Small Engine Repair Question

[cmhbob]

Picked up a 10-year-old Scotts/John Deere lawn tractor with a 20 HP B&S engine. Seller told me it hadn't run in 2 years, and the gas is probably that old. Says he replaced the spark plug and air filters.

I brought it home and have tried cranking it several times. Sounds like it wants to fire, but isn't quite up to it. With starting fluid, it'll run for perhaps 10 seconds. Am I correct in thinking that with a cracked block or piston cylinder, it wouldn't even run for that long, since there wouldn't be proper compression?

Looks like I'll go ahead and drain all the gas (he said he tried to get most of it out), and maybe change out the fuel filter.

Any other suggestions? I've added some B-12 Motor Tune-up to the fuel that's in there, but I bet I'll be further ahead to just drain the tank.

 

[orangeRcode]

Sounds like a fuel problem if it will start on fluid and not run. I would drain the gas and refill and see what that does. Next, I would pull the carb and clean if it doesn't run. I wouldn't worry about the ignition until you rule out the fuel problem since you said it will run on starter fluid.

 

[dlbleak]

carb is gummed up. easy fix, maybe an hour or so from start to finish. i doubt you need a rebuild kit just a clean up. sometimes if you just clean the bowl it will help alot but i would guess you'll need a little more after two years.start with taking off the bowl and the fule shut off solenoid on the bottom of the bowl(if it has one) if those are gunked up then proceed with a cleaning using compressed air and carb cleaner.

 

[cmhbob]

Thanks guys. I'll get to it tomorrow after church.

 

[berettaman]

I had the same problem with my Gereator last week.I generally had ran it for about 15-20minutes,every 2-3 months.Last week it had been over a year since I'd started it.NO JOY!yank yank yank nutin.starting fluid in breather/butterfly.It would run as long as i kept blasting with SF.Drained the tank,pulled the carb.carb cleaner got black gunk out,Put it back together . First pull fired right up.
Sounded a littly clanky.Changed the oil.(old oil smelt like starter fluid.)
dont fool around to long with spraying starting fluid you could "wash the cylinder.Change the oil just to be sure.AndDont use ethynoled gas for christs sake.

 

[dennishoddy]

carb is gummed up. easy fix, maybe an hour or so from start to finish. i doubt you need a rebuild kit just a clean up. sometimes if you just clean the bowl it will help alot but i would guess you'll need a little more after two years.start with taking off the bowl and the fule shut off solenoid on the bottom of the bowl(if it has one) if those are gunked up then proceed with a cleaning using compressed air and carb cleaner.

This is your problem and the answer to your question.

 

[ByrdC130]

^^^^Yeeeeuuuuupppp!

 

[cmhbob]

I am at my wit's end here. Since I got into this, I've

siphoned the old fuel from the tank. and added 2 fresh gallons
replaced the spark plugs
replaced the fuel filter
rebuilt the carb
stripped the carb and soaked it in Chem-dip for 18 hours
replaced the fuel pump

Still no sustained run. I can get it going for 30 seconds or so if I run the fuel right down the breather throat. Replacing the pump gave us improved fuel flow, although the fuel filter still doesn't completely fill up.

We tore the carb down as far as we could for the Chem-dip, including removing both flaps. The only thing we couldn't get out were the two brass jets. I just couldn't see how to remove them without damaging them.

It's acting like it's starved for fuel, but the only thing left to change is the fuel lines. I think. I'd hate to replace the carb, since it's $150. I've wondered about back-flushing the fuel lines back into the tank, but I'm not sure if that's worth the effort.

Is there typically a filter of any kind at the tank end, like a simple debris screen?

I'm open to suggestions here. It's a B&S Intek 20 HP V-Twin. I've got the model, type, and code if that'll help anyone.

Edit: Does the fuel shut-off solenoid screw off, or do I need a wrench? None of my wrenches are thin enough to fit between the solenoid and the bowl. Because I couldn't take the solenoid off, I didn't dip the bowl, thinking the Chem-dip would damage the plastic on the outside of the solenoid. If there's scale down in the bottom of the bowl, that's still going to restrict the fuel flow, isn't it?

 

[rickm]

If u have some longer hose bypass the tank and put fuel hose into gas can, and yes some do have a screen in the tank too and i would go ahead and replace the fuel line too it might be cracked just enough to cause it to suck air.

 

[mr ed]

did you change the oil? probably from sitting all the gas has gone into the crankcase and is jamming it up.
sounds strange but mine has done it twice and now I have a manual fuel cutoff in the line.