Seeking advice for 3 lawn mowers

johndeere3720 · Oct 13, 2012

Okay guys. I'm new to push mowers, the only push mower I have worked on I cleaned the carb out on which sorta worked, then it started spewing oil out the carb, that mower was pretty beat.
Anyways...
#1 I acquired a Murray powered by a 5 hp Tecumseh about a month ago that supposedly needed carb work. I put some gas in it and it fired right up and ran great. Today I put gas in it and it was leaking out of the carb bowl. I was thinking I should pull the bowl off the carb and check the gasket. What else would you guys recommend? I did drain it of it's old fuel and replaced that with fresh non-ethanol gasoline.

Today I went down to a garage sale i had heard about and got a couple mowers for $50. I figured it was a fair deal since the one sorta ran.

#2 The first mower i knew I was gonna buy was the Toro. The Toro has a 6.5 hp engine and is self propelled like the Murray. Plus it is pretty new to top it off. Here is it's problem. I could not get it to start, the primer bulb has cracks and holes in it and the previous owner used some silicone to patch it up. It still has old gas in it too. I was thinking this one will need a carb rebuild kit at the least. Any advice for this one?

#3 is a small Craftsman powered by a 3.5 hp engine. It runs but only if you prime it. Once it empties the primer bulb of fuel it dies so it only runs for about 2-3 seconds. Any advice on this one? I assume there may be a small port in the carb plugged due to ethanol or dirt which is preventing fuel to flow on it's own. I did drain this mower of the old gas and replaced it with fresh non-ethanol gasoline.

All of the mowers have good compression and are in fair shape. Seeking advice from the experienced. Im 17 and trying to learn how these things work, I know my John Deere's really well but push mowers are new to me. Thanks!

Yard Nazi · Oct 14, 2012

Hi! Nice group of mowers you picked up. I don't know about everyone else but if I get a new to me mower at the very least I would check and/or replace the spark plug and filter, check and/or replace any belts, make sure all the cables work as they should, and definately clean the gas tank and the carb. It is relatively inexpensive and an easy task to do a tune up on these and a good way to eliminate and/or prevent problems down the road whether you are keeping the mower or selling it. Good luck and keep at it. This forum is a great place to ask advise and learn as well. Bill

k91 · Oct 14, 2012

I'd buy 3 631021 carb kits that should have the bowl gasket, the bowl nut gasket and the needle seat and clip. #1 is probably leaking at the gasket like you think but it could also be flooding. When you have it apart check the float for leaks. #2 needs a new primer bulb to be able to run properly. I can't tell from your picture but the bo bo clip Tecumseh uses to hold the bulb looks like it could be missing too. #3 definitely needs a carb rebuild too. Sounds like you are on the right track good luck and I don't think you did too bad for the $$ :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 14, 2012

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. I think i'm gonna go out and start working on the small craftsman, I guess we will see how that come out.

BDM53 · Oct 14, 2012

Exactly what Bill said but I go after the oil very first thing and a small shot of wd-40 in the cylinder.

Warning, lawn mowers can become very addictive :ROF Good luck!

johndeere3720 · Oct 14, 2012

Okay, just came in from working on the craftsman. Here is what I did:
used the air compressor to blow all loose debris from the mower
Removed the gas tank and set aside (it has fresh gas in it already)
pulled the engine cover off
removed the carb from the engine
pulled off the fuel bowl to find a little bit or corrosion at the bottom as well as some gunk on the outer lip that goes around the gasket. The gasket didn't look too good either.
Cleaned the fuel bowl with a rag
used carb cleaner to blow any gunk out of any ports.
cleaned the ports in the adjustment needle screw
put everything back together...
then the moment of truth...
pushed the primer bulb a few times then pulled. Now nothing.
won't even try to start now. My guess is I should replace the fuel bowl gasket and possibly the fuel bowl as well, then i bet it will start. I took pictures along the way. Am I doing everything right or did I miss a step? Does my conclusion sound accurate?
Thanks guys for all the help!

2CycleJay · Oct 14, 2012

johndeere3720 said:
removed the carb from the engine
pulled off the fuel bowl to find a little bit or corrosion at the bottom!

Take a look at the bowl nut (main jet) there are small holes in the nut that are probably clogged.

If you are interested I have the Tecumseh Technicians Handbook 3 TO 11 HP 4-CYCLE L-HEAD ENGINES pdf manual that I can email you, just send me a PM with your email address.

Here is a Tecumseh carburetor service manual.... Tecumseh Carburetor Identification,Troubleshooting and Service

Y Block · Oct 15, 2012

Carbs are never fun to fix and Tecumseh carbs can be frustrating. I always do a spark plug check. Is the plug wet, dry, or inbetween? A dry plug means you're not getting enough fuel and something's plugged or the primer bulb isn't working. A wet plug means the carb is overflowing and flooding the engine. This is usually caused by a problem with the float and/or needle. If you think if isn't getting gas, try spraying some carb cleaner in the air intake and see if it fires.

k91 · Oct 15, 2012

Does it feel like it is priming like you feel it pushing fuel through? If it has an idle mixture screw it will be on the side near the primer bulb set it at 1 turn out if it does. Set the main mixture screw 1 and 1/2 turns out. It should start if it is going to like that. On some of those the air box screws actually close an opening on the carb so it will not run without the screws in. You didn't pull the throttle control plate off the top of the carb did you? On the main mixture screw there is a tiny hole on the side near the top of the threads make sure it is not blocked.

johndeere3720 · Oct 15, 2012

Okay, I made some progress today. My theory for the craftsman was right, however I finally got it back together and the fuel line started to leak. So one new line later it fired right up. I did have to adjust the idle screw to get it to run good, but now i am happy with it. :fing32: My buddy and I replaced the gasket on the Murray and it fired right up too, runs great again. We also cleaned the carb on the Toro and replaced the primer button but that was a no go, I will have to take the Toro back apart and see if anything was done wrong. But 2 out of 3 is good odds, I am happy with my progress and I have learned a lot so far. :fing32: Sorry, no pictures since my camera died. :sorry1:

johndeere3720 · Oct 17, 2012

Okay guys, here are some pictures of the 2 lawn mowers up and running and cleaned up. I really have developed a liking for the craftsman however I listed it for sale so I don't start collecting things I don't need. :dunno: Today my list includes working on the Toro, my camera is charged so I should be able to get progress pictures as they come. Wish me luck guys! I hope the Toro turns out well, I really would love to have it in my mowing fleet. :fing32:

k91 · Oct 17, 2012

Good work johndeere3720 :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 18, 2012

k91 said:
Good work johndeere3720 :fing32:

Thanks! :fing32: Didn't get to finish the Toro yesterday but its looking like tomorrow is the day! I figured out why it wasn't getting gas. :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 19, 2012

Good news! This morning after some tinkering with the Toro's carburetor and throttle linkage I finally got it running again! At first it was running pretty lean but with some adjustment and actually putting on the throttle linkage right it now runs with the power it did when it was new. :fing32: I'm pretty happy about it, all of these mowers were in non-running condition and this morning I started them all up and they all run great. :fing32::trink39: pictures soon! :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 19, 2012

The Toro cleaned up and running. :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 20, 2012

You guys were right, I think I am slowly becoming addicted to push mowers. :biglaugh:

Y Block · Oct 20, 2012

Working on these things is very rewarding. It's nice to take something that many people would throw away and make it good as new. Are you going to keep them or sell and make some dough?

johndeere3720 · Oct 20, 2012

Y Block said:
Working on these things is very rewarding. It's nice to take something that many people would throw away and make it good as new. Are you going to keep them or sell and make some dough?

I plan to keep the Toro but sell the others. I just picked up 3 more today, 2 on craigslist and one at a garage sale. :fing32: The nicest one is a craftsman with rear wheel drive and you can disengage the blade for crossing a flowerbed or driveway. :fing32:

johndeere3720 · Oct 21, 2012

Out of excitement, I took my garage sale find into the shop this afternoon. Pulled off the spark plug and replaced it with a crisp new one. Pulled off the carb and cleaned it thoroughly, then replaced the fuel bowl O-ring and gasket. Put it back together, poured in some fresh non-ethanol gasoline and it started on the first pull! :thThumbsU Finally, I washed it off and put it away with my other running mowers. Gotta love it when it starts on the first pull. :fing32::thThumbsU:trink39: pictures soon!

johndeere3720 · Oct 21, 2012

The MTD all cleaned up. :fing32:

Seeking advice for 3 lawn mowers

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