briggs 5hp L head horizonta 135212 1216

I just finished rebuilding (put a new block on it). Engine had been sitting for over a year. I got everything together and now it surges. When I very first started it up I could get it started with choke, then put it on run and it would run on its own but surge. So I took the carb off and cleaned it, now I can't get it started without dumping gas down the carb, then i can get it started and it will stay running with the choke on. the second I take the choke off it dies. i try to start it and it won't start unless I dump gas down the carb, process repeats. Ideas?

do I have governor and carb issues or just carb issues?

sounds like carb to me, but are you sure you got the internal governor put back together correctly?

pretty sure internal governor is put back together correctly, its not over speeding.

Are there small passages to clean on this carb or small jets? I pulled one jet out of the side of the carb and cleaned it, other than that I didn't see much.

underneath the welch plugs yes there are

anywhere else?

Need to recheck the short dip tube on the carburetor and make sure its open. Spray some cleaner through it and it should spray out of the area where the adjustment screw goes in. Make sure fuel is getting into the little cup inside the tank that the short tube sits in, if no fuel is getting into the cup, then the problem is in the fuel pump circuit.

fyi no adjustment screws on this carb
I'll clean again.......

fyi no adjustment screws on this carb
I'll clean again.......

Oh okay then there should be a fixed jet screwed in where the adjustment screw would normally be. Remove it and make sure the pickup is open into the area where the jet screws in, and make sure the orifice in the jet is clear as well.

should a few hours at 130F in an ultrasonic cleaner clean out the passages I can't get to?

Maybe, I have never tried it before, but I think it should work pretty good.

It's still a good idea to spray cleaner through the passage ways to make sure they are clear.

Ok, I assembled and now I am getting a popping with white smoke, see this video

http://webpages.charter.net/vogt2/ (http://webpages.charter.net/vogt2/ ) then click on briggs

what is causing this?

white smoke usually means there is water in the gas


and I can't seem to get your video to load for me

None of my other engines have white smoke and they use the same gas. If you can't open the video basically it shows a puff of white smoke every 6-12 seconds with a light popping sound coming out of the exhaust.

Is this oil getting past the rings? I pulled a used piston from a different engine and put into this block without honeing.

are you sure it doesn't have a blue tint to it? cause I've seen these motors smoke, and I've really had to strain my eyes, at times get down by the muffler and take a wiff to be able to make sure its burning oil

are you sure it doesn't have a blue tint to it? cause I've seen these motors smoke, and I've really had to strain my eyes, at times get down by the muffler and take a wiff to be able to make sure its burning oil

Guess i didn't look that close, where are you going with this?

Not really sure whats causing the popping, perhaps a sticking valve or timing slightly off. Did you check the operating rpm's with a tachometer, it kinda sounds like it may be running a little too fast and that may be causing that as well.

Not really sure whats causing the popping, perhaps a sticking valve or timing slightly off. Did you check the operating rpm's with a tachometer, it kinda sounds like it may be running a little too fast and that may be causing that as well.


your good 30yrtech, it is running at 3800 rpm, I wan't going to adjust back down to 3600. BUT when I put the throttle at idle it does the same thing as the video shows. If I adjust the governor will it affect the idle and possilbly fix this?

Then I gotta think there is a problem with the exhaust valve. I would check the valve seat and valve face, make sure it's seating good and has adequate valve lash and make sure it's not sticking on the valve stem.

I am not sure if this is whats causing the problem, but this is where I would look if I were working on this engine.