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Posted: 8/20/2014 11:05:02 AM EDT
I have a 3750 watt generator, not a fancy Honda or anything, that runs really, really rough (when it runs) and needs some work. It ran just fine before it spent a few years sitting idle in my ex-wife's garage until I moved down here and retrieved it. I cleaned out the carb and everything, but it still has a hard time staying running and I'm not at all sure that it's generating like it should. It's got a Tecumseh engine. Anyone know of a small engine repair place in the Plano (preferably east Plano) area that can work on something like this?
Thanks. UPDATE: Got that little sucker running today. Checked for compression, fuel, and spark - had all 3. I could keep it running, rough, after I took apart and cleaned the carb by manipulating the throttle, but at pretty low RPMs. Figured it was a throttle problem. I took the front half of the generator part off, saw what was in there and decided I wanted no part of it, and put it back together. Fired it up and for whatever reason, it kept running. I played with the different settings on the throttle linkage and found the sweet spot. Plugged some stuff into it and lo and behold, it worked just fine. 
So, just gotta remember to fire it up every month or so, and it should be GTG when needed. |
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Posted: 8/20/2014 11:31:56 AM EDT
[#1]
There is a big mower repair shop on the southeast corner of 75 and14th st.,north of home depot
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Posted: 8/20/2014 2:50:49 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There is a big mower repair shop on the southeast corner of 75 and14th st.,north of home depot Unless you go in there driving a pickup that has the name of your lawn care business on it they will make you very clearly understand that you are NOT their ideal customer. I have a friend that was in the landscape business then went to work for a supplier and was told they called us 'homeys'. They are not getting rich off of the homey so they treat you as such. No way to run a business in my opinion but it's their gig and it pays the bills. I'd look for someplace that advertises small engine repair or look up Tecumseh service centers. My call is that it needs the carburetor replaced. That and fuel lines seem to be the golden ticket on small 2 stroke power equipment for me, so much so that I now keep fuel line on hand at the house. Good luck. Jester |
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Posted: 8/20/2014 7:43:57 PM EDT
[#3]
Plano Power Equipment is who you speak of, and they do great work, after you call them every single day for three weeks after your one week promised time on an hour job has passed.
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Posted: 8/20/2014 7:53:39 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Plano Power Equipment is who you speak of, and they do great work, after you call them every single day for three weeks after your one week promised time on an hour job has passed. You must not have had your lawn care business sign on your vehicle. |
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Posted: 8/20/2014 8:58:17 PM EDT
[#5]
That's starting to not sound like the place I want.
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Posted: 8/20/2014 9:54:38 PM EDT
[#6]
I wish I could more helpful than telling you where not to go but that's the best I got. I usually fix my own stuff but that's easy for since I was a mechanic and still have my tools. There's a place near Spring Creek and Alma but I have no idea if it would be better than Plano Power or not. When looking on the Tecumseh site for service centers in 75074 Plano Power comes up. Depending on which way you want to Garland Saw and Lawnmower or McKinney Lawn and Timber come up. Hope this helps.
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Posted: 8/21/2014 1:39:54 AM EDT
[#7]
OK then, try Garland Mower repair,in old downtown maybe.They are by the RR tracks.
Good luck! |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 8:27:40 AM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
.....Anyone know of a small engine repair place in the Plano (preferably east Plano) area that can work on something like this?. Desoto Mower of Plano (972) 578-9983 5021 Alma Dr Plano, TX 75023 (SW corner of Alma & Spring Creek) |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 10:20:27 AM EDT
[#9]
Thanks, I'll check them out. I stopped at a place on Midway this morning on my way to work and when I told the guy it was a Tecumseh engine, he became...less than optimistic. Apparently they're hard to find parts for.
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Posted: 8/21/2014 10:53:50 AM EDT
[#10]
Most equipment Sears sold used Tecumseh engines.
Maybe a Sears repair center, or a contractor for Sears repair. |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 11:07:58 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Unless you go in there driving a pickup that has the name of your lawn care business on it they will make you very clearly understand that you are NOT their ideal customer. I have a friend that was in the landscape business then went to work for a supplier and was told they called us 'homeys'. They are not getting rich off of the homey so they treat you as such. No way to run a business in my opinion but it's their gig and it pays the bills. I'd look for someplace that advertises small engine repair or look up Tecumseh service centers. My call is that it needs the carburetor replaced. That and fuel lines seem to be the golden ticket on small 2 stroke power equipment for me, so much so that I now keep fuel line on hand at the house. Good luck. Jester Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
There is a big mower repair shop on the southeast corner of 75 and14th st.,north of home depot Unless you go in there driving a pickup that has the name of your lawn care business on it they will make you very clearly understand that you are NOT their ideal customer. I have a friend that was in the landscape business then went to work for a supplier and was told they called us 'homeys'. They are not getting rich off of the homey so they treat you as such. No way to run a business in my opinion but it's their gig and it pays the bills. I'd look for someplace that advertises small engine repair or look up Tecumseh service centers. My call is that it needs the carburetor replaced. That and fuel lines seem to be the golden ticket on small 2 stroke power equipment for me, so much so that I now keep fuel line on hand at the house. Good luck. Jester Yup. Either that, or a very detailed cleaning. Sitting for a few years is "BAD". Varnish usually results. Something easy &cheap you can try - a good spraying down with Carburetor cleaner OR remove the carb and soak it in a mix of Acetone ~35%, Toluene ~35%, and Methanol ~30%. You can substitute MEK for the Toluene. These are the ingredients in carb cleaner. |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 11:28:18 AM EDT
[#12]
I took the carb apart and cleaned it a while ago. It was pretty gunked up, but I got it all cleaned out. I'm pretty sure I put it back together right
 . I haven't messed with it for a while, but I'm going to go at it again hopefully this weekend. Guy I talked to this morning suggested trying to just find a new carb online.
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Posted: 8/21/2014 11:52:03 AM EDT
[#13]
Source for new carbs: Jack's Small Engines
If you can cross-reference your engine to the Tecumseh carb part number, you might be able to find it for cheaper on Amazon or ebay. |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 12:40:13 PM EDT
[#14]
Tecumseh is gonna be tough.
Evinrude/OMC used to make an outboard engine fuel treatment cleaner that a guy at a boat shop in Mesquite recommended. I thought he was full of crap, but we bought some anyway and I mixed it up and ran it through my chainsaw. I'll be damned if it didn't actually clean it up. It actually worked as opposed to just about every other fuel cleaner I had used. The guy got cancer and closed up shop, but that might be worth a try. |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 10:00:13 PM EDT
[#15]
Lots of new tecumseh carburetors out there. You'd need to list the model.
Air spark and fuel, did you replace the spark plug? Check the air filters? Use fresh gas? Check the exhaust for dead mice? |
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Posted: 8/21/2014 10:13:21 PM EDT
[#16]
Yeah, new carb won't be a problem, I've found them on amazon. Gonna get into it this weekend and see if I really need one.
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Posted: 8/21/2014 10:18:28 PM EDT
[#17]
Carbs have small passages that are easily clogged and tough to clean. This is especially true with small 2 strokes. Ethanol makes this worse. I have been using pure gas, ethanol free, for the last year and all of my equipment is running better even after being out away for the winter. Sta-Bil can be your friend too.
Jester |
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Posted: 8/22/2014 10:34:44 AM EDT
[#18]
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Posted: 8/22/2014 10:38:00 AM EDT
[#19]
Valve clearance is also another thing that leads to rough engines.
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Posted: 8/22/2014 10:47:36 AM EDT
[#20]
Spark plug should be fine, I checked that last time and it was clean, gap was good.
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Posted: 8/22/2014 11:53:52 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Desoto Mower of Plano (972) 578-9983 5021 Alma Dr Plano, TX 75023 (SW corner of Alma & Spring Creek) Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
.....Anyone know of a small engine repair place in the Plano (preferably east Plano) area that can work on something like this?. Desoto Mower of Plano (972) 578-9983 5021 Alma Dr Plano, TX 75023 (SW corner of Alma & Spring Creek) Driven by there many times, this is who I was gonna mention, but have no experience with them TXL |
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Posted: 8/22/2014 3:55:23 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Lots of new tecumseh carburetors out there. You'd need to list the model. Air spark and fuel, did you replace the spark plug? Check the air filters? Use fresh gas? Check the exhaust for dead mice?
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Posted: 8/22/2014 5:44:44 PM EDT
[#23]
Find a Mom and Pop equipment rental place. They will make the engine run like a top for a reasonable price.
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Posted: 8/22/2014 9:49:08 PM EDT
[#24]
These guys:
Wylie Small Engine Service & Repair 160 Kristen Ln #3 Wylie, TX 75098 Open today 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Wylie Small Engine Service & Repair 160 Kristen Ln #3Wylie, TX 75098 wyliesmallenginerepair.com (972) 412-7800 Worked on our genny. Good service. Fair price. Done in reasonable amount of time. |
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Posted: 9/5/2014 2:54:47 PM EDT
[#25]
OP, did you find someone?
Got a review? TXL |
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Posted: 9/5/2014 3:06:39 PM EDT
[#26]
It's crawled to the back burner.
 Haven't had a chance to even pull it out of the garage yet.
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Posted: 9/5/2014 3:31:23 PM EDT
[#27]
I wanted to go there (Wylie) for a trimmer repair, $75 and hour I believe. I passed at 2/3 the price of a new one...
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Posted: 10/5/2014 5:47:07 PM EDT
[#28]
Got that little sucker running today. Checked for compression, fuel, and spark - had all 3. I could keep it running, rough, after I took apart and cleaned the carb by manipulating the throttle, but at pretty low RPMs. Figured it was a throttle problem. I took the front half of the generator part off, saw what was in there and decided I wanted no part of it, and put it back together. Fired it up and for whatever reason, it kept running. I played with the different settings on the throttle linkage and found the sweet spot. Plugged some stuff into it and lo and behold, it worked just fine.
So, just gotta remember to fire it up every month or so, and it should be GTG when needed. |
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Posted: 10/5/2014 6:17:06 PM EDT
[#29]
I just refilled mine, changed the oil, refilled all the fuel cans, since I just finished a 24 hour loaded run.
Dosed everything with Sta-bil fuel stabilizer. Seems to work ok, plus I either buy mid-grade or premium fuel, never have a problem. I do need a new fuel shutoff though, seems like mine failed open. |
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Posted: 10/5/2014 6:58:02 PM EDT
[#30]
Quoted: I have a 3750 watt generator, not a fancy Honda or anything, that runs really, really rough (when it runs) and needs some work. It ran just fine before it spent a few years sitting idle in my ex-wife's garage until I moved down here and retrieved it. I cleaned out the carb and everything, but it still has a hard time staying running and I'm not at all sure that it's generating like it should. It's got a Tecumseh engine. Anyone know of a small engine repair place in the Plano (preferably east Plano) area that can work on something like this? Thanks. UPDATE: Got that little sucker running today. Checked for compression, fuel, and spark - had all 3. I could keep it running, rough, after I took apart and cleaned the carb by manipulating the throttle, but at pretty low RPMs. Figured it was a throttle problem. I took the front half of the generator part off, saw what was in there and decided I wanted no part of it, and put it back together. Fired it up and for whatever reason, it kept running. I played with the different settings on the throttle linkage and found the sweet spot. Plugged some stuff into it and lo and behold, it worked just fine. So, just gotta remember to fire it up every month or so, and it should be GTG when needed. I dont keep fuel in my gas tank on mine, plus I run it until it stalls out.
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Posted: 10/5/2014 7:30:15 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So, just gotta remember to fire it up every month or so, and it should be GTG when needed. This+1! I try to fire mine up and run with a load for 5 or 10 minutes each month. Because I seem to end up with a leftover at of oil after most changes I change the oil in twice a year which ends up being about every 2-3 hours. I use ethanol free fuel almost exclusively and treat with Stabil. When I run it I close the fuel shutoff and let he carb run out to shut down before putting away. Still starts on first pull each time. Now that I have it my power will never go out again! Jester |
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Posted: 10/5/2014 9:55:50 PM EDT
[#32]
Allowing old gas to sit in the carb bowl is what causes most generator problems, so shutting off the fuel valve and letting the engine run until it dies is a good idea.
They make a version of Sta-Bil that's specifically designed for gasoline with ethanol in it - works great. Leaving gasoline in the fuel tank usually isn't a problem, particularly if (1.) it's treated with Sta-Bil, and (2.) you keep the tank full (which doesn't leave any room for moisture-laden air). The problem comes when there's just a little bit of untreated gas sitting in the bottom of the tank - Eventually, the ethanol in the gas absorbs enough moisture to form water pockets, which in turn rusts the inside of the tank, causes the engine to run rough or stall, etc. |
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Posted: 10/6/2014 10:34:54 AM EDT
[#33]
All the gas I put in cans has stabil in it, but I usually do run stuff dry before shutting it down.
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Posted: 10/6/2014 11:29:43 AM EDT
[#34]
I was rereading the Champion manual last night because I was ordering a new part, they recommend cranking the generator every 14 days and run for 20 minutes to help maintain it.
EVERY 14 DAYS? Ain't nobody got time for that. I was doing every other month, then got busy, lapsed 5 months. Oil still looked brand new when I changed it Saturday, and I hadn't changed it in two years. |
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