GAS LAWN MOWER TAKES 100 PULLS TO TURN OVER

Out of all these ideas IMHO, only one person gave you the right answer.

You alluded to the correct answer yourself when you mentioned that you never drained the gas from the prior year.

When gas is left in the carburetor (regardless of the brand of small or large engine) for a long time, it begins to evaporate, leaving "varnish" behind which plugs up all those little holes in the carburetor that need to be open for the correct air/fuel mixture to get to the engine for both starting and running. It is VERY likely that your carburetor is nicely plugged up. You may get it working with carb cleaner however it's more likely that you will need to remove the carb and clean it thoroughly.

Changing the spark plug after five years wouldn't hurt anything, but unless it appears worn it's probably not needed. These little engines are pretty tough, but do yourself a favor and change the oil frequently, change the plug every few years and ALWAYS drain the gas if you're not going to use it fr the next few months. If you don't want to drain the gas, you can use a product called "StaBil" that is designed to stabilize the fuel. It's also not a bad idea to spray an oil fog into the cylinder prior to putting it up for the winter. Of course, do that only if you really want the engine to last for a very long time.

-Jeff

MRS. CLEAN wrote:

Reply to
jeffreydesign
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I had a similar problem with my weed whacker. The final solution was I had too low a mixture ratio two stroke engine oil.

Reply to
PaPaPeng

It is likely that you've got water in the bottom of the gas tank. The same dew that you find on the lawn in the morning gets into the gas tank and settles to the bottom of the tank (as it's heavier than gas). As others have suggested, drain the tank thoroughly, and then put it out in the sun to evaporate any water that remains.

Refill it to the t> My gas mower doesn't turn over without 100 pulls.

Reply to
Bennett Price

In the automotive world to "turn over" is to rotate the crankshaft. So, if it doesn't turn over in 100 pulls, you have a problem with the recoil mechanism. Different brands have different styles of mechanism. How about take it to a mower repair shop?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Should turn over, unless there is large ammounts of water in the cylinder itself. Might not start and run, but it should turn over.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

If I can't DIM, I'll replace it with an electric.

There's not much lawn to mow.

Storm> In the automotive world to "turn over" is to rotate the crankshaft.

Reply to
MRS. CLEAN

New spark plug and air filter should do it.

Reply to
NickySantoro

Thanks, everyone.

I primed it only three times and it started on the third pull.

I was flooding the engine.

MRS. CLEAN wrote:

Reply to
MRS. CLEAN

"Recoil":

Mine starts ok (well, once I had to prime with that ether-or-whatever-its-called spray-can stuff), but sometimes I'm halfway through a "rope pull" and the machine suddenly tries to yank the rope back into the machine.

It yanks back HARD!

Is this the kind of "recoil" you mentioned?

Any idea what might be causing this PITA action?

Thanks

David

Reply to
David Combs

ether-or-whatever-its-called

yes, it is trying to "run" backwards, and the recoil/overrun clutch/whatever you want to call it only works in the forward direction. Probably due to ignition timing being a little advanced. Not sure how that could have happened however as on most lawnmower engines timing is fixed by the position of the magnets on the flywheel, and if the little key shears (as it does when you hit a big freakin' rock) it will retard the timing, not advance it.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

The engine firing before top dead center ;)

Reply to
Nick Hull

It's remarkable how many people don't know that anymore. I read a Yahooo auto list some times, and people misuse "turn over" and "crank" to mean start.

Is it yanking back or just stopping you from pulling out the roope further. If you're pulling hard, I think that could feel like it is yanking back.

Do you hear any ignition? If not, you're engine is not running forwards or backwards. I really doubt that your engine is running backwards.

On a recoil starter, like any small aengine with a rope has, ';recoil " refers to the rope being recoiled, to the rope being pulled back in after one has pulled it out all the way. Recoil is normal.

Reply to
mm

ether-or-whatever-its-called

Flywheel key shear from stopping the engine suddenly advances the timing.

Dave

Reply to
spamTHISbrp

ether-or-whatever-its-called

Y'know, you're right, I wasn't thinking clearly when I posted the above.

Does anyone sell offset shear keys so I can hop-up my Tecumseh?

nate

(filling up lawnmower at the airport)

Reply to
N8N

Reply to
John Lawrence

Some Briggs and Stratton engines have a slight ramp on the camshaft to hold one of the valves slightly open and partially relieve the compression during starting. Some have automatic flyweights on the camshaft for this purpose. If the release malfunctions or the valve clearance is to great it will cause this problem. I have a 8Hp that was nearly impossible to start because someone decided to increase the valve clearance. These engines often show little compression when pulling the starter cord if everything is right.

Don Young

Reply to
Don Young

Actually they do. I don't recall just which ones, but some engines normally use offset keys. Check at a motor shop. Or buy a thicker one and file it offset.

Don Young

Reply to
Don Young

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