flooded over winter

[meborder]

Finally got the mower out last week and it wasn't running so well. My FIL pulled started it up but it would only run about a minute then it would load up and die. It basically ran long enough to get from the shed to the garage, and then a few minutes while I diagnosed it.

Long story short, I figured out that the carb float must have stuck over the winter and it completely flooded the crank case with fuel. I'm surprised it wasn't hydrolocked when he tried to start it, because between yesterday and today it did. It was loading up, even after I cleaned the carb, because it was pushing oil(gas) out the crank breather which connects to the air filter housing.

Anyway, I took the carb apart and cleaned the needle and seat. Then drained the oil (gas) and refilled with fresh oil.

Thinking I might drain the crank again after the first use just to get as much of the fuel out of the crank as possible.
Thoughts?

Its a 13.5 Briggs in a craftsman rider, if that makes any difference.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: meborder

Thinking I might drain the crank again after the first use just to get as much of the fuel out of the crank as possible.
Thoughts?


Not necessary. They don't leave much residual oil left inside.

 

[Andrew1972]

It's a common kohler problem. I fixed it with a $6 inline fuel shutoff kit as replacing the solenoid in carb is a ton more money.

It ruins the oil as fuel gets into it. Also makes for huge smoke clouds on startup if that happens.

 

[andyd]

I have to use the shutoff on the old Toro, it has a bowl vent so most of the gas will leak onto the deck. I have found that running the carb dry after every use is generally a good idea. Its a Suzuki engine that otherwise runs fine. I'm leaving it alone and use the shut off.

 

[meborder]

I put about an hour on it and everything seemed fine. It was a bit Smokey for a while (very faint) but seemed to clear up after a while.

I do think I'm going to add a shut off before next winter, keep this from happening again.

Thinking more and more that I probably forgot to treat the fuel. I usually dont have any problems, but I'm getting I forgot to treat it. I know I fogged the engine, but ....

Thanks for the input.

 

[The_Eric]

Treating the fuel shouldn't matter. I never treat mine and have never had an issue- and I use E10 fuel exclusively.