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

Ive been tinkering on a old JD and im having problems with the governer i think. Everything runs and turns good until i hit some snow and it just bogs down and dies. Where is a good start for the adjustment on this thing? Or any other suggestions would be great. Thanks.

If the engine gets up to operating revs (3600 rpm) and the carburetor/governor linkage has not been tampered with, the problem isn't likely your governor. Sounds more like fuel starvation. An engine can run at designated rpm without a load then stall when load is applied due to fuel starvation. I suggest you check your fuel tank for debris that could be blocking the fuel flow, and check fuel lines to the carb. If all is well there, pull and clean the carburetor. Cleaning the carb will require complete tear down to get at all passages and jets. If you can get your hands on an exploded view diagram for the carb, that will help.

I just took the carb apart and rebuilt it. It could be a semi plugged filter in the tank i suppose, because i changed out the fuel lines and everything so that could be it for sure. I'll see what i can find.

i just had a 15 yr old generator that had a surging problem with no load on it.i tried to adjust the idle mixture screw and it did not have any apparent effect because the generator ran full speed when started up and was running on mostly the high speed circuit. i took the carb off and when cleaning it up payed special attention to the high speed jet at the bottom of the fuel bowl.i knew the engine was running lean which was causing the surging because as i engaged the choke it would smooth right out. the only way i could be sure to cure the problem was to make sure all the passages in the jet as well as the carb were thoroughly cleaned of not only any debris but also any built up varnish closing off the jet orifices and carb passages. once i cleaned the carb and installed it i put a couple of ounces of seafoam in the 1 gal tank and started it up.it ran better than before  but still surged for a bit  so i put some seafoam in a spray bottle and with the motor running at normal speed started spraying small amounts into the carburetor .there is more force(vacumn) drawing the fuel thru the carb than you can produce with just spraying carb cleaner in an aresol can.i sprayed enough seafoam to stumble the engine but not enough to kill it at full rpm.the engine eventually smoothed out and it hasn't run this good in years.i used seafoam also to clean the piston and cylinder by removing the spark plug,turning the engine to close the valves,and pouring about 1/2 oz into the cylinder thru the spark plug hole.i let it sit in there for about 5 minutes,installed the sparkplug and started it up.it smoked for a good five minutes before clearing up. i removed the plug again to look into the spark plug hole and couldn't believe how clean the spark plug was.i am convinced that if i had periodically put some kind of fuel additive in this generator that gets used hunting season once a year it probably wouldn't have needed the carb rebuild.i used seafoam because it is a lubricant and will not dry the cylinder out when sprayed into the carb while running. before this carb cleaning i periodically put seafoam in my 1999 chevy fuel injected truck to help smooth the idle out.it worked within miles but never give it any thought to use it on my power equipment engines.i now have it in my 8 hp tecumseh ariens snow blower,and will regullarly use it in my two harleys as well as my cub cadet riding mower,mccullouch chain saw,and toro string trimmer. i do not have any association with seafoam other than using it's product.

   From what I read you still have a surge after cleaning the carb.  Possibly you have done the following but just in case did you?

1. Replace the needle seat. After market seats are often not as good as Tecumseh original replacement parts.

2. Check the orientation of the bowl.  Lower bottom part with the dimple goes away from the float hinge.

3. Check the float to carb rim distance when upside down, I think 11/64.  Using a drill of that size makes checking easy.

4. Dip the carb in solvent overnight.  Makes a big difference versus a quick clean with aerosol carb spray.

5. Clean the small holes in the bowl nut with a very thin wire.  Stripped tie wrap.

6. Run a small wire through the pipe running from bowl to throat.  Put some slight bends in the wire so it lightly brushes the sides of the pipe.

7. Check the bowl for dregs broken off the gas line.  If you find any disconnect the gas line at the carb and run lots of gas through shaking the tank to move dregs.  Most tanks have a very fine filter inside the tank.  The old metal gas shutoffs came with a fine filter.  Some of these filters get rust holes from water. 

8. Insure the air vent hole on the flat above the idle mix adjust is open.  Spray carb cleaner into the port for the primer and through the cutout for the welch plug.  You should see a flow out of the air vent.

9. Give a final high pressure air wash to all ports and holes or the same with carb spray.

10. Spray up into the fuel line at the carb and see what comes out by catching it in a clean cup.

 11.  Generally a surge after a tank dip cleaning is due to crud still in the gas line.  Look in the gas tank and see if your screen is till good.   Every tank I’ve ever looked into has dregs and the same for refill tanks.  One way to get a good cleaning it to run a water hose into the gas tank to flush out dregs.  Tilt the tank to suck up any remaining dregs with a hand suction pump or siphon.  Stuff a cloth into the tank and switch it around with a screwdriver to get the last of the dregs and water out of there. 

Good job guys. Very thorough instructions. Last year, a friend of ours called me to ask if I'd come over to help fix an old 1967 riding lawn mower. Can't remember the brand but it had an 8 h.p. Tecumseh engine on it that wouldn't start. She called me because her husband had spent the last two hours pulling on the pull start and finally injured his shoulder. Goofy or what? Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." Now the guy isn't nuts, nor stupid but extremely stubborn. Getting back to the point, I asked her to put her husband on the phone. I asked him if the engine had spark and was getting fuel. He advised that he had both. I drove over to his place to look at the machine. First thing I did was to pull the fuel line from the carb. No fuel. I asked him why did he think he had fuel. He said because the spark plug was damp. I told him that pulling on the pull start for two hours was equivalent to using it as an air compressor and he had likely built up condensation in the engine. Two hours pulling on a pull start when he could have pulled the fuel line in one minute? Then I pulled the fuel line from the fuel tank shut off valve. No fuel there either. The tank was full of sediment. The couple had to leave and left me working on the machine. While they were gone, I threw a handful of nuts and bolt into the tank with some Varsol. Swished it around for a while, emptied the contents then flushed thoroughly with water. Gave it a good spray of WD-40 to rinse out water then re-assembled and put in a bit of fuel. Two pulls and it fired right up and ran fine. Since the people had left, I went home. Half an hour later, the phone rings and it's the same guy. This was kind of funny. He say "Where are you?" I replied "Well you phoned me at home and I answered so......" "What are you doing at home?" "Ahhh, I live here." "Oh, are you finished here?" "Yeah, it's running fine." "What about the fuel leak?" "What fuel leak?" "The fuel tank is leaking quite a bit. It has a hole down in the corner." When I had left it was fine. Being an old steel tank, I suspect that when I swished the nuts and bolts around, it knocked off the rust in the area of the leak and left the paint only to hold in the fuel. The gasoline ate through the paint and out comes the fuel. I told the guy to get some JB Weld and patch the hole. For some reason, he couldn't quite understand how to do that so he pulled the tank off of the machine and drove all the way over to my place for me to fix that too.

Great input guys, its appreciated. Although the engine does not surge at all. Runs and idles normal until i hit some snow, then it immediatley bogs down and dies. 2 pulls and fires back up and runs great again. I used a paper clip to clean all the orifices in the carb. And installed the complete rebuild including jets and seats, needle and seat.

after the rebuild it still has no power? if so it could be either too lean yet or compression is low. does it have a fixed main  jet or  adjustable?if fixed jet try putting a load on the engine with a notch or two of choke and see if it still falls flat..if it is an adjustable jet run the engine at high rpm and screw the jet out till you find the position where the rpm just starts to fall off and turn it in to peak it out and put a load on it. if it looses power with the choke partially on under a load and chugs black  the fuel  part of the equation can probably  be elliminated.

Would it have anything to do with the governor?