I have not used/run my old Poulan TE450CXL weedeater in a while. I gave up mowing my lawn last year and just pay someone to do it now. However, I have some stuff I want to clean up on the woods' edge and tried to fire it up and it wouldn't start.

I replaced the spark plug, it was pretty fouled, but it still won't start. I'm thinking fuel lines are old and cracked. When I prime it, it initially felt like it was priming, but now it just sucks air when I push the priming bulb. So, I'm going to try and replace the fuel lines, but I am not sure how to tell what size they are. Just pull one off and take it to HD with me? It's just small, plastic tubing--can't be that difficult.

So, if that doesn't do it, what's next? Rebuilding the carb? Is that something someone with no experience with small engines can do? Just buy the kit and follow some YouTube instructions? I have enough mechanical aptitude to change my oil and filter and do similarly simple things on my car, so maybe I can do it?

This is likely due to ethanol based fuel

If the fuel lines are cracked , chances are the rubber diaphragms in the carb are most likely in the same shape ( hard & cracked )

I always keep in mind how old , and how much something costs new as well

I am not familiar with Poulan mowers so I assume it is a 2-stroke. Whether 2-stroke or not, gas can go bad in about a month. If it had fuel in the tank while stored, dumb the fuel, clean it out, and replace the fuel lines.

If that does't work, rebuild the carb. There is no shortage of great youtube videos on that but there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. First, Rebuild kits do not necessarily have *all* the gaskets you need, so be *very* careful removing your old gaskets. Also, take the time the find out the maker of the carb. You can save a ton by getting a generic rebuild kit for the carb on amazon.com, but you the manufacturer and model of the carb (hint: almost certainly NOT Poulan--more likely Walbro). Lastly, get the tool required to set the metering needle. It will make your life *much* easier.

Here's a good video to watch. There are plenty more on youtube.
http://youtu.be/a9x0iaBWsZo

Thanks for the helps. It is most certainly due to ethanol. I'm going to start with the fuel lines since those seem cheap and if that doesn't work, attempt rebuilding the carb. Should be fun and if I ruin something--I'm not out anything since it doesn't work anyway. :)

Go to ereplacementparts.com.  They have everything you need.  In addition to the bulb, you might want to add a new air filter and fuel lines to your order.  Shipping is fast and they are inexpensive.  

I recently had to replace the priming bulb on my string trimmer due to cracking.  Once the bulb was installed, it fired right up.

Thanks for the tip. That's actually where I'm looking. So far, I have:

- Fuel lines (separate fuel line and purge line kits)
- Carb repair kit (includes bulb)
- Air filter foam
- Fuel pickup assembly (not sure if I need it, but it's only $3)

Looks like it's about $32 with shipping which is totally worth it as a new one is over $100. Anything I'm missing?

The carb repair kit almost certainly does not include the gasket that goes between the carb and the manifold. I could not find one for mine but the old one was usable.

ereplacementparts.com has some great videos on youtube, e.g.,

Watched that along with a couple other videos. Doesn't look too difficult as long as mine is similar. I haven't disassembled anything, so I'm not sure what the gasket between the carb and manifold looks like. Does this additional kit have what I need? http://www.ereplacementparts.com/gasketcylcarb-p-270383.html

No big deal that gasket. You can make one with some stiff paper and a small hammer.

Thanks--saved me $5! I have sent the order through and with any luck I'll be rebuilding this bad boy this weekend.

You can definitely make one (I did) but I liked the old one better than the one I made so that is what I used. Making gaskets can take a lot longer than you would think.

ETA: Assuming your mower has a Walbro carb, if you are going to rebuild the carb, get one of these. It makes setting the metering needle arm easy to do right the first time. If you try it using feeler gauges or by eyeballing it, it is awkward and prone to error. The tool used to do it right is cheap and very handy.

Hopefully, the one on there will be salvageable. I don't really want to spend more than the $30 the parts cost me on this project. I wouldn't even do it at all except I sort of want to learn how it all works.

After rebuilding the carb and fuel system on my chainsaw, I view the skills I learned as being necessary skills for using the tool and it's not just about saving money--it can help in the field. A few times I flooded the chainsaw trying to start it and since I was familiar with it after tearing it down and rebuilding, I quickly disconnected the fuel line, held the throttle wide open, and pulled the starter until it fired up. After reconnecting the fuel line and putting the cover back on, it started right up. That saved me the time of sitting around waiting for the chainsaw to "unflood".

Well, I finally found time to take this on. Took it all apart, cleaned it well, and replaced all the fuel lines and the gaskets inside the carb. The fuel lines were completely trashed. They broke into pieces as I touched them and the intake line wasn't even connected in the tank. This caused me to not realize which port was intake and which was the purge line so after I put it together all wrong, I got to take it all apart and do it over again. About par for my projects, though.

It still won't fire up.

I've got a new spark plug in there, but no real way to test it. It feels like it has compression when I pull the cord. The priming bulb is pulling fuel up now--I can see it suck it in and purge it back out as I prime it. I must've pulled it 50 times. I'm going to try some of that 40:1 ready-mixed fuel in a can and see if that helps. Other than that, I'm stumped.

If you have fuel in the cylinder (a wet plug) but it won't fire up, check the air filter to make sure you have air (or remove it).

If the fuel and air are okay, check to see if you have a spark out at the plug.  If not, check the electrical path from the kill switch to the magneto.

Thanks. The air filter was a new one--never changed it in probably the 10+ years I've had this thing. I'll take a closer look at the plug when I get a chance--probably not until next weekend. It's new, but it's possible it's not firing right.

First I'm going to try some fresh (canned) fuel. Beyond that, I may have to order a spark plug tester from Amazon--they're not too pricey. I just hate to spend more money on this dumb thing.

These days even small engines have electronic ignition so chances are that the spark is fine.

If you suspect flooding, disconnect the fuel line and open the choke completely, then pull. If it still does not fire up at that point, then I would suspect the ignition. The premix fuel is good stuff because it has a stabilizer mixed in. It's amazing how quickly gasoline can go bad and make an engine not start. It can happen in as little as a month.

Don't give up!

I'm sort of having fun with it in a twisted way. As long as people keep chiming in to offer me suggestions, I'll keep plugging away at it (provided it doesn't cost me much more money).

I've honestly never had an issue with old gas, but I'm willing to consider that might be the issue at this point. I'll know in a couple days, I guess.

I *have* had an issue with old gas. A mower wouldn't work even though it had been run little since it was completely tuned. I hadn't started it in about a month. The repair guy came over, changed the gas, and it ran fine. He is the one who told me about gas going bad quickly. I had never experienced it either but he made a believer out of me.

Spark may not be the issue but you have to check it to know.  If the kill switch is bad (shorted to ground), he will have no spark.  It doesn't have to be the electronic ignition, it could be a bad kill switch or wire going to the kill switch.

Ya haz to check to know.

This. I bought some TruFuel on the way home, pulled a few times and it ALMOST started. I thought I broke it for good because the cable wouldn't pull, but when I looked closer, I had just wrapped the line around the shaft by yanking so much. Oops.

Tried again and BAM, it started up. It's running a bit...off...but I think maybe the carb needs adjusted after all the new gaskets and stuff I put in it. I'll have to watch some YouTubes or something to figure out the basics of that, but it's running now.

So, here is the summary:
- New spark plug $3
- New fuel lines $9 (definitely needed as the old lines were cracked, brittle, and broken)
- Carb kit $14
- Air filter $2
- Shipping $6
- TruFuel $9 (which I would've needed anyway)

Thanks everyone for another successful ARFCOM DIY thread!