I have this old craftsman eager-1 lawn mower I got for 25 bucks. everything is mostly good with it but the carburetor is not getting fuel/air mixture to the engine so it wont start. I narrowed it down (I think) to the float needle thing inside the carburetor. It does not work properly. When I take it out, the mower will start (after I spray a little gas inside the spark plug hole to get it going). But theres a huge issue with this. Too much fuel is going into the carburetor and is DRIPPING out... What do I do here? Feel free to ask questions about it too
If you are sure that the float needle isn't moving smoothly you could carefully sand it slightly with a fine grained sand paper (like let's say 600) and smooth it out with a peace of steel wool. You could also try to clean your fuel system with one of those products you can buy for that. If the carb looks rather clean on the inside then I myself would just try to sand the needle a little and check if the space where it goes thru is clean.
Ok! I definitely need to clean the carb because water got in there (that is tried out and fixed now) and ita a tiny bit corroded and rusted. Not good. Thankyou!
I got it to be able to start and run (indefinitely). Now the throttle lever thing does not appear to work. the little spring is there but there is no engine difference when moving the throttle.
Is it a carb with a cylindrical throttle housing ? In that case the principal is the same as with your float needle. The needle that goes thru the throttle housing might get stuck somewhere due to pollution. Sand very slightly and smooth out again. Also cable might be stuck in the cable tubing but first check if the throttle valve and it's needle and housing are clean. edit : sorry I don't know all proper technical terms in English
I have another issue that’s happening now and will effect it even if the throttle works. So i hooked up, the throttle but when i turn the throttle to increase engine speed it kills the engine instantly. Do you or anyone else know why?
Sure, too little air or too much gas Reasons can variate, try briefly without air cleaner (filter) first and see what happens. Also your spark plug should give a proper yellow / whitish flame. If you just look at your spark plug and it's nicely brownish like a deer skin then it was buring fine last time you used it. But since you have fail starts and stuff it will more likely be wet or even looking black. Clean the spark plug too.
Thanks! But unfortunately when messing with the throttle i somehow must have BUMPEd something and now it wont stay running for more than 5 seconds again SOooo Standby while i try and fix it AGAIN.
OK so i got it to run kindof and i tried it once and the throttle worked. Now every other time i try it it kills the engine again. So first lets say its too much gas. How would i limit the gas flow?
Limit the gas flow why? It's a gravity feed, so next to no pressure If there's a fuel shutoff, try closing it slighly
Im trying to get the throttle to work and it kills the engine every time i turn it up. NOCARGO said that its either not enough air or too much gas
@Alex_Farmer557 is right, if it has a cutoff turn it off after starting or in between attempts to start. If it has no cutoff just squeeze or clamp the fuel line . Also as I said before, remove the air filter and see what happens, but not too long due to the dirty air. This gives the engine more air intake.. Also, did you check the spark plugs firing quality ? If the spark isn't ample enough it will work at first after starting but get wet very soon with no ignition as a consequence. Then after a while it dries up and when you start again it runs and stalls again and so on..
Well somehow a microscopic hole appeared in the Carburetor and it sprays gas when i prime it. I know it would be possible to patch it (right?) but i think i might just want to get a new carburetor. How much is that?
Ok so maybe i wont get a new carburetor. I know its pretty cheap but this one might still have a chance. How important is the little gasket at the top where you screw in the bolt thing to put the cover on? Mine does not have it. will it affect the performance by not having it? Also, i found out the float needle should have a wire attached to connect to the tab of the float. Is it possible to fashion this with a bit of thin garden wire? If so, how would i do that?
If there is a gasket missing, it will probably leak. If you plan on keeping and using this mower, you would be better off to replace or rebuild the carb and be done with it.