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

Hey guys,

So my wife and I had a baby recently... ...in that, I didn't get a chance to winterize my Snapper lawn tractor so now it won't start since I left gas in it and i'm guess the carb/lines are jammed up.  It's only 2 years old so it's a fairly new machine.  My questions are as follows:  Should I take to a local guy here says he will remove the carb, clean it, clean the lines, check and replace any belts, tune the machine up, and sharpen blades for about $150, or should I do some of this myself?  Would it be easy to get this machine up and running somehow?  I'm sure more details are needed but just trying to see if I should sent it out or do something myself?

Is there a fuel valve between the tank and carb?  If so, is it turn on?   Try tapping the carb with the handle of a screw driver.  The float might be stuck in the up position closing the fuel intake needle.  Is the choke engaging?  Squirt a bit of gasoline into the cylinder(s) and turn it over.  It will either run for a few seconds or keep running.   If it keeps running, you'll good to go.  If not, I'd pull the carb and clean it myself. 

Not sure if you want to spend money at a dealership but, the usual $150.00 charge may not cover pulling the carb, cleaning it and likely adding  costs for a bunch of  little things that don't need to be replaced.   The bill could be considerably more, depending on the honesty of the dealership. 

 It's not that big of a deal to pull and clean a carb, even if you're  slightly mechanically inclined.   Do some on-line research to find the type of carb on the machine and get a diagram of the parts.  It will help you understand how it works.  If you decide to pull it apart, pay close attention to how/where everything comes off.  Take some digital pictures as you go.  Before you get into it too far, I'd just pull the float bowl and clean it out.  Allow the float to drop and blow into the fuel line going to the carb.  If the float needle is stuck, blowing into the line should free it.  Put the float bowl back on, re-connect the fuel line, open the  fuel valve and give it a shot. 

Thanks for your reply.  Alot of what you said I'm not familiar with (fully mechanically inclined, like changing car brakes all the time, etc, but never did any work on any outdoor power equipment).  Not sure about how everything is connected, etc.  The guy who does it for $150 is not a dealer but rather a guy who has a small business out of his home that will do all of the listed for $150.  It might still not be worth it.  It sounds like it's in my best interest to fiddle around and try and play with the carb a bit to see if I can get it up and running.  I'll have to take a closer look tonight!

BTW how do you know if the choke is engaging?  I put it on choke and the motor cranks but doesn't start.  Not sure about whether the choke is engaging.  Thanks!

midfiman wrote:
I'm not certain of your engine configuration nor whether you can see the choke butterfly valve close or not.  However, if you pull the choke and watch the linkage to the carb, you can see if it's moving.  If it's connected to the butterfly at the carb and it's moving, it's working.  Sometimes the choke linkage can be disconnected from the carb.  

Another thing to check is the lines to the fuel pump.  Again, not sure of your set up but my machines have a vacuum operated fuel pump.  Follow the fuel line from the tank until you see (in my case) a circular plastic component with a fuel line going in one coming out and possibly a vacuum line to operate it.   Look for the line that goes from the fuel pump to the carb.  Pull it off the carb, put it in a container and turn the engine over.  Look for fuel to be pumped out.  If fuel comes out, the pump is good.  If not, there could be a problem with the pump or a fuel like blockage from the tank to the pump. 

well first l would completely drian the old gas out of the tank and put in fresh, and remove the carb bowl or at least loosen the screw and let the old gas drian out, the spark plugs are probally fouled with the old gas, take them out and clean them off with compressed air or rag just make sure there DRY. or u could put new ones in either or. as far as the tune up portion l highly recommend u getting that done every season or at least every other, espically make sure everything gets greased, and change the oil in the engine at least once a year. riding tractors should be serviced yealy (greased/oil change).