Craftsman 316.240320 tiller won't run

Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Messages
225
Location
South Carolina
Hey guys.

I'm stumped. Bought craftsman 25cc 2 stroke little tiller for ****s-and-giggles. I don't need one but kind of wanted one and came across a good deal. always was able to fix all my small engines with no problem, but this little bugger is winning.

Person was selling it because they could not start it. I showed up with a can of carb cleaner sprayed some inside and was able to start it after about 6-8 pulls. Ran like crap, I know I had fuel issue. I bought it.
Got it home, took carb off soaked it in carb cleaner, cleaned it, tested fuel lines and filter. Put it back together. New fuel, new plug, same issue. Would start only with some brake cleaner or carb cleaner and runs really rough. Ordered new carb, installed it check + double checked fuel issues and same thing. Checked spark, both with spark plugs tester and poor man's method, looks good, compression tested at 120. Only able to start it sometimes and only with help of carb cleaner. Once started runs pretty rough, and only at full throttle. Start messing with carb settings, now can not get it to start at all. Thought maybe exhaust is clogged, took it off and burn it out with blow torch, while removing back plastic I noticed that gasket that seals crank case is broken. Could that cause an issue? Before going to work I sealed it with some RTV and going to try starting it once I get home. Am I missing anything?
 
I havent had it happen to me,but the seals are important on a 2stroke. I can flood my old Mantis so badly, that the only way to start the rassen frassen thing is to take out the plug and pour some MMO into the cylinder to get the rings to seal then to use a new plug.
 
Yes, you have to have good sealing of the engine to get the fuel drawn in. Make sure the flywheel key is not damaged, throwing your timing off.
 
Just a little update.
I was able to start it and it ran. Poorly but it ran. So sealing that crank case helped. Now I need to get carb dialed. And for some reason it seems to be the challenge now. Wonder if it has to do with cheap Chinese carb.
 
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