Gravely Pro-Turn 152 Gas coming out of tailpipe

[WVH1977]

Hello all,

My zero-turn had a clogged carb due to me not cutting ethanol fuel off last year in the gas tank over winter. This is my fault and I learned a lesson. I pulled the carb off, cleaned it and put back on. It runs fine now but I have to cut the fuel off and run out of fuel everytime now because if not, gas leaks into tailpipe. When I started it again today after using 2 days ago, gas came rolling out of the tailpipe. Still runs like a champ after spitting gas out.

What could be causing this? I am wondering if I put something back wrong or missed something but everything appears to be ok? Maybe I messed up something in the carb when putting back together? Any thoughts from the pro mechanics on here?

Thanks

 

[Racer4]

Either the carb float is not connected to the fuel inlet needle anymore or is bound up, not letting the float rise to close off the incoming fuel. Or there is damage to the needle or seat.

 

[5030]

Stuck float needle. What I do with my 4 stroke engines to overwinter them is, I drain out all the corn squeezed fuel and add some canned gas like Tru-Fuel which is available with no oil added. Canned fuel has a shelf life of 2 years btw.

 

[WVH1977]

Thanks for the responses. will check the float needle again. Trying to avoid buying carb. OEM is 350.00. I have seen cheaper knock-offs but not sure if they are as good. It is a kawasaki engine.

 

[mjonesnh]

Thanks for the responses. will check the float needle again. Trying to avoid buying carb. OEM is 350.00. I have seen cheaper knock-offs but not sure if they are as good. It is a kawasaki engine.

Have a B&S 20hp mower from 1998. Engine surging and backfiring something awful. Looked at OEM carb, 203.00. Picked up a carb off of Amazon for 30.00. Running better than it has in many years. Like you I was skeptical but decided to give it a try.

 

[RjCorazza]

Thanks for the responses. will check the float needle again. Trying to avoid buying carb. OEM is 350.00. I have seen cheaper knock-offs but not sure if they are as good. It is a kawasaki engine.

If there's no easy fix, I personally wouldn't hesitate to use an aftermarket carb.
Anecdotal story : wife's Prius needed a new electric water pump. Toyota part is over $400, Amazon generic is $70. Wife wants genuine Toyota pump, which I agree to. Turns out the $70 aftermarket pump has the exact same manufacturer and markings as the Toyota part.

 

[RandyT]

Since you had gas coming out of the exhaust I would take a smell of the oil to make sure it also doesn't have gas in it. Very common for the gas to also fill the crankcase when the float valve doesn't seal and causing the overfueling issue.