I have a one-year old, small Craftsman cultivator with one small problem....I can't get it to run longer than a couple seconds! (With either 20 pumps of the fuel primer or a squirt of starting fluid into the air intake)
I've taken apart most of it, flushed the gas tank (it had some gunk from gas left in all winter), cleaned the spark plug, and it still won't run right. (The gas is fresh and doesn't require mixing gas with the oil.)
Sears said they'd fix it, free, but I hate driving all the to downtown Colorado Springs so want to try fixing it myself, first.
It appears to have good spark and gets air but not getting fuel.
Any ideas? (This really ticks me off...I have an old Stihl weed-wacker 11 years old and have done NOTHING to it and it runs like a champ...this stupid Craftsman is crapping out after one year??)
I might have the answer! My sears lawn mower was doing the same thing.I took down the carb cleaned everything and I was about to get a new mower yesterday. So I tried one last time and I checked the oil and it was way low. Well I topped her of and then it ran fine.
I hope your problem is that simple. Lesson...never overlook the obvious
yep, carb isn't able to pump the fuel because it's clogged up with the gunk from sitting up. Take the carb off, dissassemble it, Be careful so that you remember where everything goes!!! spray out the passages and bowl with carb and choke cleaner...
put it back together and reinstall..
if that doesn't solve your problem, it probably needs a new carb
I'm a Stihl dealer and mechanic, have been since I was 10 years old... I'm also a shindaiwa dealer (best brushcutters on the market)... I've also been working on briggs motors since I was in 5th grade and got my first go kart. Small engines are easy once you figure out how everything works... not a lot that can go wrong, so the process of elimination is great to use when fixing one.
yep, carb isn't able to pump the fuel because it's clogged up with the gunk from sitting up. Take the carb off, dissassemble it, Be careful so that you remember where everything goes!!! spray out the passages and bowl with carb and choke cleaner...
put it back together and reinstall..
if that doesn't solve your problem, it probably needs a new carb
Wow, this is perfect timing. I was having the same problem with my Craftsman mower just last night. Prime the mower, it runs for 2 sec. then dies. Obvious it was a fuel problem, so I took the carb out. It looked good. I didn't have any carb cleaner handy so just kind of played around with everything to make sure it wasn't gummed up. How do these carbs work, they have a main that is non-removable it seems. I seems to move up and down a little, but I couldn't find out how to remove it.
Anyway, put it back together and it started up finally. But I am worried this will happen again soon. Funny thing is, it doesn't sit cause here in socal grass grows year round. So I have a hard time understanding how after just 3 years the carb is going bad. Any info. you have on these carbs would be great. Thanks. /Mike
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2001 2WD Silver Tundra: 4x4 TRD springs, Daystar 1", Carson AAL, red/blue Bilsteins, 265/75 Revo's, IS kit(minus bumper) and rims(hand polished), RF851X amp, Alpine HU, JL 6.5"XR comps, Qlogic with JL 8W3V2 subs. 185k miles and counting......
2005 Silver Sienna LE with 12" Overhead DVD
yep, carb isn't able to pump the fuel because it's clogged up with the gunk from sitting up. Take the carb off, dissassemble it, Be careful so that you remember where everything goes!!! spray out the passages and bowl with carb and choke cleaner...
put it back together and reinstall..
if that doesn't solve your problem, it probably needs a new carb
Wow, this is perfect timing. I was having the same problem with my Craftsman mower just last night. Prime the mower, it runs for 2 sec. then dies. Obvious it was a fuel problem, so I took the carb out. It looked good. I didn't have any carb cleaner handy so just kind of played around with everything to make sure it wasn't gummed up. How do these carbs work, they have a main that is non-removable it seems. I seems to move up and down a little, but I couldn't find out how to remove it.
Anyway, put it back together and it started up finally. But I am worried this will happen again soon. Funny thing is, it doesn't sit cause here in socal grass grows year round. So I have a hard time understanding how after just 3 years the carb is going bad. Any info. you have on these carbs would be great. Thanks. /Mike
This is my second sears mower and the first one had a similar problem. The one with the low oil ran for 2 min. then died, I guess it was a low oil shut down??
The first one I had serviced at sears and no one there told me what the problem was but they see this all the time.They charged me like 35$ bucks to fix it. It is still sitting in my garage waiting to be fixed.
Also keep in mind that if the gas in the can is old, it will do the same thing. Get fresh gas every month or so, don't use stuff that has been sitting in the garage for a while.
There are tons of different carbs on todays small engines, so I can't go into specifics without getting my hands on it... A gummed up carb may look perfect, the gummy stuff builds up in the passage ways and in the bowl (if it has one)... When you'll take it apart, youll notice that there are quite a few little passageways going through the carb, put the tip of the hose from the carb cleaner in the entrance to each hole and spritz liberally... it takes a second for the stuff to break loose... be careful, it will spray back out of the carb in unpredictable directions, wear glasses, this stuff BURNS...
also spray out the bowl, and all the surfaces. rub the gaskets carefully with CLEAN NEW gas to break the gunk off of them and get them nice and flexible...
now, a side note, not all carbs are fixable. some we get just need to be trashed, you never can tell...
Also keep in mind that if the gas in the can is old, it will do the same thing. Get fresh gas every month or so, don't use stuff that has been sitting in the garage for a while.
How come? I always wondered why we can't use old gas for small engines (mowers, weed-eaters, etc.).
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-Austin
2003 Toyota Tundra SR5 TRD Sport
Rx7: Great advice...you were right! I got a can of carb cleaner and took the engine as far apart as I dared and sprayed some of it into the air-intake hole (very small..not much wider than a dime)
Anyway, ugly brown crap came back out so I sprayed it until it ran clear.
Now, is does idle but, still, doesn't rev up fast like it did when new so I think I need to try to take even more of the carb apart to get inside more. (I noticed a small, black plastic thing inside that would open a hole when I would open up the throttle. Of course, it was cold when I worked on it (about 25) so I'll go out when it's a little warmer and try it, again, and take it even more apart to get inside the carb. (I remember I had a moped way back in Jr High that wouldn't run worth a darn in cold weather so maybe that's why it's not running as good as it normally does.)
no trouble at all. Did you take the carb completely off of the engine? Avoid spraying carb cleaner into the engine itself.. its not REALLY bad, but it breaks down the oil on the cylinder walls and can shorten the engines life... only spray it on a carb that has been removed from the engine...
How come? I always wondered why we can't use old gas for small engines (mowers, weed-eaters, etc.).
The gas breaks down and goes "stale" over time. it takes a little longer in a car because there's more gas, and because the tank is sealed pretty well... in a gas can, there isn't much gas, and its not sealed.
stale gas doesn't burn, and leaves a gummy residue on everything, another reason that this problem doesn't show up in cars as much is becasue the fuel passageways in the carb are MUCH larger, and don't clog as easily, usually if they do get a residue, you are on your next tank and that new gas cleanes out the gunk... in a small carb the passageways are tiny, they get clogged with even the slightest residue..
another reason is the way that a small engine pumps the gas, there is a floppy gasket in the carb with a vaccum hose connected to the engine on one side, and gas on the other, as the vaccum in the engine goes up and down with the piston movement, it flutters this gasket and pumps the fuel through the needle valve. if the gasket gets gunk on it, it doesn't flutter as well, and doesn't pump the fuel like it should.
you can usually tell from the smell if gas is good or bad...
no trouble at all. Did you take the carb completely off of the engine? Avoid spraying carb cleaner into the engine itself.. its not REALLY bad, but it breaks down the oil on the cylinder walls and can shorten the engines life... only spray it on a carb that has been removed from the engine...
No, the stupid carb is actually mounted to a silicon, green, computer board chip! I did see two small bolts holding it on so I'll get back at it, again, when it warms up. (I can't till the garden, anyway, as long as winter is trying to stick around here...snowing out right now...crazy Springs in Colorado!) I didn't spray it in while it was running and let it drain pretty good, upside down, before running it again. (But I'll change the oil when I take it apart, just to be safe...probably holds about 2 oz of oil!)
Having worked around 2 stroke outboard engines for over 20 years, I highly recommend using fuel stabilizer for your lawnmower, weedeater, chainsaw, etc. Doesn't matter if it's 2 or 4 stroke. I use it in everything but my truck. Once you get you mower running try it. It should prevent the carbs from gumming up again. Also try using 90 octane fuel, it won't break down as quickly as the 87.
Having worked around 2 stroke outboard engines for over 20 years, I highly recommend using fuel stabilizer for your lawnmower, weedeater, chainsaw, etc. Doesn't matter if it's 2 or 4 stroke. I use it in everything but my truck. Once you get you mower running try it. It should prevent the carbs from gumming up again. Also try using 90 octane fuel, it won't break down as quickly as the 87.
Good advice, Captain! I did leave the gas in the tiller this winter. (I'm pretty sure the lawn mower is empty but if it's not I'll empty it before even trying to start it.)
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