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I have an old Cambell-Hausfield pressure washer that a friend gave me after the pump died on it,it had frozen and cracked,but the engine,a 6.5 HP vertical Briggs,still ran great,I bet it has very low hours..unit looked like it was used one summer a few times,then put in an unheated shed without adding anti-freeze or blowing the water out..friend paid $100 for it at a swap meet,got ripped off..
He was going to scrap it he was so mad..
I removed the junk pump and decided to use the engine & cart to power a GM alternator so I could use it to boost batteries or charge them,jump start tractors,etc.. --one use it works good for is to get my balky diesel truck to start in frigid weather--beats having to lug batteries around..
Well,after I used it only once months ago,I let it linger in the back of my garage ,and some gas was still in it..yeah,I know better,and what ethanol can do,but I haven't felt good lately and have let many things slide I shouldn't have..
The carb was not clogged or anything,in fact when I went to start it last week to give my trucks batteries a boost,it fired up on the first pull!..but it then screamed wide open,about 6000 rpms I'd guess.:tango_face_surprise
--throttling it down did nothing,I tried to reach the throttle lever on the carb with my finger in hopes of being able to work it back and forth to get it to slow down ,but I couldn't get it to move..
Before the connecting rod decided to come out of the crankcase I figured I had to shut her down and go about remedying the situation..
Typical--I need something to work,to get something else working,and I spend half the day fixing the thing that will fix the second thing..aggravating..but I guess I have only myself to blame..:tango_face_plain:
I had to take off the air filter housing to see the carb's throttle lever and govenor linkages--as I suspected,the throttle butterfly's shaft had seized tight into the carb's body ,I sprayed it with penetrating oil both externally and internally,and really had to force the throttle lever to get it to move,and worked it back and forth for a good minute before it finally freed up nice and it was back to normal..
I didn't start it up to test it out,I know that should fix the problem ,the gas tank was bone dry and I wanted to leave it that way to avoid any more ethanol gum issues..
Then I moved on to my chain saw,and heard gas sloshing around in it--thought I had run it out of gas last time I used it,but the fuel filter doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank thanks to me using a piece of fuel line an inch too short,and I thought it ran dry,but was still 1/4 full..
I tried starting it,pulled the rope like 25 times,was ready to pitch it in the trash..but I got it to fire up after taking off the air filter and giving it a snort of starting fluid..
I added some fuel system cleaner I had to the mix and let it run awhile--I didn't run it out or dump the fuel because I will need to use it soon and last time I dumped all the gas out it was tough getting it to "prime" and start again..but after I'm done using it I'll dump the gas and put a small amount of 2 stroke oil in the tank .
I've had good luck "pickling" engines that way ,they rarely give any grief next time I fill them up and use them,the oil gets in the carb and keeps the diaphragm from drying out and the passages getting plugged with that white crud ethanol always leaves behind..they might start a bit hard,and smoke a lot at first,but its better than a dry start,at least the cylinder ,piston and valves are well lubed up..
He was going to scrap it he was so mad..
I removed the junk pump and decided to use the engine & cart to power a GM alternator so I could use it to boost batteries or charge them,jump start tractors,etc.. --one use it works good for is to get my balky diesel truck to start in frigid weather--beats having to lug batteries around..
Well,after I used it only once months ago,I let it linger in the back of my garage ,and some gas was still in it..yeah,I know better,and what ethanol can do,but I haven't felt good lately and have let many things slide I shouldn't have..
The carb was not clogged or anything,in fact when I went to start it last week to give my trucks batteries a boost,it fired up on the first pull!..but it then screamed wide open,about 6000 rpms I'd guess.:tango_face_surprise
--throttling it down did nothing,I tried to reach the throttle lever on the carb with my finger in hopes of being able to work it back and forth to get it to slow down ,but I couldn't get it to move..
Before the connecting rod decided to come out of the crankcase I figured I had to shut her down and go about remedying the situation..
Typical--I need something to work,to get something else working,and I spend half the day fixing the thing that will fix the second thing..aggravating..but I guess I have only myself to blame..:tango_face_plain:
I had to take off the air filter housing to see the carb's throttle lever and govenor linkages--as I suspected,the throttle butterfly's shaft had seized tight into the carb's body ,I sprayed it with penetrating oil both externally and internally,and really had to force the throttle lever to get it to move,and worked it back and forth for a good minute before it finally freed up nice and it was back to normal..
I didn't start it up to test it out,I know that should fix the problem ,the gas tank was bone dry and I wanted to leave it that way to avoid any more ethanol gum issues..
Then I moved on to my chain saw,and heard gas sloshing around in it--thought I had run it out of gas last time I used it,but the fuel filter doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank thanks to me using a piece of fuel line an inch too short,and I thought it ran dry,but was still 1/4 full..
I tried starting it,pulled the rope like 25 times,was ready to pitch it in the trash..but I got it to fire up after taking off the air filter and giving it a snort of starting fluid..
I added some fuel system cleaner I had to the mix and let it run awhile--I didn't run it out or dump the fuel because I will need to use it soon and last time I dumped all the gas out it was tough getting it to "prime" and start again..but after I'm done using it I'll dump the gas and put a small amount of 2 stroke oil in the tank .
I've had good luck "pickling" engines that way ,they rarely give any grief next time I fill them up and use them,the oil gets in the carb and keeps the diaphragm from drying out and the passages getting plugged with that white crud ethanol always leaves behind..they might start a bit hard,and smoke a lot at first,but its better than a dry start,at least the cylinder ,piston and valves are well lubed up..
