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Sears Craftsman mower wouldn't start so I dropped the cup and found very small pieces of an unknown substance. It was removed and the holes cleaned and it started right up. A week later it starts but stops running after a couple of minutes. The air filter and plug are not expected to be the cause due to their age.
Thanks.
My guess is that some of the offending material has made its way into the carburetor and created an obstruction. How deep into the carb did you get when you cleaned out the bowl?
If it were me, I'd empty, pull and clean the fuel tank and carburetor (or simply replace the carb if its cheap enough) and replace the fuel lines and fuel filter. Depending on the age of the mower, it may be past time do to this anyways.
Only use non ethanol fuel for your lawn equipment. E 10 will degrade some rubber and maybe plastic parts and it does not store well. Spray starter fluid or pour some fuel into the carb and see if it will start.
Only use non ethanol fuel for your lawn equipment. E 10 will degrade some rubber and maybe plastic parts and it does not store well. Spray starter fluid or pour some fuel into the carb and see if it will start.
That's the biggest problem I've encountered with small engines. Fuel line hoses can be damaged on the inside and look fine on the outside. The OP would do well to replace all of these.
Sears Craftsman mower wouldn't start so I dropped the cup and found very small pieces of an unknown substance. It was removed and the holes cleaned and it started right up. A week later it starts but stops running after a couple of minutes. The air filter and plug are not expected to be the cause due to their age.
Thanks.
I got rid of my 2 year old Craftsmen and put it out on the street pete. Got a EGO and it has not missed a beat since 2017.
New symptom delivered by the grim reaper.
It starts and runs and it ran for maybe 5 minutes today but smoke out of the muffler. It might have too much oil, not sure and there are people around who may be able to use it for parts it is really dead.
Well, if it's a Craftsman it's either a Tecumseh or Briggs motor.
There are only three things you need to keep in mind: air, fuel, spark. For a simple low compression flathead motor like these, if you even get SOME of each, it'll run, kind of.
So, check them one by one. Fresh air filter; confirm you've got spark; yank the carb off and clean it thoroughly with carburetor cleaner (partial disassy required). Fresh gas, spark plug at proper gap. Wouldn't hurt to buy a fresh condenser and points and set per manufacturer's spec (I honestly don't know if I've ever seen a condenser fail but what the heck it's cheap and you're in there anyway). To access the points and condenser you'll probably have to pull off the flywheel, so you'll need to buy beg or borrow a three jaw puller. Get all the a crummy plastic and wire linkages in proper working order, put it all together (hey, it's probably a good idea to check the head bolts too; I have actually had a head gasket blow out on an old Tecumseh motor) and you should be good to go. There's very little in one of these motors.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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When my Sears riding mower hat the problem of starting and then stopping, it was because the manual choke was getting stuck closed. When I moved the lever back to open, the butterfly valve was still closed. Removing the air cleaner I could manually open it and it would run fine. When I first bought it used, it was only $50 because it would smoke and run badly, and there would be gas in the oil. That turned out to be an intake valve stuck open. I was able to clear it by spraying Gumout carburetor cleaner through the spark plug hole, then spinning the starter, repeating a few times.
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
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Sounds like the classic old gas/varnish culprit. I am assuming (yeah that's dangerous) the 1st uses of the season. IF you get it running (carb needs to be taken off and cleaned) I recommend at the end of the season run a couple of tanks of the canned fuel through it. That fuel has a 2-5 year shelf life. Meanwhile run a couple of products through the fuel system. SeaFoam will clean the lines and tank some. Ethanol Shield is almost as good as the canned gas at protecting the fuel system when stored and one quart will treat up to 240 gallons. SeaFoam also makes and aerosol fogger but I think your system is past that. Need to change the fuel line too.
You can salvage the motor/mower with a little effort. Youtube the carburetor service and go tackle it. It is not hard. New carbs are usually only $35 or so if you can get one. Most issues are fuel versus spark. If it is spark chances are there is a magneto vs points/condenser.
Gasoline starts breaking down at around 60 days storage.
We have used new gas. Smoking out the muffler a sign of too much oil? Thanks.
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