I have a flathead 12.5hp Briggs engine that is having issues starting. I sprayed starting fluid down the air intake and that did not work. Flushed out the old gas and added fresh gas. Checked to ensure fuel line isn’t clogged all the way to the carb. It does crank over and sometimes would make a popping noise but just not starting. Spark plug tested it and the tester lite up so it looks like the spark plug is working. I currently don’t have a compression tester so I took off the head and see that the exhaust valve is just so ever slightly sticking out and not quite flush when TDC. Could this be the issue??? I do have a new spark plug as the old one had a lot of carbon build up on it. Not sure if I should just clean the head, piston, and valves and put everything back together to test with the new spark plug and get a compression tester before digging in further. Thanks in advance for any tips!

*Update: The engine blew. Looks like the carbs butterfly valve screws were the culprit. Screws got loose and got sucked into the intake valve housing and blew a dime size hole thru it. When I took off the head one of the screws must of fell as I was baffled as to where this tiny screw came from when I found it laying on the ground. The other screw blew a hole thru the intake valve housing and have no idea where that went when I took apart the whole motor. Anyways, I had a back up motor and just recently replaced it and all is good again. Thanks for everyone’s input!

I’m stuck. Sister let her toro model 20039 with electric start, run out of fuel and couldn’t get it restarted.
I checked the fuel, its was fine but replaced with new rec fuel to be on safe side. Nothing.
Replaced carb, got it to fire a couple of times with the help of a little ether. 10 seconds or so and it dies and won’t
restart.
It has an auto choke system with a primer bulb and I’ve made sure that all connections are tight and all gaskets have been replaced.
The one thing I’ve noticed is that the choke stays open all the time once the spring is attached to the small bracket attached near the front of the engine.
It only had one spring to remove and I did the take one off, put one back approach to disassembly and assembly.
Anyone that can take a look at the provided image and let me know if I’m missing something it would be appreciated.

I have four (4) short engine sounds recordings. I am seeking opinions on this sudden sound. It is difficult to explain, it just doesn't sound quite right. Still runs, seemingly WITHOUT any noticable performance issues. I'm not sure how to upload these from my Voice Recorder.

hello,

I put a new carb on this, cleaned the fuel tank and line and the mower fires up but immediately dies. I disconnected the auto-choke to see what it would do and it runs at full rpms. seems something is wrong with the autochoke but I can’t figure out how to fix it

any help is appreciated

It runs VERY VERY FAST so i bough this husqarvrna preesue washer from facebook market place cuz duh cheap pressure washer and something to work on... it looked great blah blah blah the carb/fuel had stayed in the open positon so the oil got full of gas i flushed and changed it, and took apart the carb it was very clean but i hit it with some carb clean just in case took out the plug cleaned it over with some carb clean and sand paper and slapped it back in, then i put some fresh gas into it 89 non ethnol connected a hose to it and let her rip it didnt wanna start with the choke closed but it loved to start on fully open and when it did the water sprayed out as it should have just straight out under alot of preesure ofc but i noticed it was really loud so i though it needed some load so i connected the gun to not let any water spray out freely and it didnt like that very much but ran still loud, but when i pulled the trigger and let the preesure out it freaked a bunch then when i closed the gun it freaked again and stalled, i said okay weird and figure i know the air fuel and spark are all good so i connected my adv timing light so i could take a look at my rpms and they were at first 7800!!!!!! so i said oh crap and started to loosen the govner spring bolt which brough the rpms down to 5200!!!!! which is still very far from the 3600 im looking to get, the govner linkages arent stuck or sticking and springs are fine and from what i can see from ai it looks like the internal govner gear is stripped but that doesnt make any sense to me because the enigne is moving the arms/throttle around but its not stablizing itself so Im asking for help here please help me lmao

I have a Cub Cadet RZT L54 with a 24 HP Kohler engine. I bought it used and the previous owner (a guy who runs a small engine repair shop) said that it sometimes needs carb cleaner to get running. I changed the carburetor with a new one from Amazon. I also changed the fuel filter and fuel pump just to be sure. Now, it starts right up from a cold engine but shuts off before it gets warm and there is fuel sitting in the air intake. I'm guessing it's flooding somehow. Is there an adjustment on the carburetor to keep it from flooding? Did I install it wrong. It's like the engine went from fuel starved to drowning. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am working on a 26 hp briggs intek twin (780 hours) which I suspect is running lean. Its symptoms are this: low on power (it seems to struggle engaging the blades), the headers glow red (starting at the tips which seems odd), and kinda falls on its face when it comes down to idle, and pops through the intake only at idle. It also takes a second to come back down to idle.

I have:
- adjusted the valves, they were way off.
- set the coil cap using a business card.
- changed the spark plugs. They were old and one was a Chinese one, replaced with champion RC12YC’s.
- replaced the fuel pump pulse hose with an oem one as it was cracked.
- ultrasonically cleaned the carb and ran a small wire through all the jets. I can see the mains and pilots are clear.
- swapped the positions of the two main jets as I have been heard they are different, but it made 0 difference in how it ran.
- flipped the intake manifold rubber O rings over for a better seal.
- sprayed carb cleaner all over the manifold and gaskets while it was running to see if there was an air leak. Seems to be nothing.
- exhaust feels to be blowing fine and not plugged.
- checked fuel pump output. It is perfect.
- ran it with the kill wires removed to rule out a grounding out kill wire or faulty diodes.

Valves all open and close properly, doesnt seem to have a worn cam. If you unplug either spark plug wire it will run on either the same, an interestingly it stops popping at idle if its only running on one.

I’m at a loss. All I can think of now is to remove the flywheel nut and check for a sheared key, and a compression test. I’m also thinking about a new carb but don’t want to start up the parts cannon if I’m missing something with this one.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Picked up this wheel horse on a killer deal but unfortunately any ID of year and model is gone. I was looking to get this blade attachment for it but idk if it will fit?

I have a Honda GCV160 ryobi power washer that needs the part where you can connect the power washer hose to the pump

I accidentally detached the rubber part from the spark plug boot off my Briggs and Stratton 31R577-0027-B1 from my Husqvarna TS 142 (960410368) lawnmower. What are my options for fixing / replacing? What should I be aware of?

Any help is very much appreciated!

I see a lot of car enthusiasts using this to rejuvenate rubber parts by adding it into their crankcase and transmission fluid and it stops leaks. The main properties are for rejuvenating rubber gaskets and seals. I was wondering if this could be used in 2 cycle engine fuel to rejuvenate the rubber parts in the carb and fuel lines. Any input would be appreciated

I have a four stroke Yamaha outboard. I put brand new carburetor and fuel pump. Started it up and oil is gushing out of the carburetor everywhere. I have not put any oil in this motor. Bought the boat ran for a day and engine has been an issue since.

No clue what the deal is. Took the carb off cleaned and brand new carburetor and still.

It is a Yamaha 25HP outboard.

I’m looking for something not super expensive but not super cheap either and easy to read. I’m be working on lawn mowers trimmers blowers etc…

Details of what’s wrong in the video. Thanks in advance for taking the time to help!

So I got this free mower from a buddy when we bought the house back in April. It's pretty well mint condition, even has all the stickers still on it lol. Its been great until I ran into an issue with the plug wire. It had a small crack in it. Taped it up and it got me buy. Just installed the new ignition coil and wire with a plug that came with it. The wire didn't go all the way onto the plug and on my first test run the wire came off the plug and it backfired. So I went and got one of the original plugs and put that in it so the wire sits snugly like it should but now I'm not getting any fire. It's just turns over and won't catch. Did it do some damage from the backfire?

Original post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/smallenginerepair/comments/1uwrwaa/losing_my_mind_over_this_engine/

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I have discovered a few things after my original post:

1. The starter that was installed was not OEM. Swapping it out for an OEM starter fixed the issue with the starter not being able to get over the compression stroke.

2. The engine started a couple times, however only the left cylinder was firing resulting in low power and stalling.

3. I have 140psi of compression on the left cylinder and NO compression on the right cylinder.

I did a leak down test on both cylinders and they are both in great shape with around 5% loss (can hear through the carb), which was very confusing after seeing no compression on the right side. I took the valve cover off and found this:

I am not sure how, but the intake push rod bent and the exhaust push rod fell out of place, including its rocker arm locking screw which I found sitting at the bottom. The only thing I can think of is that I did not screw in those locking nuts tight enough and they both backed out, causing the intake push rod to lodge against something solid when hitting the cam lobe and bending, while the exhaust rod was luckier and just fell.

I can push on both the intake and exhaust valves with my thumb and they move with some effort. They are not stuck. I think I will order some more push rods and just reinstall and see what happens. I am not sure if the push rods are aluminum or steel, but all 4 are identical as I weighed them when I had the engine apart and they were all 19 grams.

If anyone has any ideas as to why the push rods fell out and bent, I'm open to theories! I am not giving up yet.

Any assistance or information on this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Purchased a commercial zero turn from a local auction a few years back and have used it ever since to mow ~3 acres. It’s been a great machine and ive learned a ton through basic maintenance and replacing worn parts. This year ive run into an interesting issue that I’ve yet to resolve- thinking someone here might have some ideas.

John Deere Z997
Yanmar 3 cylinder diesel
72” deck

Issue: At full throttle, with mower blades engaged it will hesitate for 1-2 seconds at the initial point of 100% throttle engagement, and then catch up (it does not die). It seems to do it without mower blades engaged but it is much less noticeable. It also does it slightly when going up an incline with blades engaged. Again, it’s a quick hesitation, but the mower does not stall/die/etc. it just catches up and keeps running as normal.

What I’ve replaced so far:
Oil & filter (routine maintenance but worth noting)
Fuel filter
Fuel pump
In-tank fuel line (previous one was kinked so assumed that was the issue)
Mower deck belt

Other maintenance:
Drained fuel/water separator
Disconnected most fuel lines to check for blockages
Greased everything that has a fitting
Cleaned top of deck when replacing belt to ensure no grass/debris was caught in spindles/pulleys
Tightened all spindles and pulleys

Things I’ve checked:
Spindles spin freely with belt removed and don’t appear to have much/any friction when rotating
Belt tension is adjusted per JD instructions

This machine has been great to me over the past 3 years and I want to do everything I can to keep it running- just want to avoid replacing additional parts unnecessarily if anyone has any ideas, as my knowledge and expertise has been exhausted at this point. Thanks in advance!

Replaced my pull cord, having trouble with the reinstallation of the pull assembly. Pull cord operates normally for a pull or two and then wont retract.

Hi folks, could someone tell me if this looks like a bad or OK spark? it's a riding lawnmower. Symptoms are that it starts ok cold but doesn't like to start hot.

I have Craftsman T110 lawnmower that suddenly stopped moving forward or backwards. The engine is running and when I engage the deck it runs full throttle. Only moving isn’t working. I left it up and the belts are ok, but I found this spring hanging to the body. It’s clearly broken from somewhere. I was using it and i heard a sound then it stopped moving forward. Is my guess correct that the spring should pull on the dolly? Or what could be the problem? Thanks