I hate small engines that have sat not used.

[paulfun9]

I would take the carburetor back off and clean that out. This time I would also clean out the fuel lines and tank. If it's got fuel filter replace that. The lines are cheap enough I'd replace that instead of cleaning them.

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Ditto on this! I also use a bit of polish on the float needle seat especially if its one with the rubber tip. This seems to help it from sticking if your going to let it sit for awhile again.

 

[JRobyn]

I've heard a number of times now from different sources "forget the carb kits, just buy a replacement carb; they're cheap". I disagree.

My last couple of patients were the B&S carbs with the plastic "metering body" and the serpentine bowl gasket. After checking dozens of different on-line sources, including e-bay and amazon, the typical prices for a kit are about $30, and $125++ for a replacement carb.

I did finally find one source on amazon that offered a non-OEM replica carb for about $60. I think it had to ship from China because it took over 3 weeks to arrive.

 

[crazyal]

Stabil is good for months and maybe a year or so but I've had no luck with it when an engine sits for multiple years. I try to drain the carb but even that can lead to things like gaskets drying out. My advice would be to just break down and buy the internal parts like the jets and gaskets and clean the rest. A jet that isn't fully cleaned will be too small and could make your engine run too lean damaging other parts while using a drill to clean it out could make the hole too large and run too rich. With the model number you should be able to find the needed parts on line cheap. I use to be the type of person who would spend hours to try and repair or clean a part but now that I'm older I realize that I have much better things to do than spending an hour trying to save a $5 part. I still get the feeling that I fixed it myself, just without investing all that time.

 

[sdef]

For all my small engines, I do this: 1) I always use only gas without ethanol. 2) I always add Stabil to the gas can as I fill it. Too often you forget to add it before the engine sets, so just bite the bullet and use it on all your small engines all the time. It isn't that expensive.

I do similar. Plus when done with a small engine other than something used often like a lawn mower, I drain all fuel and then run the engine until it dies. Have never had a problem with anything other then normal maintenance. I store ~ 65 gallons of no ethanol gasoline and ~ 55 gallons of diesel with both types getting the full chemical additive treatments when I refill each can. Typically I try and use the fuel within two years and sooner if fuel prices drop significantly. And rotate stock as required.

That said, until ~ three years ago I stored premium, ethanol laced fuel and still had no problems other than a primer bulb and fuel lines this spring in a 15 year old Husqvarna string trimmer. No clue if it was from the 12 years of ethanol laced fuel or just normal wear and tear.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Haven't seen a fouled plug in 20years of using Avgas.

 

[Midniteoyl]

.....

 

[paulfun9]

Stabil is good for months and maybe a year or so but I've had no luck with it when an engine sits for multiple years. I try to drain the carb but even that can lead to things like gaskets drying out. My advice would be to just break down and buy the internal parts like the jets and gaskets and clean the rest. A jet that isn't fully cleaned will be too small and could make your engine run too lean damaging other parts while using a drill to clean it out could make the hole too large and run too rich. With the model number you should be able to find the needed parts on line cheap. I use to be the type of person who would spend hours to try and repair or clean a part but now that I'm older I realize that I have much better things to do than spending an hour trying to save a $5 part. I still get the feeling that I fixed it myself, just without investing all that time.

The jet size is stamped right on it. You simply use the appropriately sized bit to clean it out. Have been doing this for years without a single problem and if the carb has to come apart to replace the internals that you purchased it would take much more time just looking up the parts alone than it does to simply get the right bit from the box and clear it out.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

View attachment 482923
.....

Somebody who never revved their engine over idle with a wide open stuck thermostat.

Still, Cheaper than a carb.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Somebody who never revved their engine over idle with a wide open stuck thermostat.

Still, Cheaper than a carb.

That was taken out of a plane with an auto engine..

 

[John_Mc]

That was taken out of a plane with an auto engine..

Somebody needs to learn to lean their engine during ground ops - or is the auto engine not set up for manual leaning?

I did my initial training in a Cessna 150 that really didn't like 100LL. It was OK in cruise (though you still needed to pay attention to the mixture for best results), it was a killer on the ground taxiing/idling.