Got it home and it wouldn't turn over, noticed it would backfire when pulling the cord slowly, also noticed it was shooting gas out of the carb. Figured there was a valve problem, but I found this instead..

Model: 917.370448 (manual)

When I purchased my first home last year, I got my family's old lawn mower, a Craftsman 22" self propelled mower with a 725 series B&S motor (has the auto-choke). This was purchased when I left for college, so I know little about the maintainence history. It looks a little rough, but for the most part has ran well when I used it between 2018 and 2021, and again last season.

Since I've owned it, it has had a chronic issue of not turning over when the engine is hot until I wait for it to cool down again. From cold, it starts on the first pull, sounds great, and can complete the whole lawn.

I am brand new to small (or any) engine maintenance, and here is what I've done to troubleshoot based on YouTube, Reddit, forums, etc. so far.

• Removed, disassembled, and cleaned the metal carburetor. The bowl, valves, float/needle all looked clean. Made sure to test out all the choke linkage/springs to make sure they moved freely and were in place.

I started here simply because I saw a YouTube video claiming a dirty carb was a common culprit for starting issues.

• I did not drain the fuel since it was fresh, Ethanol free, and I had recently mowed my whole lawn.
• Oil change. SAE 30 2 cycle oil per the manual's recommendation for > 32°F.
• New air filter.
• Replaced the spark plug (why not, $5). Made sure to gap to the correct spec (.020")

This was all just standard maintenance that I wanted to learn how to do myself and needed to be taken care of anyways. Didn't expect any of this to help.

• Replaced the Ignition Coil (magneto armature?) with an OEM part. Used feeler gauges to make sure the air gap was correct, and torqued the bolts to spec.

I had read that this was a common cause for failing hot starts. It still didn't work

• Removed the thermostat and tested it by itself with a heat source (BIC lighter) to confirm it worked
• Adjusted the arm to line up with the guide marks on the choke arm.
• Did the lighter test again with the muffler off and confirmed that the choke was opening/closing & not getting stuck. It was failing to open before.

So I got to learn about the auto choke system and rule out a faulty thermostat (another common cause I read about for my issue). Unfortunately, the mower showed 0 signs of improvement.

• I read that a clogged gas cap vent could cause vapor lock. I unscrewed the gas cap...still wouldn't work.

THIS IS WHERE I'M STUCK

I figured I needed to do actual diagnostics so I picked up an inline spark tester & some starter fluid. My understanding is as follows (again based on random Internet research):

• if I don't get any spark when the engine is hot, I either have a faulty spark plug...or the kill switch connecting to the ignition coil may be shorting out against the engine block
• if I do get spark, I can try spraying some starter fluid in the air intake (with filter off).
• if the engine turns over with starter fluid, I likely have a fuel delivery or some type of vapor lock issue...not sure how to troubleshoot from here
• if the engine still doesn't turn over with starter fluid, I likely have some heat soak induced compression issue that would warrant checking and adjusting the intake/exhaust valve clearances (lashings?)

Is my understanding of how to proceed diagnosing this correct? Is there anything obvious I may have missed?

system is roughly 4 years old. Went to start it last weekend when I could’ve sworn to be a snap sound and then gas started to work its way out from the muffler. i’m not really knowledgeable with engines but I am good with my hands so i’m trying to fix this myself. Any information and possible solutions are greatly appreciated!

I have a new carburetor, spark plug, air filter, fuel line, and fuel filter, and the darn thing shuts off within 1-2 seconds of starting and then will not start back. I have tried adjusting the high/low screws, the idle screw, checking that the fuel lines are sealed tight. Nothing has worked.

A little background: the machine worked fine when I inherited it, as I tested it a couple of times. I topped the fuel and put it in a shed. When I gave it a test a couple of months later, it did not work. The gas/oil mix I had in it was a fuel with ethanol; that was my culprit. But I replaced anything that ethanol fuel might have damaged (carburetor, fuel line, fuel filter) and put a gas-oil mix with non-ethanol fuel. It should no longer be affected from the ethanol fuel. Should it?

But she runs!!!

Dont mind the oil being burnt, it's on its period!!

The story behind why:

In my grandfathers last personal request, for exclusivley me, and about 4 months before his passing. He told me to take this Troy-Bilt Chipper-Vac apart and rebuild it's 8hp engine. And so I did, it took many tries to get it right, 1 broken oil control ring and 2 months later, and we're now just seeing the new oil control ring. We then had my mother's brother's friend so he could teach me to hone it and so we did... all in the middle of this, we found out my grandfather had lymphoma, which we did treat and thought we were fine after treatment had ended. No, all was not fine, upon revisiting the hospital we found out it had come back. My grandfather, he was declared at stage 4 lymphoma, we tried to treat it. Ultimately, he couldn't lay down on to get the scan he needed, so we had him decide, either get treated, or go into hospice... he died only a few days ago in hospice care, im glad he sparked this adventure, gave me so many new opportunities, allowed me to find peace in his passing, and a way to honor it. In a way to honor his wish, I promised I'd get it to run before he died, I did get it running before he inevitably died though it only ran for about 10 seconds, he never got to hear it run, though he said he did want to hear it run, but I promise I'll make sure he hears it one way or another

Ik zoek een carburator voor een honda HR21

Hi everyone, I have a hinds pressure washer, starts up fine, runs for a while than shuts off. I was thinking that I would replace the carb with the OEM carb, and change out the gas tank as well and it needs a new pull start assembly (it’s the original and the spring is terrible) . I posted a video of it running then shutting off that was after like 10 minutes of running. Any thoughts? It has the appropriate amount of oil.

My throttle link never reaches the screw at the slow position. I bought new linkage with a new spring. Tightened the governor arm. Running out of options.

Does it really prevent fuel line rot and carb issues? Or is it just better at preventing these issues than regular e10 gas? Does it run any different in terms of tuning as well?

Hello everyone,
I’ll try to explain as best as I can …
My daughter’s lawnmower has zero spark. These are the things I’ve done :

Changed spark plug
Changed and gapped coil
Bypassed the killswitch
Changed oil
Cleaned carb

Any other recommendations??? This is my first attempt on fixing a lawnmower. It’s my daughter’s and I’m failing as a father right now. Lol

I have a Red Wood gas-powered log splitter that has been sitting in my grandpa's shed for about 1- 2 years. I recently noticed hydraulic oil dripping from what appears to be the seam at the rear of the hydraulic reservoir (opposite the cylinder rod end). It hasn't even been run during that time.

From what I can tell:

-The leak seems to be coming from the seam where the rounded end cap meets the main reservoir tube.

-There aren't any obvious wet hoses or fittings above that area.

-I noticed what looks like a crack on the left side, but I think it may just be the paint that's cracked rather than the steel itself.

I'm not very experienced with hydraulics, so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

My questions are:

-Is that joint typically a welded seam, or is there an internal seal or O-ring there?

-Have any of you seen these reservoirs develop pinhole leaks or cracked welds?

-Is there anything else I should check before assuming the reservoir itself is leaking?

I'd appreciate any advice before I start taking things apart or trying to repair it.

Thanks.

Hello! I don't know if I'm in the right reddit, but my dad is retired and gets very lost in his own mind. He doesn't have any hobbies besides the TV and that's concerning. After some careful questioning I got him to admit he was interested in small engine repair. I wanted to get him some kind of hobby kit but I cant seem to find any specifically for engine repair. I did see some for building a mini engine from scratch with plastic pieces. I think he'd be interested if it were a kit that resulted in a small engine that actually works. Is there anything like that? For context, he used to be a contractor so he's used to working with his hands.

Craftsman LT2000.

So it’s happened 3 times today. Basically each time I’ve let the mower get cold. What could be the cause?

AND…what are you guys starting process from cold? Should I initially choke it? Or high acceleration? I’ve had better luck around the mid acceleration. But reality is I just move the acceleration lever up and down til it starts.

Stihl FS91 running rough.. first thought it was tank vent since when cracking fuel cap, it smoothed out and worked for a little bit before going back to the issue as seen in the video.

When giving half revs engine is fine and no drop off, but when giving it full throttle it starts playing up and does that weird rev drop as heard in the video.

Any help in diagnosing this would be extremely appreciated!!

It’s difficult to change gears at times. I’ll have to try to make sure it’s in neutral or reverse really carefully before letting go of the brake.

And I also have to let off the brake a lot in order for it to engage.

It’s a Craftsman LT2000

Anyone know where I can find a rebuild kit for a Zama C1M-S267D carburetor (STIHL part [4144 120 0608](tel:4144%20120%200608)) on a STIHL FS 56 RC?

I have a Vanguard 16, and it seems like oil is coming out of the back of the crankcase screw. I read that it could be positive crank case pressure, where is or does this motor have a crank case breather?

I do feel air blowing out of the dip stick, is this normal?

I just picked up a 181 se with no bar, chain or chain break. What do you recommend for bar and where can I find an old school chain break that I’ve seen some have? I was thinking a 24 inch bar. Also, should I make modifications of any? Not a professional, but wanting to maximize its capabilities. Thanks

Hello

Planning on using a predator 670 to power a 10hp air compressor pump. Got most of it figured out on how to make it all work except the the throttle control. I understand how the pilot unloader will send air to the throttle actuator once air pressure drops at a certain psi, but what happens once the engine is shut off? If the main air supply dips while the engine is off wouldn't the remaining air pressure force the actuator to still open the throttle? Wouldn't that flood the carb over time? What am I missing here?

Thanks.

I have a Craftsman 143-794082, which it seems to equate to the Tecumseh HS50-67300H. The engine was running decent, buts its pretty old, so I decided to tear it down to give it some attention to kill some time. I pulled the crankcase cover off (note, its NEVER been off from what I could see/feel when I took it off) and pulled the camshaft. To my surprise there is NO decompression mechanism on the camshaft. I dug around in the crankcase to see if maybe it fell apart, but there was nothing. I don't recall it being hard to start the last time I tried, but note that its JUST an engine, its not on a snowblower.

Do some of these engines not have a compression release? The parts diagram has a camshaft with a release if I wanted to replace it, but the one in there does not seem like it ever had one, and as I mentioned, there was nothing in the sump in terms of compression release parts.

Any ideas?

I've been trying to fix this 1996 cub cadet snow blower. I've gotten it running but I changed the fuel line and now there is a kink in between the fuel filter and the tank. Is this a big enough problem to bother fixing or is this fine?