so i was takin a walk and i found this old mower (craftsman eager 1 self propelled) so i pushed it home so i could work on it. im 16 have a basic understanding of small engines and car mechanics and own a few ratchet sets and tools i want to fix it.

i noticed the mower did not have the handle lever at the top you hold when ever you start the mower. will that be a problem? it also did not have an air filter but i will later add one


i first took out the spark plug and tested the compression and it was normal

i then hooked the sparkplug into the plug and tested for spark which was good

i sprayed some starterfluid into the carb and pulled the cord and it fired up on the 3rd try and ran for a sec or 2 then died so i figure its working takin a look at.

i took of the fule tank and drained some nasty yellow gas from the tank and line.

i took off the carb and the little throttle plate was stuck so i sprayed some carr cleaner in it and in the lines and it loosened up. i then removed the fuel bowl and sprayed and cleaned it out.

i then put it all back together added some fresh gas and primed it a few times and nothing

i think it is a carb problem, im think that no fuel is getting inside to the fuel bowl.

any help guys?!?!

sorry for writing so much and the carb is the old style float Tecumseh

First look under the mower and make sure the shaft isn't bent so you at least know its worth looking at :) If your sure no gas is getting into the bowl, then your needle valve is probably sticking closed. If you are getting fuel in the bowl, then your main jet or the passage ways in the brass bowl nut are clogged. You need 3 things to clean a carb, compressed air, thin wire, and carb/brake cleaner.

An example of what to do;
Clamp off the fuel line, remove the carb bowl, release the clamp to see if you have good fuel flow to the carb, raise the float to see that it shuts off the flow with minimal pressure, clean the junk from the bowl, clean the bowl nut, 2 holes close to the bottom and a tiny one about midway up(I usually use the wire from a twist tie), spray all holes, cracks and crevases with brake parts cleaner, reassemble and you should be good to go. If this didn't work it will be probably be necessary to rebuild the carb. If I missed something one of the real mechanics will post to help further. Refer to the photo below. Have a good one . Geo
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z120/geogrubb/tec_bowl_nut.jpg

I had a carb that was all gummed up from old gas and crap. My neighbor gave me the simplest advice: Make sure the float works properly and then clean every hole in the carb with spray cleaner and compressed air. It should work after that. He was right. It took me about 45 minutes.

Oh yeah, wear safety glasses when you do that. You never know where stuff will come flying out when you blast carb cleaner through there.

Hey Geo, a picture is worth a thousand words. Your photo is a big help when this part is an issue.
Dean