My Toro 20045 started misbehaving late last summer getting harder and harder to start. After googling and watching Youtube, suggestions seemed to be to clean and/or replace carburetor. Following that advice, I carefully removed the carburetor, unscrewed the bowl and cleaned the jet holes of the bowl jet and then proceeded to clean all of the indicated holes of the carb. I did the cleaning first with shots of carb cleaner spray followed by trash can tie wires through the holes and finally used compressed air on each hole. I also checked the action of the float and value and it seemed to be moving normally. Before replacing the carb, I replaced the gaskets on each side. Once reinstalled and with several primer pushes, still no start. My mower does start first pull and keeps running only IF I remove the air filter cover, take out the air filter and spray carb cleaner or gas into the carb entrance. Then I can actually mow the grass once the filter is reinstalled but once it runs out of gas, I have to go through the process of removing the filter again to give it a shot of cleaner.
Last summer, the primer bulb had cracked to the point where it wouldn't press or release properly anymore and I replaced it. This is the type of primer/ air filter assembly the mower has:
I notice that when I have the air filter removed and press the primer, I don't see anything happening in the carb chamber. Shouldn't I be seeing squirts of fuel entering the carb when the primer is pushed? I've suspected that the no start problem may lie within this primer/ air filter assembly, but I am not sure how to test it. I sent compressed air into the short hose as seen in the image of the amazon link. What is the short hose for? Is it supposed to pull gas from the tank when the primer is pressed? When I remove this hose along with the air filter assembly, should I be seeing gas dripping from that areas of the mower. Obviously I do when removing the carb hose.
At this point, I think the problem lies in either the carb itself or the air filter/ primer assembly. Before I run out and buy one or both items, is there any way I can definitively test each item first? I wish I knew more about how the primer assembly is supposed to work also.
I spent the weekend trying to get the mower starting the way it is supposed to, but to no avail. The good news is that I got the yard mowed, but each time I would have to refill the tank with gas, I'd have to remove the air filter, spray a bit of carb cleaner into the carb, and start first pull. This won't be fun if I have to do it all summer long.
Any help would surely be appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Jason