Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

My 10 1/2 yr old mower has been getting progressively harder to start the last couple of years. To remedy this I have to squirt some instant start type freon product into the carb and then  it starts immediately.  Finally this past winter I had the shop replace the carb. It is still taking 8-10 pulls to start. That is after replacing the carb, plug, and air filter. Of course the fuel is fresh as well. Am I expecting too much from a 10 year old mower or is there something else I am neglecting to replace/adjust, etc?

Smitty,
Do you have a choke or a primer on this engine?
If it is a choke....take off the air filter cover and make sure that the choke is actually closing. If not...adjust the cable.
If you have a primer system...take off the air filter cover, push the primer and make sure that you see fuel squirting up into the carb throat.(Look in with a flashlite...you should see fuel squirting out of the brass nozzle.
You should still expect that this engine too start easily...if everything has been taken care of in the past.
Did you request that the shop replace the carb...or did the shop suggest too you, that the carb be replaced? Just curious.

Assuming no carb/ignition problems, Hows the compression?  Low compression will cause hard starting and still run acceptably after starting. When testing compression, dont forget to "wet" test also.  (after checking compression dry, or by just removing the spark plug and hooking up compression guage,  unhook the guage, squirt about a tablespoon of oil into the cylinder, reconnect the guage and retest) If the compression comes up on the second "wet" test, indicates ring/cylinder wear, if compression remains unchanged would indicate a leaky valve. Does it have any blowby? or smoke at all?

since you indicate its gotten progressivly worse over the last couple of years, vs a short term problem occuring,  its a good chance its  compression. a small head gasket leak is possible also.

Thanks for the info guys. As much as I wish it was not the case, in the back of my mind I know compression is probably the issue.  No choke, etc. to be an issue. I brought the mower in to have the carb rebuilt/cleaned but they told me right from the start they were leaning toward replacing the carb. Once it starts, it runs fine and warm starts are no problem.

Smitty.
So if this unit doesnt have a choke.....then it has a primer?
A can of starting fluid, or carb cleaner, or wd40 all do the exact same thing as a working primer. They all shoot fresh fuel into the carb throat too assist in cold starts.
If cold starting is the only problem you are having....check the thing that controls that aspect of the engine. ie...the primer.
So help an old buttlint out....and check the primer!
When you press the primer you should see gas squirting up from the little brass nozzle in the middle of the carb. It should rise too almost 1/2 the height of the diameter of the carb hole. (Depending on how hard you push, and well the primer is working.) If it doesnt....its the same as shooting an empty can of starting fluid.
If its not the problem....then we go from there...but that is where you start too diagnose a cold start problem.
Dont assume that the guy that put the carb on checked the primer,....it all depends the mechanic. If he went too the expense of replacing carb....and it left the shop with the same problem that it came in with....Well it just leaves me a little skeptical.
You can change carbs all day long...but if the primer plate is warped.....you can push till your thumb falls off.....and it aint gonna start. It is a real common problem on those units.

That is the reason I do my own engine repiar. I don't trust these dealers. They do everything half asked, they put a carb on and than thats it, the mower is waiting for you now. They are clerly supposed to be pro's. When I work on my own OPE, I know what I am doing with it and I know what I am fixing. When a piece of your equipment is in the hands of somebody else, you don't know what they are doing to it.

Ouch!

Termy, I think there a lot of fine people that do small engine work and are quite capable and honest. Don't you agree?

Termy you must have had a bad experiece along the way.  Not all dealers are jacka$$es.  Like we have a tractor here now.  The customer was called 7 years ago and notified of a recall on some engines that were in his type of tractor.  He said then that he had no problems and - SURPRISE - he's now on our back for warranty.  7 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!

So what do we do?  We call our distributor and sure enough the part is shipped to us N/C.  The guy is still hounding us and saying that we're at fault.  He's been modifying the tractor on his own, but we still went back to see if we could get warranty for this problem.  A lot of other dealers in this area would have laughed this guy out of their shops, but we went the extra distance.

So please Termy, don't lump us all under the same umbrella.

Sherri

My OPE dealer is Greatttttttttttttttttt, ! ! !

Reasonable prices and super service!!

Been doing business with him for over 30 years!!

That is who I bought my 9 HP, OHV Husky snowblower from for a Grand!!!

                     There are always a few bad apples, but very few!!!

                                              Fred

Count your blessings Fred!

I wouldn't give you .02 for most of the ones I've dealt with around here.

Out of the last 5-6 times that I needed service, only once did I not have to make a return trip. 
Thanks to the guys here(lint, shoveler, et al.) unless something is under warranty, I'll trust the brain-trust here and my mediocre mechanical skills first.

Dealer sales depts. are mostly in the same boat around here, but that's a horse I've already beaten to death.

Thanks again to all of the guys that help the novices like me out, I appreciate it.

Guys,
I am sure that Termy wasnt going for a "dealer slam"
He simply expressed what a lot of people believe about dealers and mechanics in general.
Termy may have drawn a conclusion about what I had suggested. ie. that a mechanic replaced a carb that didnt need replacing.
Just let me remind everyone that we are not at that point in finding Smitty problem (Cold start) where we should start making assumptions, or tossing out WAG,s.
We are just looking for clues about what is causing the problem. For all we know...the carb may very well have needed replacement.
Thats not really the issue right now. Right now we need a set of eyes and all the information we can get about the machine. (It is 600 miles away from all of us.)
Having engine model, type and code helps. With Toro, having the model and serial helps.
Alot can happen on the way home from the dealer.....cables get kinked, oil spills on filters, etc. Things that the mechanic has no control over.
We are no where close too the point of "Whose fault is it."
It could just be an act of God.
So Termy....Hang in there buddy.....We are all doing the best we can.

Just so everyone knows this... When I made that statement, I did not mean all dealers! I have known some good honest people Marshall but I have ran into some bad ones too. I had went to three different dealers who were not honest and did a crappy job that I had to fix myself. Now sence I already have the skills to work on my OPe, I am just going to do the work myself. I have known good dealers to such as, The place where I am going to buy my new mower is a nice dealer/service center! The guys there treated me with respect and actually let me start the mowers and try them out. I was impressed with his wide knowledge about the mowers they sell. I have been to those other dealers where they hardly know anything about the product there selling.

Don't make snap judgments about a statement I make cause it just ends up making you look like a a**hole.

Termy, please watch the noun suggestions.

No primer to malfunction guys. I will get all the numbers off the B&S engine for you tomorrow.