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.

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???

trouts2 wrote:

frank lm curious if your needle and float do the same as trouts?? read above

niper99 wrote:
Yes - the needle sits loosely inside the seat area. When I mentioned a "sweet spot", I took the needle and kind of rotated around while it was inside the seat. It seemed as though there was one spot that the needle sort of favored. Maybe it just seemed that way to me, but the funny part was that it got the carb working. I did not have time to mess with it last night so I cannot prove if this is relevant. It's starting to get a bit old at this point.

You could bring the machine here if you want.  I could go through the carb and try firing it up while you’re here.  If it’s still putzed up I’d dip it overnight.  I’m one mile and one turn off 495 exit 24A.  If you want to do that email me, trouts2@gmail.com. 

The needle should just fall into the needle hole from any 360 position above the hole.  The insert wall should be very clean like the carb on the right in post #92 and no crud or burs on the needle body.  It should not stick or catch in any way.  There should not be any sort of sweet spot for the needle as it’s all symmetrical in there.