuel from over filling the float bowl and a hole in float will do the same. The float will sink in the float bowl, which in turn will not allow the float needle valve to do its job, which is to shut off the fuel from the gas tank. This all works on the same principle of a toilet bowl tank. The only thing that stops a toilet from overflowing if you have bad parts is an overflow pipe.

Fixed the starting problem, it seems, by using a tad of gasket sealant between the air filter housing and what it bolts onto. 

Actually, it's started easier than it has in years....  that was easy.

Glad you got it fixed!