[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Small Engine - Pull Starts (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/17/2011 9:42:57 AM EDT
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So, the spring/summer is finally here for us Northerners.
How many pulls did your lawnmower take for the first start of the season? 2001 - 22" Toro Recycler Self-Propelled Mower with Tecumseh 6.5hp - 1 pull |
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One pull. I installed a fuel shut-off valve after the ethanol gasoline cause the float bowl to corrode. Now I shut it off with the fuel valve, taking about 2 minutes to run out the gasoline. To start, the valve is opened and wait a few minutes for the bowl to fill. Then 3 pushes on the primer bulb and it starts right up. |
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One pull. I installed a fuel shut-off valve after the ethanol gasoline cause the float bowl to corrode. Now I shut it off with the fuel valve, taking about 2 minutes to run out the gasoline. To start, the valve is opened and wait a few minutes for the bowl to fill. Then 3 pushes on the primer bulb and it starts right up. Thankfully we can get "recreational gas" around here without ethanol. 
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8-9 year old Yard Machine with a 6HP Briggs and Stratton. Gas in the tank, one pull out of the shed. No winter maintenance down. ETA: 8-10 pumps on the priming bulb. Gas is proably 2 years old, untreated No winter maint here, ever. I have changed the oil once, last spring. There was fuel in the tank from last year, and fuel in the can from last year. We had lots of VERY cold weather this winter. And lots of above/below freezing temps cycles as well.. I was shocked when it started. I gave it a 1/2 pull to warm it up, expecting to need 2 or 3. |
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Quoted: About a dozen. Pull-start engines hate me. Or, alternatively, I am a moron, and just cannot get the hang of them. This, is coming from the guy that was going to catch himself on fire changing a power steering line. I think you have a problem with mechanical things in general. 
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1970's snapper, two pulls 
Well, last Saturday it was two pulls. I had tipped it up on the wrong side when futzing with the belts before the first run of the season, flooded the cylinder with oil. It didn't much want to turn over after that  Couldn't figure out what was wrong until I saw mention in the manual about the proper side to tip it up on. Dumbass!
So I pulled the plug, yanked the rope a few times, and promptly spewed oil all over my shoe. After that, two pulls. This thing is a tank. It's burning a little oil though, and I'm sort of at the limit of my usefulness once we start talking engine guts.  Might try to learn this winter.
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I have to give mine a few pulls to get started.
About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. |
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I have to give mine a few pulls to get started. About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. Does it have a choke on it? That sounds like a lot of the newer small engines. They jet them so lean that until they get a little temperature in them they won't run. |
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Quoted: 1970's snapper, two pulls It had been sitting for a while, needed the carb cleaned out, new belts, a new driven disk, and a throttle cable.She's eating some oil though. Thinking about getting the rebore kit and learning how to tear a small engine apart this winter. Look around on the internets and you'll probably find a factory service manual for the engine. Buy the right tools and it will probably take you less than 8 hours to tear it down and completely rebuild it. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I have to give mine a few pulls to get started. About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. Does it have a choke on it? That sounds like a lot of the newer small engines. They jet them so lean that until they get a little temperature in them they won't run. This is a problem, but with an 11 year old small engine, it's likely that the diaphragm fuel pump is starting to harden and not want to pump correctly. It's even more likely since ethanol is in widespread use. Probable solution: Buy a $5 carb kit and install it. |
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Well, my string trimmer is not as good of shape.
It is an echo, curved shaft model 2000 something. It was a pain to start. Once it started running it was good until the last 10 feet. It seemed to be reving high and running hot. It just wouldn't stay running at the end. Easy to start, but would die real quick. I have the manaul, I just need to go back and readjust the carb, I think. |
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I have to give mine a few pulls to get started. About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. Does it have a choke on it? That sounds like a lot of the newer small engines. They jet them so lean that until they get a little temperature in them they won't run. Did they go to those bastard non-adjustable carbs by 2000? I think so. Then again, just for argument's sake, my 'blower runs a Tecumseh HS40 4hp motor, mine is version "0". They made that same engine right through the switchover to shitty carbs. There's five? six? different carb models in the service manual, and I think at least four different iterations of the engine itself. I believe the carburetors are interchangeable in a strictly mechanical sense, but I believe it would be an illegal mod to a newer mower. |
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Five or six pumps on the primer and one pull. About a 12-14yr old 22 incher I got at Walmart. It's amazing how long these things last/run with little to no maintenance. I've never changed the oil and just clean the airfilter every few years. I use Belray MC1 mixed 50:1 in my KX250. So that's what I put in my weedeater. One time all I had on hand was premix so I dumped that in the mower. The little critter ran fine on that so I started using premix in that and the generator (I like to feel like I'm doing my "Green" part). Both always start first pull regardless of how long they've sat. I also add Stabil to the mix. |
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early 90s MTD, 1 pull. Here is how to do it on any machine. In the fall, after the last cut and cleaning the machine with a hose/brush and letting it dry: 1. Cut fuel to carb with valve or use a vise grip to clamp line. 2. Run machine till dry 3. Empty fuel take (put it in your truck) 4. Remove carb bowl and give it a good shot with carb cleaner, put the bowl back on. 5. Remove the spark plug, put a table spoon or two of oil in the cylinder, slowly pull the pull start 1-2 times to distribute oil. 6. Clean plug with a wire brush and put back on motor. Spring: 1. Fill tank with FRESH gas. 2. Prime the carb with priming bulb 4. Pull the rope. May smoke a little at first as it burns off the oil in the cylinder. This has work for me on all my small motors for year. Leaving gas in the card is usually cause number 1 of small motors not starting after sitting in storage for a season. (or those pesky mice who can cause HAVOC on a motor if they decide to use it as a nest) |
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I have a John Deere lawn tractor, but I have an old cheap push mower for trimming, 2 1/2 hp mower made by MTD with Tecumseh engine, 1 pull. I used to struggle with this thing, first start of the season sometimes took 50 or more pulls, I finally figured out how much priming it likes, now it starts first pull every time, even the first start of the season. |
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1970's snapper, two pulls It had been sitting for a while, needed the carb cleaned out, new belts, a new driven disk, and a throttle cable.
She's eating some oil though. Thinking about getting the rebore kit and learning how to tear a small engine apart this winter.
Look around on the internets and you'll probably find a factory service manual for the engine. Buy the right tools and it will probably take you less than 8 hours to tear it down and completely rebuild it. I need a machinist to cut the cylinder though, right? Inside that engine man, there be dragons.
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: 1970's snapper, two pulls It had been sitting for a while, needed the carb cleaned out, new belts, a new driven disk, and a throttle cable.She's eating some oil though. Thinking about getting the rebore kit and learning how to tear a small engine apart this winter. Look around on the internets and you'll probably find a factory service manual for the engine. Buy the right tools and it will probably take you less than 8 hours to tear it down and completely rebuild it. I need a machinist to cut the cylinder though, right? Inside that engine man, there be dragons. It really depends on the engine and how much wear there is on the cylinder bore. If it's an aluminum block with no cast iron sleeve, I wouldn't waste my time. If it's a cast iron block or has a cast iron sleeve, it's worth fixing. If the cylinder bore is in good shape with minimal wear, you'll probably get along just fine with new rings and honing the cylinder yourself. If the bore is worn, then you'll want to take it to a machine shop and have it bored .010"-.020" over and replace the piston/rings with the correct oversize replacements. If it's a four stroke, you'll probably want to replace at least the exhaust valve(the intake may be fine). If it's a two stroke...I really can't help as I haven't worked on one yet. Dad has a 2 stroke snapper that I need to go fiddle with and get running for him. Too many projects and too little time..... Again, I advice a factory service manual if you can find one. They generally have the best information. Just be sure to get the correct one for your engine model. |
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Well, my string trimmer is not as good of shape. It is an echo, curved shaft model 2000 something. It was a pain to start. Once it started running it was good until the last 10 feet. It seemed to be reving high and running hot. It just wouldn't stay running at the end. Easy to start, but would die real quick. I have the manaul, I just need to go back and readjust the carb, I think. Fuel filter? They sell that and the air filter in a kit. Get them and a spark plug, can't hurt. Home Despot. Didja grease the shaft? If it's like my echo straight shaft, you need to pull the head off (3xT-27 screws), then pull out the spring that drives it, slather it up with grease, and stick it back in. (  ) One of the major drawbacks of the curved shaft is that there's a lot more friction in there, and mine burned it's grease off to a surprising degree in one season. While you're at it, there's another T-27 grease point in the head, hit that too. They NEED their grease!
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I have to give mine a few pulls to get started. About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. Does it have a choke on it? That sounds like a lot of the newer small engines. They jet them so lean that until they get a little temperature in them they won't run. No choke, it's some type of auto choke/throttle. I did a full tune up on it a few years ago when I took the carb apart and cleaned it out and it still acted the same way. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have to give mine a few pulls to get started. About 11 year old craftsman. It starts everytime but then dies, its like the fuel that was primed is burned off and new fuel wasn't getting in carb. After of few of these cycles it "catches" and starts up fine and then after that it starts first pull until sitting overnight and cooling. I took the carb apart and didn't see anything messed up. Does it have a choke on it? That sounds like a lot of the newer small engines. They jet them so lean that until they get a little temperature in them they won't run. No choke, it's some type of auto choke/throttle. I did a full tune up on it a few years ago when I took the carb apart and cleaned it out and it still acted the same way. The primer bulb may have a pinhole leak in it(some are sealed). |
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Deere rider, turn the key, no problems.
Crappy $50 weed wacker. Got it to pop off in one pull but couldn't keep her going, second pull at half choke and we're good. That thing USED to be a piece of shit, remove the two spark arrestors and cut the carb stops and it's golden. 
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As a wild-guess, about 40 pulls with five of them after going to buy starter fluid. It wasn't my mower, but is owned by a guy I work with. It's a Honda (if I remember correctly) HRC model that he paid over $700 for last summer. Last fall I even drained the fuel with the drain bolt under the carburetor bowl like the manual recommended, but it was still a pain to get it running. The guy that owns it is Indian and got taken by the dealer since he didn't know any better. A $100 B&S would have been choice since it's easier to start and runs better. You can tell the Honda is more sturdy than a cheap mower, but considering he only has about 1,200 sq ft of yard to cut, it just isn't needed.z
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Quoted:
Well, my string trimmer is not as good of shape. It is an echo, curved shaft model 2000 something. It was a pain to start. Once it started running it was good until the last 10 feet. It seemed to be reving high and running hot. It just wouldn't stay running at the end. Easy to start, but would die real quick. I have the manaul, I just need to go back and readjust the carb, I think. Check to see if there is a spark arrestor screen on the muffler-i have a trimmer where this screen gets completely blocked by carbon deposits,and then the trimmer runs very poorly. |
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Edger: about 3 pulls (but it is 30+ years old)
Push mower #1(bagger): prime, and 1 pull Push mower #2(non bagger, 'back woods' mower): prime and 2 pulls normally Weed/brush whacker: prime/choke then pull about 3-4 times. The only one I have trouble with is the tiller, but then I picked it up at a garage sale for cheap, and was only going to use it 'til it died...that was 5 years ago. I normally have to pull the plug and spray some wd-40, to get it to kick over. |
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We've had our push mower since 2005. It used to take a few pulls in the spring until I started using Sea Foam on a semi-regular basis. I forgot to run it out of gas last fall but still no problem starting on the first pull.
Our old Craftsman riding mower (age unknown, bought secondhand) always starts right up as well. While we're talking small engines... my Dad has a 6.5 HP B&S that starts and runs just fine, but if he stops the engine after it's been running for a while, it won't start again for at least an hour. I put some Sea Foam in the tank (it hasn't been run since then) to see if that helps, but what could be causing it? |
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Fuel filter? They sell that and the air filter in a kit. Get them and a spark plug, can't hurt. Home Despot. Didja grease the shaft? If it's like my echo straight shaft, you need to pull the head off (3xT-27 screws), then pull out the spring that drives it, slather it up with grease, and stick it back in. ( ) One of the major drawbacks of the curved shaft is that there's a lot more friction in there, and mine burned it's grease off to a surprising degree in one season. While you're at it, there's another T-27 grease point in the head, hit that too. They NEED their grease!Last year I changed fuel filter, air filter, spark plug, and the grommet that holds the fuel lines in the tank. My Ace hardware sold it them in a kit. Pretty slick. I am not happy with the curved shaft, it is such a headache to use. I'll have to look into greasing it. Thanks. I can't bitch too much, I got it for $10 5 years ago. Quoted:
Check to see if there is a spark arrestor screen on the muffler-i have a trimmer where this screen gets completely blocked by carbon deposits,and then the trimmer runs very poorly. Yea, I have the same problem with mine. I cleaned that before I even tried to start it. My echo must run rich, because mine gets clogged with oil/sludge after about 8 uses. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Fuel filter? They sell that and the air filter in a kit. Get them and a spark plug, can't hurt. Home Despot. Didja grease the shaft? If it's like my echo straight shaft, you need to pull the head off (3xT-27 screws), then pull out the spring that drives it, slather it up with grease, and stick it back in. ( ) One of the major drawbacks of the curved shaft is that there's a lot more friction in there, and mine burned it's grease off to a surprising degree in one season. While you're at it, there's another T-27 grease point in the head, hit that too. They NEED their grease!Last year I changed fuel filter, air filter, spark plug, and the grommet that holds the fuel lines in the tank. My Ace hardware sold it them in a kit. Pretty slick. I am not happy with the curved shaft, it is such a headache to use. I'll have to look into greasing it. Thanks. I can't bitch too much, I got it for $10 5 years ago. Quoted: Check to see if there is a spark arrestor screen on the muffler-i have a trimmer where this screen gets completely blocked by carbon deposits,and then the trimmer runs very poorly. Yea, I have the same problem with mine. I cleaned that before I even tried to start it. My echo must run rich, because mine gets clogged with oil/sludge after about 8 uses. Remove the spark arrestor screen entirely. |
