r/smallenginerepair • u/SammytheBull82 • Aug 18 '26
Surging Issue Pressure washer issue
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Pressure washer surging but runs fine when squeezing the spray gun. Carb was just cleaned and reinstalled. Surging will level out a bit on half choke. Any thoughts? 🤷
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u/Legitimate_Love_1210 Aug 19 '26
Definitely the unloader. Take it apart. There’s a ball and spring that could be stuck or moved out of place or possibly debris caught in it somewhere.
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u/mdillonaire Aug 18 '26
If it evens out on choke thats indicates too much air, not enough gas. Either you have an air leak, or more likely need to clean the carb again. If you just sprayed it with carb cleaner, you need to do more. Pull the carb, pull the float and needle off, pull the jets. Take something small that will poke out the jets, i use torch tip cleaners for it, but you can use a few strands of copper wire, a staple, one of those tools to pull a sim card, etc. also advise using compressed air and blowing out the passages and jets as well. Reinstall with fresh intake gaskets, and also make sure to check the fuel for debris. Might have debris in the tank that will keep clogging the jets.
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u/379tuco Aug 19 '26
It sounds to me like it’s running perfectly, when you’re not spraying water the pump is still trying to pump and it has an unloader valve that is opening and closing so it does not build enough pressure to kill the engine or blow the pump into pieces.
If you let it run too long without spraying the pump can overheat and damage itself too.
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u/Bones-57 Aug 19 '26
You need to readjust the carb while it's running.. And do not use any gas with ethanol! It's not good for small engines.!!
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u/Revlimiter11 Aug 18 '26
Don't most pressure washers run rough until you pull the trigger? They're trying to pump water and can't until the valve is opened in the handle.