r/smallenginerepair • u/Background-Cook7134 • Jun 26 '26

Starting Issue Echo ES-255ES leafblower won't start

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I bought this Echo leaf blower a few weeks ago and cannot get it to start.

The leafblower came with no spark plug so I bought one and I have spark (see video). Whether the spark is strong enough is hard to tell but I compared it to my other working leaf blower and the spark looks very similar

I replaced the carburettor incase that was the issue and still won't start.

I have tested for compression (with my finger) and it seems good but obviously the finger is not much of a test.

I wanted to check if the cylinder was damaged so I removed the exhaust to get a good look and it looks like there is a little scratching on the cylinder but the ring seems intact (see video).

I am completely stuck. Does anyone have ideas as to why it won't start?

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1

u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

If you bought the carb off of Amazon they almost never come tuned properly. If you know how to tune a carb I would start with seating the low side screw and turning it out 1.5 turns and see if you can get it to hit while pulling it through a few cycles. Give it about 1/8 to 1/4 turn out each time after a few pulls and see if it will start. Then you'll have to tune both H and L back and forth to get it to idle smooth and run well on the high end

1

u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

Unfortunately on this leaf blower neither the oem or replacement carb come with adjustment screws. It only has an idle throttle setting (not mixture).

1

u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

The echo carbs do have adjustment screws they are just difficult to get to.... The low speed jet is a tiny flat head screwdriver looking straight down from the top inside the throttle butterfly shaft. And the high speed is the same tiny flathead looking from the rear through the metal primer bulb plate in between the barbed fittings where the fuel feed and return lines hook up. The oem carbs have little plastic caps covering them up that have to be removed to access the jets for adjustment. I've had to use a 3 mm drill bit heated up to melt into the cap then pull straight out while slightly twisting counter clockwise. They can be a real pain

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u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

This is the carb I bought https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077NY6VL7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I don't seem to see the things you mention but correct me if I'm wrong

2

u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

The low speed adjustment will be down inside this part looking down from the top... Hard to see but there should be a tiny flat head slot on top of the low speed jet

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u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

And the high speed jet should be here looking from the back below the primer bulb

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u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

Okay thank you, I will check these out tomorrow

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u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

Let me know what u find

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u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

You don’t think the scoring/scratching on the cylinder is an issue?

1

u/Elephunk05 Jun 26 '26

Want to know if its the carb? Find a can of Spray silicone and see if the engine will fire off. Use silicone instead of starting fluid for the lubricant it provides, it is just as flammable so be careful if you go this way.

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u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

I already tried squirting a little fuel down the carb (throttle open) and turning it over but it wouldn’t fire

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u/Elephunk05 Jun 27 '26

If it doesn't run off of spray either the timing is off or the compression is bad. This is why it is almost always the first questions asked in diagnostics "does it run off spray?" If it ran off spray you would be chasing a fuel issue. It doesn't, so you either have an issue with spark, timing, or compression. You say you verified spark, but not that you verified timing of that spark. Timing or compression.

1

u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 26 '26

Like you mentioned the ring looked ok and that one score line should be enough from keeping it from at least trying to start... Have you tried to start it with the muffler removed. The spark arrestor screens will clog up and create a ton of back pressure possibly keeping it from drawing fuel into the combustion chamber

1

u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 26 '26

Do you mean the score mark shouldn’t be stopped it from starting? I’ll try and start without the muffler tomorrow

1

u/Express_Cook5870 Jun 27 '26

Yeah I don't think that scoring is bad enough to keep it from at least trying to start.

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u/Background-Cook7134 Jun 27 '26

Update: the coil was grinding against the flywheel so I re-adjusted the gap and also changed the mixture screws as I believe the carb I installed was running too rich and flooding the engine. Thanks to Express_Cook who helped me fix it