Good morning - I've been reading alot of posts on here and they've helped me get a handle on what might be wrong with my snapper mower. Unfortunately, the problem is still happening (with some improvements)
I got the mower used and was told it hadn't been used in over a year. So first thing I did was to try and figure out it's condition. I cleaned the exterior, checked the plug & oil - everything seemed OK (except the battery was dead, but I expected that). I put some gas in that I'd been using on my Honda all summer, and tried to pull start it. Almost immediately I noticed gas dripping out of the carb bowl. So I took out the gas line, and figured it was probably stuck ...tapped it lightly with a wrench ...dripping stopped. I gave it a pull and it started right up (with a big cloud from the excess gas). I ran it for a minute or 2 and everything seemed fine. Shut it down.
The next day I go to mow the lawn and it starts right up ....but then after like 2-3 minutes it starts to sputter then dies. I noticed the carb was filled with gas. So I opened it up, the float seems fine, the needle valve holds air pressure, the carb itself seems fine. I did notice the gasket around the bowl was deteriorated - so I figured some flakes of rubber had held the need vlalve open or something ...sprayed it a few times with carb cleaner, replaced the gasket & the main jet, replaced the spark plug just to be safe, new fuel filter, treated the gas a little (just in case) with seafoam. re-assembled it, gave it a pull. It started right up, ran great - responded to throttle real well. ....For about 2 minutes.
Then it started to sputter again. shut it off. Restarted it...rough start and idle. Once it sits and cools for a few minutes it's fine. I checked the air intake - no noticable gas anymore ... but it could be the carb again, I guess.
It seems to start sputtering once it runs for a few minutes (once it warms up). It's got an old warbol(?) carb without the solenoid. Should I reclean (more thoroughly) the carb? Any other ideas ?
appreciate any help,
- Bill
I got the mower used and was told it hadn't been used in over a year. So first thing I did was to try and figure out it's condition. I cleaned the exterior, checked the plug & oil - everything seemed OK (except the battery was dead, but I expected that). I put some gas in that I'd been using on my Honda all summer, and tried to pull start it. Almost immediately I noticed gas dripping out of the carb bowl. So I took out the gas line, and figured it was probably stuck ...tapped it lightly with a wrench ...dripping stopped. I gave it a pull and it started right up (with a big cloud from the excess gas). I ran it for a minute or 2 and everything seemed fine. Shut it down.
The next day I go to mow the lawn and it starts right up ....but then after like 2-3 minutes it starts to sputter then dies. I noticed the carb was filled with gas. So I opened it up, the float seems fine, the needle valve holds air pressure, the carb itself seems fine. I did notice the gasket around the bowl was deteriorated - so I figured some flakes of rubber had held the need vlalve open or something ...sprayed it a few times with carb cleaner, replaced the gasket & the main jet, replaced the spark plug just to be safe, new fuel filter, treated the gas a little (just in case) with seafoam. re-assembled it, gave it a pull. It started right up, ran great - responded to throttle real well. ....For about 2 minutes.
Then it started to sputter again. shut it off. Restarted it...rough start and idle. Once it sits and cools for a few minutes it's fine. I checked the air intake - no noticable gas anymore ... but it could be the carb again, I guess.
It seems to start sputtering once it runs for a few minutes (once it warms up). It's got an old warbol(?) carb without the solenoid. Should I reclean (more thoroughly) the carb? Any other ideas ?
appreciate any help,
- Bill