Seems you might be right about the float sticking or clogged. Removing the carb and really cleaning it may do the trick.
Big Trouble In Little Snapper Town
I had posted this on my generator board but was directed here for advice. I need to get a RER mower back in action soon but I need some guidance.
I have a 2011 (Craftsman rebranded) Snapper RER with the 28" deck. Old school. It has a B&S 12.5hp (344) Intec engine. It's been a good mower, but I've been having problems with the carb recently. The carb began leaking fuel over the winter. I drained the tank, pulled the carb off, disassembled it, put it in the ultrasonic cleaner for a couple of hours, and then reassembled and reinstalled. My thought was that perhaps the float (or needle) was sticking and that was causing the bowl to overfill. I was hoping a good cleaning would solve the issue.
I changed the oil on Saturday, swapped blades, and fueled it up to ready it for another mowing season in the swamp. Gasoline, once again, began leaking heavily from the carb assembly. I had also installed a fuel valve over the winter so I was able to shut off the fuel supply to the carb. I guess I need to pull the carb again and see what the heck is going on. I presume a sticking float would cause the carb to leak like that? Or a worn needle? I really need to get it up and running again ASAP. I'm not sure what else could be going on.
I don't know if it would be easier to just get a new carb for it rather than spend time chasing down gremlins in the current carb. I don't know which carb fits the engine, though.
Mower info is 107.280340 (7800669) - Craftsman 28" Rear-Engine Riding Mower, 12.5hp (2010). It's a Snapper rebranded by Sears.
I think this might be the right carb. Link
I think I have some pics of the carb I can provide if needed.
Any insight into what could be causing this? Thanks guys!
I have a 2011 (Craftsman rebranded) Snapper RER with the 28" deck. Old school. It has a B&S 12.5hp (344) Intec engine. It's been a good mower, but I've been having problems with the carb recently. The carb began leaking fuel over the winter. I drained the tank, pulled the carb off, disassembled it, put it in the ultrasonic cleaner for a couple of hours, and then reassembled and reinstalled. My thought was that perhaps the float (or needle) was sticking and that was causing the bowl to overfill. I was hoping a good cleaning would solve the issue.
I changed the oil on Saturday, swapped blades, and fueled it up to ready it for another mowing season in the swamp. Gasoline, once again, began leaking heavily from the carb assembly. I had also installed a fuel valve over the winter so I was able to shut off the fuel supply to the carb. I guess I need to pull the carb again and see what the heck is going on. I presume a sticking float would cause the carb to leak like that? Or a worn needle? I really need to get it up and running again ASAP. I'm not sure what else could be going on.
I don't know if it would be easier to just get a new carb for it rather than spend time chasing down gremlins in the current carb. I don't know which carb fits the engine, though.
Mower info is 107.280340 (7800669) - Craftsman 28" Rear-Engine Riding Mower, 12.5hp (2010). It's a Snapper rebranded by Sears.
I think this might be the right carb. Link
I think I have some pics of the carb I can provide if needed.
Any insight into what could be causing this? Thanks guys!
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
I removed it and ran it through an ultrasonic cleaner thinking that would do the trick. I guess I need to pull the carb off again and do a more through inspection of the float and needle. Both looked fine, but obviously something is not right.Seems you might be right about the float sticking or clogged. Removing the carb and really cleaning it may do the trick.
Hi LaSwamp,
A couple of questions:
Is the float metal or cork covered with a plastic membrane? If metal, does it have gas in it? If cork, has it soaked in gas and therefore is to heavy to float.
I think I'd stop messing with the old carb, you can get a new one for $16.00, your time is worth more than that. Not to mention the frustration.
Last, but not least; what gas are you using? I only use ethanol free, the ethanol gas is hard on fuel system. I live in Port Clinton, OH where there are thousands of boats so I can easily find ethanol free at gas stations and a couple of gas stations. Airports also have ethanol free.
Good luck,
Paul, Sandusky Bay, OH USA
A couple of questions:
Is the float metal or cork covered with a plastic membrane? If metal, does it have gas in it? If cork, has it soaked in gas and therefore is to heavy to float.
I think I'd stop messing with the old carb, you can get a new one for $16.00, your time is worth more than that. Not to mention the frustration.
Last, but not least; what gas are you using? I only use ethanol free, the ethanol gas is hard on fuel system. I live in Port Clinton, OH where there are thousands of boats so I can easily find ethanol free at gas stations and a couple of gas stations. Airports also have ethanol free.
Good luck,
Paul, Sandusky Bay, OH USA
I don't recall specifically, but it appeared to be a standard plastic float, typical of the small gas 4-cycle engines you find in mowers and generators. I don't think it is metal or cork. I suspect there may be an issue with the float needle. It may not be sitting correctly or I might have to clean it better. Or it could now be out of spec. It's 12 years old. Those are my primary suspicions. It was a bit of a hassle to remove the carb last time, but I don't have a choice. I'm going to have to take it off again so I can disassemble it.Hi LaSwamp,
A couple of questions:
Is the float metal or cork covered with a plastic membrane? If metal, does it have gas in it? If cork, has it soaked in gas and therefore is to heavy to float.
I think I'd stop messing with the old carb, you can get a new one for $16.00, your time is worth more than that. Not to mention the frustration.
Last, but not least; what gas are you using? I only use ethanol free, the ethanol gas is hard on fuel system. I live in Port Clinton, OH where there are thousands of boats so I can easily find ethanol free at gas stations and a couple of gas stations. Airports also have ethanol free.
Good luck,
Paul, Sandusky Bay, OH USA
I'd like to just get a new carb, but I have no idea which one I need for my engine model. I have the 344 Intec engine that outputs 12.5 hp. I think I found one on Amazon that might be correct, and several reviews mention the Snapper RER with the 28" deck. I might need more info so I can chase down the right carb. I'd like to even get a new needle and float, if not a new carb. Maybe do a carb rebuild? I'm open to suggestions.
It has been awhile since I worked on one of the small carburetors, yet I think you may find that what you think is a plastic float is actually a cork float covered with a plastic coating. The plastic, after a time, will crack or develop pin holes and the cork will soak in the gas and then stop floating. Then the carb would flood and leak gas. I'm thinking this because of the chain of events. If you cleaned the needle valve assembly with carb cleaner, I doubt you will find any dirt in it. Put the float in a bowl of gas, it should float high.I don't recall specifically, but it appeared to be a standard plastic float, typical of the small gas 4-cycle engines you find in mowers and generators. I don't think it is metal or cork. I suspect there may be an issue with the float needle. It may not be sitting correctly or I might have to clean it better. Or it could now be out of spec. It's 12 years old. Those are my primary suspicions. It was a bit of a hassle to remove the carb last time, but I don't have a choice. I'm going to have to take it off again so I can disassemble it.
I'd like to just get a new carb, but I have no idea which one I need for my engine model. I have the 344 Intec engine that outputs 12.5 hp. I think I found one on Amazon that might be correct, and several reviews mention the Snapper RER with the 28" deck. I might need more info so I can chase down the right carb. I'd like to even get a new needle and float, if not a new carb. Maybe do a carb rebuild? I'm open to suggestions.
I'm going to pull the carb first thing tomorrow morning and see if there's anything obvious that could be causing the bowl to flood. I'm hoping if there's an issue, it's something that's going to jump out at me, like an angry puma. Or a spider monkey. Fingers crossed.It has been awhile since I worked on one of the small carburetors, yet I think you may find that what you think is a plastic float is actually a cork float covered with a plastic coating. The plastic, after a time, will crack or develop pin holes and the cork will soak in the gas and then stop floating. Then the carb would flood and leak gas. I'm thinking this because of the chain of events. If you cleaned the needle valve assembly with carb cleaner, I doubt you will find any dirt in it. Put the float in a bowl of gas, it should float high.
A bit of an update. I pulled the carb off the Snapper this morning. Now that I know how the thing assembles, the job went much quicker. I disassembled it and did an inspection to see if I could figure out what's going on. The bowl gasket is shot. It's frayed along the outside edges and it appears to be stretched. While it needs to be replaced, I'm unsure that is what is causing the fuel leak. I pulled the float and inspected the needle. The float looks fine. It's floating now in the ultrasonic cleaner with some of the other carb parts. The needle doesn't look abnormal, at least that I can see. But, the more I think about it, the more I think the issue has to be that needle. For whatever reasons, it's not seating properly against the fuel inlet. This problem, if I'm correct, would allow fuel to continue to fill the bowl after it's full. Not long before the problem began, I shot carb cleaner into the fuel inlet on the carb. I wonder if the needle may have been damaged or compromised by that. It's already old and rubber dries out over time.
Oddly enough, when I inspected the bowl, it had a lot of sandy-looking grit in it. That's odd. The engine has not been run since the last time I did a full clean of the carb. The bowl should have been clean as a hound's tooth. The fuel line has a filter, too. I did install a new valve, however. I wonder if the valve had some metal grit in it. In any event, I'll drain some fuel into a cup to see if there's grit coming through the line.
I ordered a new needle and gasket. We'll see if that solves the issue. Stay tuned.
Oddly enough, when I inspected the bowl, it had a lot of sandy-looking grit in it. That's odd. The engine has not been run since the last time I did a full clean of the carb. The bowl should have been clean as a hound's tooth. The fuel line has a filter, too. I did install a new valve, however. I wonder if the valve had some metal grit in it. In any event, I'll drain some fuel into a cup to see if there's grit coming through the line.
I ordered a new needle and gasket. We'll see if that solves the issue. Stay tuned.
An update of sorts...
The parts came in yesterday afternoon. I was going to wait for the weekend, but I couldn't help myself. Further inspection of the disassembled carb revealed that the small o-ring gasket where the fuel intake goes into the bowl looked damaged and worn. I now wonder if that was allowing fuel to collect on top of the float plate. That would have certainly caused a leaking carb I think. I replaced both of the gaskets and the float needle and carefully reassembled the carb making sure everything was seated properly. I'm hopeful that resolved the issue.
The parts came in yesterday afternoon. I was going to wait for the weekend, but I couldn't help myself. Further inspection of the disassembled carb revealed that the small o-ring gasket where the fuel intake goes into the bowl looked damaged and worn. I now wonder if that was allowing fuel to collect on top of the float plate. That would have certainly caused a leaking carb I think. I replaced both of the gaskets and the float needle and carefully reassembled the carb making sure everything was seated properly. I'm hopeful that resolved the issue.
And the carb is now fixed.
I installed the carb on the mower this morning. I didn't completely install it since I wanted to test to make sure it wasn't leaking. I connected the fuel line and opened the valve. Fuel began seeping from the top of the bowl. Sigh. So, I pulled the carb off again and broke it down trying to figure out why the leak was occurring. It couldn't be the float needle since that was new. It had to be leaking before it reached the needle. And it was.
There's the main gasket that fits over the entire top of the float plate. That looked fine. However, there's a second rubber o-ring that sits on a short fuel tube. I had thought that o-ring goes on the bottom of the carb where the tube inserts into the bottom of the carb. Instead, it's suppose to sit on the bottom exterior of the tube itself. Apparently, if it's not sitting there, it does not create a complete seal and fuel will leak onto the top of the float plate. Hence, why fuel was leaking from the top of the bowl. Once I moved the o-ring to the bottom exterior of the plastic fuel tube, it sealed correctly. I reassembled the carb and hooked it to the fuel line. No leaks.
I put everything back together, installed the battery, and the engine fired right up. I mowed a section of the yard without incident. FYI for those who experience carb fuel leaks that seem hard to track down.
I installed the carb on the mower this morning. I didn't completely install it since I wanted to test to make sure it wasn't leaking. I connected the fuel line and opened the valve. Fuel began seeping from the top of the bowl. Sigh. So, I pulled the carb off again and broke it down trying to figure out why the leak was occurring. It couldn't be the float needle since that was new. It had to be leaking before it reached the needle. And it was.
There's the main gasket that fits over the entire top of the float plate. That looked fine. However, there's a second rubber o-ring that sits on a short fuel tube. I had thought that o-ring goes on the bottom of the carb where the tube inserts into the bottom of the carb. Instead, it's suppose to sit on the bottom exterior of the tube itself. Apparently, if it's not sitting there, it does not create a complete seal and fuel will leak onto the top of the float plate. Hence, why fuel was leaking from the top of the bowl. Once I moved the o-ring to the bottom exterior of the plastic fuel tube, it sealed correctly. I reassembled the carb and hooked it to the fuel line. No leaks.
I put everything back together, installed the battery, and the engine fired right up. I mowed a section of the yard without incident. FYI for those who experience carb fuel leaks that seem hard to track down.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
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