I have an older craftsman quattro pressure washer that i'm having a problem with. The thing ran fine last year but after the winter it would not start. A friend told me to get some "Sea Foam" and that would probably fix the problem, so i got a can of it, mixed a little in with the gas and put a little in the air intake and let it sit. A few days later i got it out, primed it, pulled the cord and it started up just fine. I was using it for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden it just quit and wouldn't start again. Today i got some starting fluid and squirted a little into it, pulled the cord a couple of times and it started right up again... but once again died about 20 minutes into using it.

I'm wondering if anybody might know what the problem might be. I don't know much about engines but i know enough to tell that the oil is fine and so is the spark plug. Something else that i might want to add is sometimes when i pull on the cord it pulls back into the machine very hard and rips the grip right out of my hand (which is usually very painful as i usually get whipped by it).

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated

First thing I would check is the gas cap. It might not be properly vented to the atmosphere. If a vacuum is created, the engine will starve for fuel. Make sure the vent in the cap is open.
Is it possible that you have water contamination in the fuel tank? Using sea foam is fine but, if you have too much water or other contamination in the tank the sea foam won't help. Starting with a clean fuel system is a good base-line to start with when troubleshooting.
The kicking back when trying to start the engine is sometimes caused by poor timing or a valve problem. Might be a good idea to do a compression check if all else fails. This would tell you if you have valve or head gasket issues.
Hope this helps;

Jake...

First thing I would check is the gas cap. It might not be properly vented to the atmosphere. If a vacuum is created, the engine will starve for fuel. Make sure the vent in the cap is open.
Is it possible that you have water contamination in the fuel tank? Using sea foam is fine but, if you have too much water or other contamination in the tank the sea foam won't help. Starting with a clean fuel system is a good base-line to start with when troubleshooting.
The kicking back when trying to start the engine is sometimes caused by poor timing or a valve problem. Might be a good idea to do a compression check if all else fails. This would tell you if you have valve or head gasket issues.
Hope this helps;

Jake...


Thanks for the tips. I don't really think that any water got into the gas over the winter but it is possible i guess. The gas cap problem makes sense to me because of the way it is only running for 20 minutes at a time... I'm going to look into that. The other problems that you suggested are a little advanced for me i think but ill talk to my friend who knows a little more than me about the subject and see what he thinks.

Do you squeeze the trigger on the wand to release water pressure,before trying to start it,if not this will cause the rope to pull out of your hand.

Jerry

Do you squeeze the trigger on the wand to release water pressure,before trying to start it,if not this will cause the rope to pull out of your hand.

Jerry

yeah, im always sure to let off the pressure before i try starting it.

i still have yet to try the other solutions... ive been sick for the last few days