I have a Briggs and Stratton Craftsman mower. I've had for over 8 years and finally had to do a Carb rebuild cause I found it to be all gummed up this season.
So I ordered the kit from Briggs... rebuild went well. After the rebuild, all ran well and was able to mow for over an hour without problems.
In the following week, I started having problems. The mower would run for about 3-5 minutes and then would stop.
I found the root cause - it appears the float/needle is getting stuck in the rised/closed position causing the bowl to run dry. The way I figured it out was by removing the air filter so I can see the jet in the intake. I let the mower run and can clearly see fuel come up through the jet. I can also press the primer bulb and see a surge of fuel come up. After running steady for about 3-5 minutes... the engine starts to hesistate and I can see fuel flow becoming more and more intermittent until the engine stops all together. If I hit the primer bulb immediately after no fuel comes up the jet.
I let it sit there for a few minutes, then I hit the primer bulb again and fuel comes up the jet again. I can only assume the needle/float finally drop again to let fuel fill the bowl.
Initially, I realized I was over tightening the bowl nut. As soon as I realized this, I loosen and re-tighen the nut just enough so the bowl is not leaking. This kinda fixed - I can keep the mower running for 10-15 minutes, but again would eventual stop.
During the rebuild, I did replace all the gaskets that was in the kit, including the little one for the needle. Im my haste, I may overlooked the gasket for the bowl nut (if there was on supplied). Could that gasket be the culprit causing me to tighten the bowl more than I need to and causing the float to may be not sit properly in the bowl?
If not... has anyone ever tried to put a small, light spring on the needle to keep open until the float rises?
Any thoughts?
So I ordered the kit from Briggs... rebuild went well. After the rebuild, all ran well and was able to mow for over an hour without problems.
In the following week, I started having problems. The mower would run for about 3-5 minutes and then would stop.
I found the root cause - it appears the float/needle is getting stuck in the rised/closed position causing the bowl to run dry. The way I figured it out was by removing the air filter so I can see the jet in the intake. I let the mower run and can clearly see fuel come up through the jet. I can also press the primer bulb and see a surge of fuel come up. After running steady for about 3-5 minutes... the engine starts to hesistate and I can see fuel flow becoming more and more intermittent until the engine stops all together. If I hit the primer bulb immediately after no fuel comes up the jet.
I let it sit there for a few minutes, then I hit the primer bulb again and fuel comes up the jet again. I can only assume the needle/float finally drop again to let fuel fill the bowl.
Initially, I realized I was over tightening the bowl nut. As soon as I realized this, I loosen and re-tighen the nut just enough so the bowl is not leaking. This kinda fixed - I can keep the mower running for 10-15 minutes, but again would eventual stop.
During the rebuild, I did replace all the gaskets that was in the kit, including the little one for the needle. Im my haste, I may overlooked the gasket for the bowl nut (if there was on supplied). Could that gasket be the culprit causing me to tighten the bowl more than I need to and causing the float to may be not sit properly in the bowl?
If not... has anyone ever tried to put a small, light spring on the needle to keep open until the float rises?
Any thoughts?
