At Home In The Woods

[clemsonfor]

Welcome to the club.

I (and 2 people I know) have a 100% failure rate on getting small engines tuned up.

No matter who I pay and how much, I have never had one work properly after a tune up. And of course it didn't work right before the tune up either.

From what i have been told and seen myself. This is because the Carbs and the parts there made of are so cheap now a days that they almost need to be replaced not rebuilt. I think i have heard this as well on a few small engines at least. Once your in them they never seem to work/run right?

My boat motor carbs on the other hand on my older Johnson and evinrude, now sold, are all AL and have metal parts on the linkages etc. Those once blown out soaked and put new kits in them run like a sewing machine. These cheap potmetal carbs and stamped parts and plactic all over them on lawnmowers now a days are just junk!

 

[Tororider]

Like clemsonfor said, get a can of carb cleaner. Take off the air filter, spray some in and try to start it. If it fires up and then dies repeat the process but this time before it dies spray more cc in it and keep it running this way for a couple minutes. This may clear the gunk out. Like others said make sure the gas is turned on and the wire connecting the spark plug is making contact. It could be the jet in the carb but let us know if the carb cleaner works first.

 

[brin]

I took off the air filter on my Log Splitter Briggs engine and just squirted in WD-40 and it fired right up...

 

[clemsonfor]

I took off the air filter on my Log Splitter Briggs engine and just squirted in WD-40 and it fired right up...

WD is not as flamable but you can use anything here rubbing alcohol, either , lighter fluid, hair spray. What you use is irrelevant except to give you a KNOWN good fuel source. Of course i would not use spray paint or hair spray etc as its a big "gummy" but its all flamable.


But what happens a lot is the running will knock the float/needle loose or the suction created will pull the fuel into the tank better as the fuel pump primes up etc.

 

[Obed]

Hey guys, thanks for the ideas. However, my wife already made an appointment with the repair guy. I'm not expecting to pay more based on the fact that the lawnmower stopped working one week after bringing it home. The only time I fired it up was to unload it from the truck when we brought it home. The repair guy said he drained the gas tank put 100% gas (no ethanol) in the mower and recommended that I do the same.

We loaded the mower into the truck this evening. My wife got everything ready. My wife used the tractor to pull the mower out of the garage and up the hill to the end of the ramps. When I got home, the ramps were set up and all I had to do was help my wife push the mower up the ramps. The mower fits nicely in the truck bed so I don't have to strap it down.

 

[weldingisfun]

Hey guys, thanks for the ideas. However, my wife already made an appointment with the repair guy. I'm not expecting to pay more based on the fact that the lawnmower stopped working one week after bringing it home. The only time I fired it up was to unload it from the truck when we brought it home. The repair guy said he drained the gas tank put 100% gas (no ethanol) in the mower and recommended that I do the same.
We loaded the mower into the truck this evening. My wife got everything ready. My wife used the tractor to pull the mower out of the garage and up the hill to the end of the ramps. When I got home, the ramps were set up and all I had to do was help my wife push the mower up the ramps. The mower fits nicely in the truck bed so I don't have to strap it down.

Anyone know how to go about getting real 100% gasoline these days?

 

[patrick_g]

Like clemsonfor said, get a can of carb cleaner. Take off the air filter, spray some in and try to start it. If it fires up and then dies repeat the process but this time before it dies spray more cc in it and keep it running this way for a couple minutes. This may clear the gunk out. Like others said make sure the gas is turned on and the wire connecting the spark plug is making contact. It could be the jet in the carb but let us know if the carb cleaner works first.

Don't over do it as the spray will wash all the oil off the cylinder wall and piston and it will score them (rings too.)

Pat

 

[clemsonfor]

Don't over do it as the spray will wash all the oil off the cylinder wall and piston and it will score them (rings too.)

Pat

A lawnmower is 4 stroke, this is true with 2 stroke but there should be no oil on the walls above the rings on a 4 stroke.


As to where to get 100% real gas. Many stations here sell it in the higher 91 octane or 93 whatever they sell. But i have several stations round here that sell real gas in every grade, it only what i put in my boat and usually all i run im mowers and my car as there the cheapest in town. Its anywhere from 3-12 cents more a gallon than in the bigger town 23 miles away or 17 miles from my house. Some times there actually cheaper, but i cant justify driving 16 miles the other way to get gas that 10 cents a gallon cheaper then getting it in the small town i go through on my way home, plus its real gas so im getting better performance have no ethonol, plus the other benefits.

 

[patrick_g]

A lawnmower is 4 stroke, this is true with 2 stroke but there should be no oil on the walls above the rings on a 4 stroke.

Wait a minute...

VW bugs are air cooled 4 (FOUR) stroke engines. In really cold weather automatic chokes would not turn off and thus the engine was fed a rich mixture, not unlike overspraying fluid into the intake as in the example we are discussing.

In these conditions it was not unusual to find after driving as short a distance as 15 miles that when then checking the dipstick you'd find the crankcase seriously overfull of your oil as diluted with gasoline.

This if not corrected by EXTREMELY FREQUENT oil changes or not driving till temps went up caused what was called "winter kill" of the engine. Basically the engine would be ruined due to lack of lubrication because of washing the oil off the moving parts thus permitting metal to metal contact AND, of course, the contaminated oil didn't treat any of the bearings very kindly.

Can you spray lots of stuff into intake and get away with it? Yes of course you can but you may be causing extreme wear to moving parts through unlubricated metal to metal contact which is NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Do I ever use starting fluid? Yes, sparingly, not to keep an engine running for a period of time just to get it to start. To partially avoid the risks involved I often use WD-40 in place of starting fluid or carb/choke cleaner and find it especially effective with chain saws and other small engines.

I'm not the starting fluid police but I have observed the down side of its over use when stationed at Minot AFB 15 miles north of Minot, ND where my personal low temp I was out in was 47F below zero and I experienced temps more than -40 every winter.

In my example the cold weather caused the choke to stay on feeding a rich mixture for an extended period of time. The cold was not otherwise needed to cause problems. The problems were due to the rich mixture diluting the oil and washing down the cylinder walls, rings,and pistons. Just because the engine doesn't instantly seize up when keeping it stunning with a spray can does not imply it is a safe practice as regards the engine's longevity.

Pat

 

[clemsonfor]

Wait a minute...

VW bugs are air cooled 4 (FOUR) stroke engines. In really cold weather automatic chokes would not turn off and thus the engine was fed a rich mixture, not unlike overspraying fluid into the intake as in the example we are discussing.

In these conditions it was not unusual to find after driving as short a distance as 15 miles that when then checking the dipstick you'd find the crankcase seriously overfull of your oil as diluted with gasoline.

This if not corrected by EXTREMELY FREQUENT oil changes or not driving till temps went up caused what was called "winter kill" of the engine. Basically the engine would be ruined due to lack of lubrication because of washing the oil off the moving parts thus permitting metal to metal contact AND, of course, the contaminated oil didn't treat any of the bearings very kindly.

Can you spray lots of stuff into intake and get away with it? Yes of course you can but you may be causing extreme wear to moving parts through unlubricated metal to metal contact which is NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Do I ever use starting fluid? Yes, sparingly, not to keep an engine running for a period of time just to get it to start. To partially avoid the risks involved I often use WD-40 in place of starting fluid or carb/choke cleaner and find it especially effective with chain saws and other small engines.

I'm not the starting fluid police but I have observed the down side of its over use when stationed at Minot AFB 15 miles north of Minot, ND where my personal low temp I was out in was 47F below zero and I experienced temps more than -40 every winter.

In my example the cold weather caused the choke to stay on feeding a rich mixture for an extended period of time. The cold was not otherwise needed to cause problems. The problems were due to the rich mixture diluting the oil and washing down the cylinder walls, rings,and pistons. Just because the engine doesn't instantly seize up when keeping it stunning with a spray can does not imply it is a safe practice as regards the engine's longevity.

Pat

Yea you can get washing down the cylinder walls if your running way rich and not burning all the fluid or gas that is injected into a CYL. It then can dilute the oil in the crank, causing it not to lube well and "wash" off piston skirts walls etc. But were just spraying a burst for a second or 2 into the throat or the actual air cleaner itself (usually enough to fire off), far from enough volume to "make" any oil by adding to crank case volume from washing down the cyl walls. Now if he runs it like this, IE spraying in the carb over and over again to keep it running for an extended period i could see that problem. But even running it for a minute or so with burst then stop then burst i doubt you will see any problems with oil dilution unless its really sloppy engine. If you spray to mush you will bog it and choke it down, and it wont run anyway.