Hi, I have been tasked with getting our church's mower up and running after
the hurricane. It is a 2yr Old Murray 16.5 OHV. It has spent some quality time submerged in Salt water:) I have the Engine running now after cleaning the carb and tank, flushing the oil several times with a couple to go.
It is now cranking fairly easy but the engine is surging/miss. Also the exhaust is getting fairly red, which would indicate low timing in a sense. I have no idea how this engine was running prior to the storm.
Any direction would be helpful, I havent messed with small engines much in the last 20yrs.
thanks
Ken
Murray mdl 425000 AX8 or XA8
I can not find the engine mod#

engine model numbers and such should be on the ( ohv ) cover. it sounds lean, not timing, which timing on them is simple. does it have any fuel adjustment mixture screws? anyway, i would make sure the carbs cleaned out good. how many times was the oil flushed? want some good oil after the flushing, use a good oil, mobil one as such. have you made sure to wash the mower off good? removing any leftover salt? valves should be alright, sense it does start, doesn't hang up?

thanks for the quick reply,. going to pull the carb off and bring it into work tommorrow and give it a good cleaning. Mower has been pressure wash once, I plan on letting my 12yr old son dissassemble it (with supervision) and give it a better cleaning and lube
and paint the underdeck. This is mainly being done as a project for him to learn from.
But i wanted to verify that the engine would be worth the trouble.
Any tips on carb adjustments would be appreciated
Ken

yeah its worth the trouble, its a good engine, as long as nothing was frozen, the salt water really can't hurt much, since they are simpler then a car, and wasn't in it for too long. as for the carb, if it has adjustment needles, 1.5 turns out, from going in snug, then fine tune when warm, may have just a idle mix, and can't be turned much. i'd soak the carb for a good while in cleaner.