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

I purchased a Scotts self propelled mower from an individual who had it sitting outside.  It did not start.

I replaced the spark plug, fuel line, sanded the magneto, emptied the old fuel and replaced with new fuel.

I cleaned out the carb as well as replaced the gasket the needle and the seating.

The engine will start but then stops.  I am puzzled at this point.  Does anyone have any suggestions???

dzton

Breather element or air filter?
How nasty was the carb before you cleaned it?
Did you clean the bowl nut? All 3 holes?
If you look into thoat of the carb...and prime...do you see fuel coming from the tip of the main nozzle? (Use a flashlite too look in.)
Did you hook the wire clip of the needle over the float the float tang? Did you set the float level?
If you loosen the bowl nut...does fuel flow out?
When you installed the needle and seat...did you have the carb off of the engine?

Dont worry about the breather....they "never" good bad.
When you replaced the 2 o-rings on the main nozzle, are you sure you removed the old one. (The top one usually stays put and has too be dug out.)
Are the governor-carb linkages as they were before you removed the carb?
Again...make sure it is priming when you press the primer bulb. (You should see it coming out of the end of the main nozzle, into the throat of the carb.)

Be sure that # 241 is in place....screw #238 must be in its holes, or the carb will never prime. (The screw blocks off a common passage that it shares with the primer system.) Without the screw in place....the primer charge just blows out of the hole and doesnt reach the float bowl.

dzton wrote: Check that both surfaces that the large O-ring (part # 631028) seals are clean. (The float bowl and base of the carb.)

Check that both surfaces that the large O-ring (part # 631028) seals are clean. (The float bowl and base of the carb.)

It is.  I used at least a can of carb cleaner on this thing. 

Hi There... Did you ever get this problem solved?? If so what was it?

I'm in the exact same situation with the exact same mower.  I got it from a neighbor.  First problem was the gas tank leaked.  I replaced the tank and it turns over and starts for about 1 second then dies.  I haven't cleaned the carb and all ths stuff that you did yet.  If I have to go through that I'll probably just return the mower.  Spark plug does look wet and black.  Cleaned it once but didn't do much.  Made sure I used the original vented gas cap, even tried starting it without the cap on.  I may have really flooded the carb by priming it a lot.  I thought since the gas lines were drained I needed to get the gas flowing.

Anyways, just curious if there was a silver bullet that finally solved the problem.

Thanks

scott

I too am having this same exact problem.

Mine is with my father's old lawn mower.  I'm not sure if he had replaced the fuel line with an incorrect type of line, or if it was the original one - but either way, that line was totally turned to jelly.  It was like black tar, it just pulled right apart in my hands.   Needless to say, this didn't do much for the carburetor.

I took the carb apart and pulled as much as the black sludge out as I possibly could - slapped it all back together - still nothing.  

I pulled it apart again and really gave it a good cleaning.  I used a long,  thin wire to clean out any tiny holes I could find - I pulled the primer bulb off and cleane out under that.  I cleaned out the holes in the screw that holds the bowl to the carb.

I didn't bother with new gaskets or any new parts since I didn't have any.

I put it all back together (with a new fuel line of course) - and it ran perfectly.  I cut their entire lawn with it which took a good hour at least.   When I went to do the back lawn, it started failing again.

Same thing - runs for a second then dies.

I've taken the carb off again and tried cleaning it all out again, but I'm still having trouble with it.  I believe new carbs are only about 40 dollars for these engines, so I'm thinking I may be better off just buying a whole new one and calling it a day.

I also noticed looking in the gas tank that there's all sorts of stuff floating around in the gas - it looks like some kind of stew.  I'm sure this isn't helping matters.  I'm sure some of that junk could definitely clog the carb since there isn't a filter in the line.

By the way - SHOULD there be an inline filter?   I can picture my father leaving that out if he did in fact replace the fuel line at one time.

I may try to clean out the gas tank and give it all one more shot before I buy a new carb.  

I'll do my best to get back here with an update - but there's a good chance I'll never bother - so I figured I'd throw my two cents out there now while I'm here.  Cleaning out those little holes in the carb did help at one point.  Maybe that can get somebody else on the right path. 

If isn't a filter I'd definitely install an inline one.  Clean out that tank too while your at it. 

hey marshall you seem knowledgeable, I am having same problem, is there actually a fuel filter underneath the flywheel.  If so how can i get the flywheel off to get the filter out and change it.