Easy Briggs and Stratton Repair: The engine on my leaf vac (2008) wouldn't start without starting fluid. I drained the fuel and put clean fuel in the tank. No good. I removed the card...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The engine on my leaf vac (2008) wouldn't start without starting fluid. I drained the fuel and put clean fuel in the tank. No good. I removed the card, thinking I could clean it. With using a hacksaw, I see no way of opening it. I ordered a new carb from Amazon - $19.33 delivered overnight. It is absolutely identical to the original. I just put it on, and the engine started right up. I thought it was funny - and typical - that I needed both imperial and metric tools to remove the carb.

I'm going to order carbs for my generator and snow blower.

Najataagihe

Don't throw away the old one.

It sounds like its jets are clogged from the varnish stale fuel produces.

Soak the whole thing in Carburetor Cleaner for a few hours and blow it out with compressed air.

You should have a good, replacement for your replacement.

Gas stabilizer will help, but it is not 100% effective.

:)

HistoryLover Loc: Landenberg,Pa.

Snow blower? You get snow up that way? HA..took advantage of the warm weather we are having to pull mine out and change the oil and gas it up. Turned over on the first pull. Thank the Lord!!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Najataagihe wrote:

Don't throw away the old one.:)

"Don't throw away the old one."

That's my motto in life.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

HistoryLover wrote:

Snow blower? You get snow up that way? HA..took advantage of the warm weather we are having to pull mine out and change the oil and gas it up. Turned over on the first pull. Thank the Lord!!

Well, that's the rumor. It's 82° F here now, so I don't think we'll get any snow today.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Najataagihe wrote:

Don't throw away the old one.

It sounds like its jets are clogged from the varnish stale fuel produces.

Soak the whole thing in Carburetor Cleaner for a few hours and blow it out with compressed air.

You should have a good, replacement for your replacement.

Gas stabilizer will help, but it is not 100% effective.

:)

Exactly right. I have a Honda powered pressure washer, and the main jet orifice is the size of a Human hair. Every spring whether I let the float bowl run dry or not, use stabil or not, or drain and use new gas or not, the main jet is clogged and it won’t start. The first time, I removed the carb and disassembled it, but now, I have it down to dropping the float bowl with the carb attached, removing the main jet and emulsion tube and blowing it out. Just have to remember which end goes up on the emulsion tube.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TriX wrote:

...but now, I have it down to dropping the float bowl with the carb attached, removing the main jet and emulsion tube and blowing it out. Just have to remember which end goes up on the emulsion tube.

I wonder if that's what Honda had in mind.

I'm curious about how the fuel bowl is attached. The bolt in the center is just to drain the fuel. Maybe it unscrews.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Najataagihe wrote:

Gas stabilizer will help, but it is not 100% effective.:)

Yes, that is good stuff, but after 13 years, I guess the carb wanted a rest.

rustfarmer

I have found that using the marine version of Sta-Bil works for me. Small engines such as garden tiller start first pull every time. We have short off seasons in TN so perhaps that helps.

bamfordr Loc: Campbell CA

Najataagihe wrote:

Don't throw away the old one.

It sounds like its jets are clogged from the varnish stale fuel produces.

Soak the whole thing in Carburetor Cleaner for a few hours and blow it out with compressed air.

You should have a good, replacement for your replacement.

Gas stabilizer will help, but it is not 100% effective.

:)

I’ve started using stabilized gas - good for 2 years in the can (vs adding stabilizer). Pricey but worth it when I’m trying to start a mower or leaf blower that’s been sitting for the off season.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I wonder if that's what Honda had in mind.

I'm curious about how the fuel bowl is attached. The bolt in the center is just to drain the fuel. Maybe it unscrews.

On my carb, the bolt in the center holds the fuel bowl. Remove it and the bowl drops right down. You can then unscrew the main jet with a slotted screwdriver and remove it along with the emulsion tube that’s directly above it and held in by the main jet. As I mentioned before, it’s not symmetrical - the top and bottom of the emulsion tube on mine has a different hole/pattern/spacing at each end. The whole process takes just 5-10 minutes.

Stephan G

jerryc41 wrote:

Well, that's the rumor. It's 82° F here now, so I don't think we'll get any snow today.

A long time ago, in another universe. The temperatures were almost up into the 60s prior to Thursday. Then start of the Blizzard of (Jan. 26) 1967 hit Chicago. 23 inches of snow was dumped on the city. My buddy and I shoveled and pushed out at least 24 cars buried under the snow on the weekend. My group of friends planned a trip to Iron Mountain to do some skiing a couple of weeks prior. When the heat wave hit, it got changed to a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo. Then, the big day, we reworked the trip to the Loop to go see Thunderball on the big screen at Chicago Theater. (Got to visit Chicago Union Station, with snow melting in my Wellington boots.)

Never say, "We'll never get any....."

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

HistoryLover wrote:

Snow blower? You get snow up that way? HA..took advantage of the warm weather we are having to pull mine out and change the oil and gas it up. Turned over on the first pull. Thank the Lord!!

What is this "snow" of which you speak?

Najataagihe

Isn't that what we used to get on the TV set when the antenna was weak?

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

Since the U.S. has mandated ethanol in our auto fuel, the ethanol has wrecked havoc in our small garden engines. I've found a solution to the problem. I've been buying 100 oct. low lead at the local airport FBO. 100 oct LL does not need any stabilizer, and small engines love the lead for lubrication. I now have a new Simplicity Snow Blower, running on 100 oct LL, along with my lawn tractor, and wood chipper. I also have an array of battery operated yard tools from Chainsaws, weed eaters, blowers, and hedge trimmer. Those tools are all Ryobi 40amp. I'm in the process of having a standby generator whole house propane generator installed. Here in rural New Hampshire, it's not uncommon to loose power for two to three days and maybe even four days.