Lawnmower question

[EKlem]

We just started renting a house which has a craftsman Eager 1 5. 5hp mower. My experience with carbeurated gas engines is really limited so I can't figure out what is going on with it. Whenever we put gas in the tank, it drains out of the air filter. I pulled the air filter and there is a red tube coming out of the carb and the fuel is coming through there. What is this and why is the fuel tank draining out through it? The lawn is getting kind of long and it is our responsibility. Thanks.

 

[PMould]

float is stuck. pinch fuel line remove bowl move float up and down put back bowl in exact position clean plug should run.

 

[BGuilty]

i dont know about lawnmower engines all i know is when they sound like crap toss em and buy a new one. . but i noticed on your truck profile... . what is the silencer ring and where is it located?

 

[EKlem]

PMould, thanks for the tip. I will try it tomorrow in the light.

BGuilty, the silencer ring is on the 2nd gen trucks. The ring is held onto the inlet side of the turbo by a c-clip and it serves simply to quiet down the turbo noise. It is quite easy to remove by pulling off the intake tube and removing the c-clip. This mod is for sound only, it doesn't do anything to airflow or power.

 

[EKlem]

I pulled the bowl off and moved the float up and down a bunch. The float moves freely but the needle that it moves tends to stick in the open position. I tried moving it a bunch and bent the retaining tab so that it is a lot tighter. Unfortunately, it still starts leaking fuel. I managed to mow about 1/4 of our tiny lawn before running out of fuel and when I put fuel back in, it started leaking again. Also, before it would start, I pulled the plug and the cylinder was completely full of fuel. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

 

[KevinLewis]

you need to pull the float pivot pin out completly and remove the float and completely remove the inlet needle. check for somthing hanging the needle up. some needles are rubber tipped, make sure the rubber is in good shape.

 

[EKlem]

I pulled the needle completely already this morning. It does not appear to be rubber tipped, it just has a pointy metal tip. I guess that I could look up in there to see whether there was a rubber tip which fell off. It did feel like the needle didn't always want to come out but it seemed to do a lot better after I lubed it up and worked it a few times.

 

[PMould]

there is a hairspring retainer on the inlet needle,it goes under float adj. tab. adj. float so it is parallel to the top boss when in the closed position. bend tab with small screwdriver.

good luck! pete.

 

[rscurtis]

You could have two other issues here. The float could be full of gas due to a leak, and therefore it will not float. Remove it and shake it to find out. Second, the needle seat in the carb could be deteriorated. You will have to remove the carb to access it, and it can be removed with a drywall screw. It cannot be re-used, so make sure you have a new one on hand.

 

[EKlem]

Thanks for all of the help guys. I will give it another look in the next day or two and then I will just try to borrow a mower from a neighbor and fix ours when I have the time. We really will only need to mow once or twice more this year.