small engine recommendation

Lawns. They're all well and good until you have to mow 'em. Especially for the first time in the spring.

So, I've got an ancient Snapper with a B&S motor that I pulled out of the back of my dad's garage last year. I don't think it had been started in 15 years. Much to my surprise, thanks to the old-formulation gas that was sitting in it, it started on the third pull. I couldn't believe it. As the season went on, though, it got progressively more difficult to start, likely due to the fact that the old fuel system doesn't like the new gas. It always ran really well once it started, though...

Anyway, I've got a lawn to mow, and an ancient mower lurking in the shed, laying in wait to make my pulling arm sore and my spirit weak when it doesn't start. I know the real answer here: rebuild carb, replace fuel lines, etc. I've got too much on my plate this week, though, and I'm looking for a cheap and dirty fix.

So, does anybody have any recommendations for some miracle cures that will help my mower limp along, at least for a couple weeks or a month until I get the time to do the service it really needs? Some sort of magic in a bottle would go a long way toward dispelling the trepidation and dread I currently feel when I look out at my lawn.

Simple fix for this. 1/2" electric drill. Remove the rope started apparatus. Big nut on top of crankshaft. Fit a deep socket to a short extension on the drill, apply torque to start mower. Worked for years for me. No sweat, no cursing, mower starts.

That's actually a damn good idea. I will take that under advisement.

That might be a viable way to fix my equally cranky old gokart...

Wonder if my spare RX-7 starter can be fabbed into a starter cart?

See, I'm not just a pretty face, I have interesting ideas and stories, too!.

Have you done any investigation on the engine? Pulled the plug or anything? I have a worn out old Jacobsen with a B&S engine that burns a lot of oil. A couple times a year I need to pull the head off and clean out the gunge off the piston, combustion chamber, valves and the plug, and then it runs great again. Eventually it gets harder and harder to start, I do it over again and I'm back in business. It only takes about a half hour.

have you tried to Seafoam it?

Don't bother to seafoam it, more then likely, by now the carb will need to be rebuilt, especially when running the E10 gas. With an engine that old, you might to replace the rings by now, that is rather easy to do in small engines, but can be pricey. You would have to weigh that against a new and potentially more reliable motor. I agree with the electric drill, I've got a chainsaw that needs rings, is a bitch to start, so I have a HF impact wrench dedicated to starting it when I'm out cutting wood.

Andrew

Any marina's around you? There is a slight chance they will have ethanol-less gas.

Please don't shun me because I use starting fluid on my poorly starting small engines.

Pfft, the Tecumseh in my go-kart WON'T start without the magic spray, and it has a rebuilt carb.

I may get slammed but.......I was on my 5th year of my $5.00 Snapper push mower and had done the clean and rebuild at least once a year. After 3 hours of work I was at the "feels like it is trying to start" pull. Then I broke the rope on the xth pull and hammer throwed that thing nearly 50 feet! (Nonangry record is 32 feet).

I went and bought a brand new Craftsman on sale with a 10% off coupon. My joy at new toys was balanced by my pain at admitting defeat of my mechanical patience.

As I gave the new toy that short tug to make sure the ratchet part catches...it started!!!

I realized that this was a situation where folding was the move and holding was just unneeded aggrevation.

Bruce

P.S. The Snapper was repaired and handles the rougher parts of the yard as I live in the country and have had various "projects sitting in many locations. It recently "discovered" a steering box from a 65 Ford truck half buried, carpet from a Cougar and a cache of old bottles.

In my experienc the ethanol problem is a myth. I have a 1987 mower with a B/S, also a 1995 snow blower with a Techumseh. The carbs on neither have ever been apart. Gas is left in from year to year. Got the mower out yesterday. sharpened the blade, changed the oil because it looked dirty. Hit the primer, no choke, started right up and ran fine.

I have a 4 stroke Ryobi trimmer that I bought in 1998. It's worked like a champ until about two years ago when the fuel lines simply crumbled. Replaced the lines, it worked great for about another year and a half then it would not start. I just took it apart last night (yeah I am slow to get to things sometimes), the Walbro diaphragm carb was full of residue from the new fuel lines. Only difference between new and original fuel lines: ethanol in the fuel. Yeah, there is something to this whole ethanol thing.

Oh, I know it's the new gas. Dunno if it's ethanol, maybe it's the particular formulations that some markets get. But there's definitely something evil in the gas around here that eats old rubber pieces at an accelerated rate.

Just prior to this winter I went to drag out my dad's snowblower for him. I didn't have the forethought to get any gas on my way there, so I scrounged around his garage. Most of 20 or so (!) cans had some mystery 2 stroke mix in them, but one ancient metal can had about a half gallon of probably 15-20 year old gas in it that smelled like it just dripped out of the pump. Meanwhile, the two motorcycles in my garage that broke just last season have tanks of gas going bad.

During my time at the motorcycle shop, I rebuilt literally hundreds of carbs over the last five years - I'm convinced that something's up.

Anyway.

I'm in the process of doing a cost/benefit analysis on this old Snapper. I just don't know if it's worth the time and money to rebuild the old girl when new mowers are so damned cheap. Then again, it was the first mower I ever used - I'm sad to say, I have a bit of a connection with it. Memories of my dad tying a bandana around the deadman lever so he could open a new beer without having to start it again... Dammit, who am I kidding? I'll probably rebuild it.

No marinas around here. I could probably get 103 from Gateway, but I don't think that would help.

If one were going to seafoam an old B&S motor, how would one do it? In the tank, in the crankcase, or both? Or neither? I'm a Seafoam virgin.

Megasquirt it....

alex wrote: If one were going to seafoam an old B&S motor, how would one do it? In the tank, in the crankcase, or both? Or neither? I'm a Seafoam virgin.

Try a couple capfuls in the gas tank, then run that tank dry before refilling.

An entire thread for nought.

I cleaned the plug, splashed in some gas and oil, pulled about 4-5 times, and the damned thing started right up. I guess killing this thing won't be as easy as I thought. It lives to fight another year!

Do the Seafoam thing anyway. When the season's over, a capful of fuel stabilizer should do the trick while the mower is in hibernation.

I have an electric mower, I have had it for 8 years. It runs flawlessly. I just had to figure out how to mow without running over the cord. I am quite good at it now.

This of course is if you lawn is small enough for an electric mower.

Jerry From LA wrote: Do the Seafoam thing anyway. When the season's over, a capful of fuel stabilizer should do the trick while the mower is in hibernation.

Sorry to say, Stabil will NOT work with the new 10% ethanol blended fuels, SOL. best bet, run the tank dry of fuel, and store like that for the winter, and refill your tank the next time you use it with fresh gasoline.

Andrew