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

It's in decent condition, new rubber impeller, scraper bar and overall good shape. The guy I bought it from said it had been professionally serviced 2 years ago but had seen little use since then as he decided to hire a plow guy to do his average residential driveway. I could not get it to start after adding some fresh fuel that I brought with me so I offered him $ 40.00 and said OK. - he had it listed for $ 75.00 on CL. I'm pretty sure he left some old, unstabilized fuel in there and it turned into varnish.

I removed the top and back covers and dropped the fuel bowl. It looked like a bad batch of applesauce in there so I cleaned it out and shot the carb with carb cleaner and reinstalled the bowl. It fired up for a few seconds and then died. A good carb cleaning appears to be in order and I'm wondering if I can do this with the carb installed or is it easier/better to remove it from the engine (Suzuki 47P)? I've never removed a carb before but am mechanically inclined and would like to get this operational for next winter.

I remember Borat discussing a cleaning of the jets using wires to remove any build up inside that could cause fuel starvation. I have never done this so any suggestions or tips will be very much appreciated.

For the amount of time we've been trying to get this carb working, I probably could have built him one. 

Speaking of carbs, I'm working on a Lawn Boy 7050 with a plastic carb.   I bought it used and it appears that previous owners had jacked it around a bit.  Carb governor parts were missing and someone had the throttle governor wired wide open.  Mower needs some parts but the engine is very sound and fairly fresh.  Lots of compression and it looks virtually new. 

Should be a good runner once I get if fired up.

That float can fit no other way than the way it is. I cleaned everything once again and now the fuel to the bowl is restricied again. I'll have to disassemble it and find the sweet spot for the needle - I thought I noticed a spot when I was rotating the needle that seemed to find itself a home. I'm sure there's a sweet spot for everything as this machine was built back in 1997. Too late for tonite so I'll try yet again tomorrow. Thanks as always for your help.

FrankMA wrote:

well some progress is better than none:)....ok l got a few questions for ya...

1: u need to pull the carb off again and remove bowl..and turn it upside down does the float sit LEVEL yes or no??

2: turn the carb upside right..does the float move down without any resistance and sit on the black collaur YES or NO??

3: repeat the above 3 or 4 times.. and make sure to note if 1 and 2 are happening consistently??

4: when u ran the engine today and u said it ran for about a minute...did it DIE on its own or did u turn it off??

5: if the FLOAT is NOT moving freely and consistently and wont sit in the LEVEL postion consistently then u need to replace them NO MATTER THE PRICE. because they are not operating proberly for whatever the reason.

Frank just in your last post alone tells me theres something wrong with the NEEDLE or SEAT or FLOAT...or the combination of the three....with that said u NEED to rule which one it is....now in my opinion i doubt its the SEAT...why because seat problems rarely cause no fuel to enter the carb USUALLY they mostly cause flooding..so if u do the above TEST it WILL tell u whats wrong. and there NO sweet spot to put the needle in.. if thats the case u need to replace parts. also doing the above test will rule out any DIRT getting in there and jamming needle up in the cavity. 

if the main jet is clean and u have the correct float level then the engine WILL run at full throttle WITHOUT surging.

without eliminating the carbs functions that are suspectingly at failure then were just going around in circles.

Friiy,

  Good observation Friiy,  a reversed float would jamb the needle into the seat more and have a very limited flow in if any gas.  He's got the float right, bevel up in the direction of the body.

Just for reference: A better picture of the double doghnut seat.  The bowl nut with no holes like in a Tecumseh nut.  Inlet jet on the left which on my Mikuni goes into the bottom of the tube extending from the center of the carb body.  On his the jet is screwed into the bottom of the emusion/diffusion tube.   Three Miduni needles.  His is the top, no rubber tip as his has the double doghnut seat.

Borat,

   I don't get bad seats that often but do get them.  They are sometimes worn or overly stiff with age.  Some cause the needle to stick and not unseat easily.  It's a pain to go through a carb and have a problem after installing it.  I've gotten to the point that on any Tecumseh carb rebuild or clean I put in a new seat.  It's the same for needles.  It's very rare to get a worn metal needle but I have seen a few.  I can't find a source of seats only so have to buy kits which come with needles so always replace them also (on Tecumseh's).

   Tried a little harder at getting a veiw inside a needle area.  The photo on the left is a neelde area of a Mikuni like his which has a double doghnut seat, now removed.  On the right is a Mikuni from a Powerlite.  It looks similar but does not use a rubber seat.  It uses rubber tipped needle. 

  

Good info Trouts. 

Hopefully, Frank will have this straightened out before the snow flies. 

I'm working on three old Lawn Boy mowers I picked up cheap.  Need some parts on a couple and have found a great source.  Looking forward to getting all three of them operating.

trouts2 wrote:
hey trouts...does your float and needle move freely as it would normally??....just wondering if yes how much play is there where the needle inserts between the plastic float?...l assume it should move freely with NO resistance. so if u were to install the needle in the float and u turn the float on its side the needle should just fall out on its own...does this happen?? if YES frank should do the same test to see if his float is pinching the needle to tight causing it to jam.

Niper99,

    The needle goes in its slot without resistance.  It flops around when upright in the slot.  It should not stay in position when tipped.  It should fall out, no resistance.  The needle mid section is smaller than the needle hole.  It can move in there but the movement is tiny.  The loose needle will always lign up with the seat hole.

 

I've gained a ton of experience from this project which is what I wanted, however I feel like this is going on far too long and would like to put this to rest.

What course of action do you think I should take??? Replace the o-rings and needle? I can probably remove the brass insert with a tap and die set in order to replace the o-rings. The float seems to be OK so I'd rule that out as a source of the problem. Where should I go from here?

The overall condition of the machine is excellent and I'd really like to get this operational for next season. I appreciate your suggestions.

Send the carb to Trouts if he's interested.  You two guys aren't all that far apart right. 

I'd like to fix it myself but being in Canada.........

borat wrote:
I travel through Marlboro quite often and have thought about paying him a visit.... What kind of beverage do you prefer Mr. Trouts2???