Iplayfarmer
Super Member
I've posted enough pleas for help that I figured I'd post this solution in case it helps someone down the road.
A neighboor called me this evening to tell me that her rototiller wouldn't start. Her husband is an old Vietnam Vet who has heart troubles and is losing sight in his one remaining good eye, so she asked if I'd help fix it. The symptoms were this...
The tiller started the second or third try and sputtered a bit then quit.
She tried to pull the cord again, and couldn't even pull it.
There's gas in the oil.
By the time I got there, the engine was spinning freely again. I pulled the cord gently a few times to get a feel for what was wrong. Then I went to start the thing with a good hefty tug, and I about ripped my arm off. It still hurts typing this a few hours later. I figured it must be some kind of compression release and began taking off the valve cover. I'd address the gas in the oil later.
While I was pulling the exhaust pipe to get to the valve cover to check the compression release, her husband pulled the air cleaner. I looked over, and the carburetor was full of fuel. I pulled the spark plug and cranked the engine a few times. Fuel spewed out of the spark plug like a fountain.
I pulled the carburetor off and found a stuck float. I freed the float and put everything back together. We ran it for a few minutes just to see if it would run. We didn't want to run it too long until we had changed the oil.
Here's my theory as to what was happening. The stuck float allowed the carb to flood into the cylinder. The fluid in the cylinder made it nearly impossible to turn the engine, and given time, the fuel would leak past the rings into the crank case. If the engine happened to stop with the intake valve closed, the pistons would empty (into the crank case) and the engine could spin freely until the cylinder filled with fuel again.
Hopefully if someone has a similar problem this experience will help troubleshoot it.
A neighboor called me this evening to tell me that her rototiller wouldn't start. Her husband is an old Vietnam Vet who has heart troubles and is losing sight in his one remaining good eye, so she asked if I'd help fix it. The symptoms were this...
The tiller started the second or third try and sputtered a bit then quit.
She tried to pull the cord again, and couldn't even pull it.
There's gas in the oil.
By the time I got there, the engine was spinning freely again. I pulled the cord gently a few times to get a feel for what was wrong. Then I went to start the thing with a good hefty tug, and I about ripped my arm off. It still hurts typing this a few hours later. I figured it must be some kind of compression release and began taking off the valve cover. I'd address the gas in the oil later.
While I was pulling the exhaust pipe to get to the valve cover to check the compression release, her husband pulled the air cleaner. I looked over, and the carburetor was full of fuel. I pulled the spark plug and cranked the engine a few times. Fuel spewed out of the spark plug like a fountain.
I pulled the carburetor off and found a stuck float. I freed the float and put everything back together. We ran it for a few minutes just to see if it would run. We didn't want to run it too long until we had changed the oil.
Here's my theory as to what was happening. The stuck float allowed the carb to flood into the cylinder. The fluid in the cylinder made it nearly impossible to turn the engine, and given time, the fuel would leak past the rings into the crank case. If the engine happened to stop with the intake valve closed, the pistons would empty (into the crank case) and the engine could spin freely until the cylinder filled with fuel again.
Hopefully if someone has a similar problem this experience will help troubleshoot it.
