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.

I'm going to go through everything again to be sure I covered all my bases. I did drain and remove the fuel tank and sprayed the inside with carb cleaner and let it drain into a clear container - it was pretty clean. I will also reverse the fuel filter as I put the new one on in the same configuration as the old one but that's not say the old one was installed correctly. Those little fuel filters don't have a direction arrow on them and I had considered reversing it just to be sure - it's a plausible reason for fuel starvation (thanks Bill_H). If all else fails, I'm going to remove the carb and give it a thorough cleaning as suggested earlier by borat and trouts.

I believe it's definitely being starved of fuel because if I add a teaspoon or so of fuel directly into the cylinder, it will start up for a bit and then die. I can't restart it again unless I add more fuel to the cylinder. The good thing is it turns over and starts so I think if I can work through this problem and get her going, I will have myself a decent CCR3000 for short $$$. Many thanks again to all who have offered advice.

l would perform a pressure check on the crankcase and make sure there no leaks. u will need a pressure tester to do this, add about 7psi and let sit for 5-10 min and see if there a drop in pressure if so use soap and water and check all gaskets for the leak. if u have a leak u may need to pull off the flywheel to get at the crankseals but check everthing else first....make sure the piston is at BDC push it down with a screwdriver till its at the bottom. heres a video of guy showing how to pressue test the crankcase..searchthis name "areomyst" on u tube.

Personally, I doubt it a seal issue.  Seems like a straight forward, fuel starvation problem.   Carb isn't properly cleaned. 

If he were getting fuel, the engine will probably run just fine.   If the engine gets fuel and has a leaking crank seal, it will probably run away on him.  Seen it happen....... more than once. 

I have not had any time lately to do a good thorough carb cleaning but it has run for up to a about a minute. I'll post an update once I can find some time to play with it a bit.

trouts: Thank you for the link re: carb cleaning on my other thread.

Here's where I'm at with this: Cleaned and removed the carb as much as possible using carb cleaner, removed the main jet orifice and cleaned with wire and carb cleaner, dropped the float and needle and thoroughly cleaned in and around that, replaced the fuel lines, removed and cleaned the fuel tank, replaced the fuel filter. It seemed to help a bit but it will not run for more than a few seconds. Seems like once the fuel I've added to the cylinder or carb is used that's it - it dies! I really want to get this running but am getting very frustrated. Any help, suggestions, etc... are very much appreciated. borat - here's a few pic's of the carb still mounted to the engine. I can remove it again if need be, just let me know.

Did you clean the float needle and float needle seat?  Did you blow air through fuel inlet with the float needle removed? 

Sounds like fuel may not be getting into the float bowl.  It's important to follow the fuel from the tank to the float bowl.  That little screw on the bottom of float bowl is to drain the bowl.  When you remove it, does gasoline drain out?   If so, let it drain a bit into a container and confirm that it's clean fuel.  Put the screw back in.  It should start if the rest of the carb is clean. 

When you pull the jets, it's best to blow compressed air through the holes they fit in.  That will help clear the passages into the venturi.  The venturi is the throat of the carb.  Inside the venturi there may be two very small holes or possibly just one real tiny hole for the pilot jet and then a larger hole for the main jet.  It's imperative to ensure the holes and passages are clean.  If all passages, jets, orifices are clean and fuel is getting into the float bowl, the machine should run.

I just pulled the carb off of a 1965 Lawn Boy mower, cleaned it, put it back on the mower (that wasn't running) put some fuel into the tank, primed the carb  fired it up.   That's a 46 year old carb and it works great with just a thorough cleaning.  That Mikuni carb should run flawlessly if it's clean and getting fuel. 

Not really up on 2-strokes. Is there a fuel shut off,that is partially closed? Primer bulb installed correctly?
Using that so called e-85 fuel? Canot think of anything else. Hope you get it running!

T.J.

I'm going to try and get this going once and for all! I'm pretty sure the problem lies with the float and needle not allowing any fuel into the carb. I'm going to disassemble the float and needle and give it another good cleaning. When I went in there again yesterday, I found a milky looking residue coating the main jet venturi and in and around the float itself. I gave it another good spray down with carb cleaner and reassembled everything but it still will not stay running. I'm also going to recheck the fuel line from the tank to the carb and replace the fuel filter once again.

Are there any particular areas I should focus on in terms of obstructions or debris that could be restricting the flow of fuel? The machine really is in good condition and will be a nice working unit once I can get this problem resolved. Plenty of pic's to follow once I can get it operational and put back together again.

Frank,

   It could be a needle sticking problem.  I woud do what Borat sugged several times i.e. draining the bowl and letting it refill a number of times to check for the needle sticking i.e. wait long enough for refill so the needle seats.  You should get a good flow of gas everytime you open the drain. 

   As a confidence builder you can start then prime after starting and continue to prime.  If gas is making it to the bowl you should be about to force gas to the throat and keep running.

   Another thing is to put gas in a small squirt bottle,  start and feed gas in the throat which should keep it running just as a check. 

   Sometimes the fload adjust is very fussy and when I'm lost I'll adjust the tab more or less but I think on yours it may be plastic and not adjustable.    

   You've probably done this, pull the gas line from the carb and insure you get a good flow from the tank.

    Check the flow from the bowl drain.

    Run by priming.  If you can't then it's probably a float needle issue.

trouts: I have tried to use the primer to keep her running to no avail. It seems as though the primer bulb is not working to bring fuel to the carb (it's brand new as the original was missing). Any thoughts on what this may indicate or where I should focus my attention? I'm going down there now to play around with it again and will do as you and borat have suggested.