Small engine question

heavy dose of sea foam usually fixes those problems up for me. If it starts and runs better with some choke but can't pick up RPM with choke off, that points me to a dirty/gummed up carb.

west end gave away all the straight skinny - straight talk.

also if your gas tank has fuel in it, i don't see how that would preclude you from fishing out the filter with a curved/hook end on a wire.

Uh by the way, those new carbs are around 10 bucks on ebay, so why process it in a shop for repair?

Also there is an elcheapo set of drivers on ebay that are made to fit the three different type of ends on the adjustment screws.

every weedeater i have owned in the past 20 years eventually did this. a local small engine repair shop is worth their weight in gold

If it is clogged; is there anything that can be run through it that will unclog it without the whole taking it apart?

philh wrote:
99.99% sure the fuel went bad and gummed up the works.

Only buy pure gas for you small engines.

I too support this. there is either a filter or strainer in the tank and the fact the primer bulb is not popping back up means it's clogged.

alank2 wrote:
Thanks guys; this gives me no less than 3 things to try!

Have a 4th to keep things even. Spark arrestor in the muffler. Even if not the problem this rime, clean it to save the headache later.

Thanks guys; this gives me no less than 3 things to try!

I had the same problem yesterday on two of my weed eaters. I could get them started, but couldn't keep them running and couldn't get any rpm's. My first thought was bad gas, so I mixed a new batch with fresh gas, drained the tanks and no change. Start, but no rpm's. Then I wondered if it could be a spark plug. Bought two new plugs, installed, and both started right up and are running great.
I really thought it was gas, but $4 plugs fixed me.

You don't want to take one apart. Chances are it won't go back together.

You just need practice.

When I had a small side business repairing small engines and landscaping equipment, the #1 culprit of poor performance was fuel related. For small 2 cycle engines, my mantra was this: Remove old gas, inspect/clean in-tank spun filter. Replace fuel lines with Tygon brand lines. Disassemble carb, clean, and tune jets to operate.

In your case, this may offer a shortcut: Remove adjustable jets and apply carb cleaner. Reinstall. Introduce carb cleaner into empty tank and fill with new fuel mix. Turn engine or push starter bulb to get fuel-cleaner mixture into carb and fuel lines. Let sit overnight. Start and run up to operating range.

I'm going to share this for the home owners that try to adjust jets after maintenance or as a solution to poor operation. To assess what your original settings were, pre-repair, turn adjustments in until jet bottoms out while counting turns. Don't be a Hulk on this, the pointed jet ends are fragile and the seats are hard. You don't need a lot of pressure to seat them. Note: Many Mfgs are taking the fun out of this by incorporating plastic stops on the adjustable jets. I have clipped them off to get extra adjustability. Your call.

Good luck on your maintenance and repair!

Another place to check is the vent on the gas cap. If the small vent plugs, air cannot enter the tank and the engine will starve for fuel.