Any mower/small engine gurus here?

[jeffcoslacker]

Wait a minute...just woke up to what I'm looking at...that's the intake huffing fuel back. That intake valve isn't closing completely or regularly.

You really need to try what I suggested.

[jeffcoslacker]

Also...make sure you feel some kind of flow coming out of the muffler. It will be weak if there's a valve sticking, but I want to be sure the muffler isn't blocked somehow. Never seen it happen on a small engine before, but it could make this kind of symptoms. I guess rusty baffles could fall apart and block it. If it was badly blocked, it would huff the exhaust back through the intake side when it opened, and would only be able to get a workable mixture randomly...

That would be easy enough to verify...two small bolts, take it off and see what happens...

[jeffcoslacker]

The more I think about this, I'd hope you'd try removing the muffler FIRST, then go to fogging it from the intake side.

I'm really liking a blocked muffler for what I saw in the video. That was a little different behavior than the valve issues I've seen. And it would make sense why you're having to balance it out with throttle to get it to run...it can only find one "happy spot" that works with the reduced flow and having to huff back through the intake to clear itself every few rounds...it sounds like it's getting 2-3 combustion events before having to huff back to clear itself.

If the muffler is blocked it could lead to overheating the head gasket or damaging the piston, another reason to just be sure before going any farther.

But I don't hear any awful noises that would make me think anything inside has come apart...sounds like compression is good, when it fires normally...

[lonerider]

All this speculation as to the possible problem makes me chuckle. My suggestion is to start disassembly and the problem will soon be apparent. A decision can then be made as to the worth of repair versus scrap. 90% of the time the fix will be easier than you first thought.

[jeffcoslacker]

All this speculation as to the possible problem makes me chuckle. My suggestion is to start disassembly and the problem will soon be apparent. A decision can then be made as to the worth of repair versus scrap. 90% of the time the fix will be easier than you first thought.

Really? Because I regularly coach people with NO discernible diagnostic skills through a simple set of things they can do to figure out what is wrong with their car, online.

Yes, often times there is a simple answer. That's precisely WHY you don't just rip into it right off the bat. He made the basic determinations that say it should be able to run at least in some way, which it does. Now to just figure out what the hangup is.

I see no reason to open up an engine that just needs some cleaner applied or a restriction removed, do you? These are things that can be determined quickly, easily, and cheaply. Before tearing shit apart, which I don't feel like he's much interested in anyway, if I read him right...

[lonerider]

All this speculation as to the possible problem makes me chuckle. My suggestion is to start disassembly and the problem will soon be apparent. A decision can then be made as to the worth of repair versus scrap. 90% of the time the fix will be easier than you first thought.

Really? Because I regularly coach people with NO discernible diagnostic skills through a simple set of things they can do to figure out what is wrong with their car, online.

Yes, often times there is a simple answer. That's precisely WHY you don't just rip into it right off the bat. He made the basic determinations that say it should be able to run at least in some way, which it does. Now to just figure out what the hangup is.

I see no reason to open up an engine that just needs some cleaner applied or a restriction removed, do you? These are things that can be determined quickly, easily, and cheaply. Before tearing shit apart, which I don't feel like he's much interested in anyway, if I read him right...

OK Jeff, don't be so defensive. I was speaking in general terms, didn't mean to offend you or question your thoughts personally. However, we still don't know what the problem is, do we? Time to take action, talk isn't getting it done.

[jeffcoslacker]

All this speculation as to the possible problem makes me chuckle. My suggestion is to start disassembly and the problem will soon be apparent. A decision can then be made as to the worth of repair versus scrap. 90% of the time the fix will be easier than you first thought.

Really? Because I regularly coach people with NO discernible diagnostic skills through a simple set of things they can do to figure out what is wrong with their car, online.

Yes, often times there is a simple answer. That's precisely WHY you don't just rip into it right off the bat. He made the basic determinations that say it should be able to run at least in some way, which it does. Now to just figure out what the hangup is.

I see no reason to open up an engine that just needs some cleaner applied or a restriction removed, do you? These are things that can be determined quickly, easily, and cheaply. Before tearing shit apart, which I don't feel like he's much interested in anyway, if I read him right...

OK Jeff, don't be so defensive. I was speaking in general terms, didn't mean to offend you or question your thoughts personally. However, we still don't know what the problem is, do we? Time to take action, talk isn't getting it done.

That's why we (I) are watching the video, listening to the problem, and reading about how it came about and what it's doing. I love a good mechanical mystery, and in person I can get to the problem very quickly. But with this much info to work with, I can often (not always) nail it down within a few simple things to try on the other end...

It's kind of fun for me. And I have a pretty good familiarity with Briggs engines, as well as some others...and seen different types have repeated issues that are worth investigating first.

Watching that video, once I put my glasses on and actually SAW what I was looking at ( ) instead of staring blindly at puffs of vapor, I can see that the problem is almost definitely that it is not evacuating the spent mix fast enough, or the intake valve is sticking open randomly. There's a known issue that causes that, and a very easy to imagine issue that could cause the other. Both are easy to investigate, so I figure have at it.

[jeffcoslacker]

Mines a 19 horse, but looks identical to that picture. I think the change in the engine sound points toward it being more than just a flooding issue.

It'll take me longer than 5 minutes to get the cover off. [space]

You don't even have to remove the cover to open that carb [emoji106]

[SuzyRidr2]

The problem might not be apparent to me if/when I tear it down. I'm not a wrench by any good measure of one. My skills are basic and the dealerships charge $100 an hour to give you a diagnosis. That's why I said if it needs to be opened up it'll likely be new mower time for me. Seven years isn't old for a premium brand of mower, at least not for the engine, I realize that. These engines are barely working when you mow grass. But lots of other components (spindles, decks, bearings, etc.) wear and rust out. It's for that reason that I won't sink a lot of money into a 7 year old mower. You might be able to buy a replacement motor on line for $500 - $600, but swapping it out would be beyond my skills and a dealership or repair shop would soak me for doing it.

I'll dump a sh*t load of Sea Foam in the intake and let it sit overnight. Maybe I'll pull the exhaust tomorrow or the next day and try some more stuff. Thanks for all the help.

[jeffcoslacker]

Gah. You just want a new toy. You don't want to know if it's a simple fix [emoji2]

[jeffcoslacker]

You might be able to buy a replacement motor on line for $500 - $600, but swapping it out would be beyond my skills

Four bolts on the base, swap the pulley over from the old one, hook up the fuel line and electrical connections. Done. Less than an hour. You could do it.

You would like a twin better though.

[jeffcoslacker]

I know where to get some truly badass headlights for the new one. [emoji2] $6/pair

[lonerider]

The problem might not be apparent to me if/when I tear it down. I'm not a wrench by any good measure of one. My skills are basic and the dealerships charge $100 an hour to give you a diagnosis. That's why I said if it needs to be opened up it'll likely be new mower time for me. Seven years isn't old for a premium brand of mower, at least not for the engine, I realize that. These engines are barely working when you mow grass. But lots of other components (spindles, decks, bearings, etc.) wear and rust out. It's for that reason that I won't sink a lot of money into a 7 year old mower. You might be able to buy a replacement motor on line for $500 - $600, but swapping it out would be beyond my skills and a dealership or repair shop would soak me for doing it.

I'll dump a sh*t load of Sea Foam in the intake and let it sit overnight. Maybe I'll pull the exhaust tomorrow or the next day and try some more stuff. Thanks for all the help.

If you do decide to ditch it in favor of buying a new one, what do you have to lose by going into it as far as you can before giving up? There are 2 possibilities: You get into it and discover that you can solve the problem, or you can't. Even if you can't, by digging into it you will have gained some experience and learned something you otherwise would not have. Getting your hands dirty is sometimes the best way to find out you are more of a wrench than you think you are.

.

[jeffcoslacker]

Nothing drives me more nuts than feeling like I've probably zeroed in on the problem, and the person gives up on it.

I'll be here lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about it all night....

[Herb]

Nothing drives me more nuts than feeling like I've probably zeroed in on the problem, and the person gives up on it.

I'll be here lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about it all night....

little bit OCD???

join the crowd.

[jeffcoslacker]

Nothing drives me more nuts than feeling like I've probably zeroed in on the problem, and the person gives up on it.

I'll be here lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about it all night....

little bit OCD???

join the crowd.

Yeah probably. Once I get my mind properly cleared out and focused on a problem, it HAS to be resolved or I go nuts. I've had times when I knew that I had the answer for a mysterious mechanical problem SOMEWHERE in my head, but it just won't come to me...and then it hits me...usually just as I'm about to fall asleep. I sit straight up and sometimes even shout "YES!!" or something...which used to scare the crap outta my ex...LOL

[SuzyRidr2]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have to work the next couple of days, so I won't be tearing it down for a spell. [space]

[jeffcoslacker]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have to work the next couple of days, so I won't be tearing it down for a spell. [space]

NO. You get your ass out there, RIGHT NOW, and figure out what's wrong with it.

[lonerider]

OCD? Yeah, makes me think of when I worked as computer programmer/analyst. I would obsess on a technical issue, all day, sometimes several days, never quite arriving at a solution, when in the middle of the night I'd jump upright, scaring the heck out of my wife, and yell "THAT'S IT!! I'VE GOT IT!!" and I had it solved. On the down side, that same scenario would occur, but sometimes I'd fall back asleep and couldn't remember what I solved the night before.

[jeffcoslacker]

OCD? Yeah, makes me think of when I worked as computer programmer/analyst. I would obsess on a technical issue, all day, sometimes several days, never quite arriving at a solution, when in the middle of the night I'd jump upright, scaring the heck out of my wife, and yell "THAT'S IT!! I'VE GOT IT!!" and I had it solved. On the down side, that same scenario would occur, but sometimes I'd fall back asleep and couldn't remember what I solved the night before.

Have you ever seen/heard the Code Monkey song? If you're not into gaming at all, the video might be a bit baffling. But the song is pretty cool/funny.