any small engine techs on here?

[98blaster+4]

I was givin an old ass riding mower for free from my gramp. hasnt been run in a few years but before it was parked the gas was drained out.
put fresh gas in and a new battery and it started up. problem is it wont run without the choke all the way out, and even then its pretty erratic.
how hard are these carbs to tear apart?
and can it be put back together without needing a rebuild kit?
obviously if something is broke it ill need rebuilt, but can it be cleaned and all old parts reused?
btw its an old lawn chief or something like that. id take a pic but its ugly

 

[sicivicdude]

The type of carburetor which is probably on that engine is, potentially, one of the simplest carburetors to rebuild.

Most engines like that are tuned around a single operating RPM and only need to control fuel at that one speed. So most of them only have one fuel circuit which is designed to meter fuel at a certain amount of flow. No pilot jet or fuel needle to mess with like a blasty carb. They usually only provide a separate circuit for the choke...

I've found that about 50% of the time, I tear the bowl gasket removing it. Usually the gasket hasn't been touched in forever so it's all rotten and stuck anyway and then most of the time fuel is left in the bowl which further cements the bowl gasket in place. Sometimes you can pull them apart without a rebuild kit but most of the time you'll end up needing one because something inside is worn (usually the float needle)

 

[98blaster+4]

how hard is it to get parts? its a briggs and stratton engine?
but its damn old

 

[sicivicdude]

Most of the older B&S parts were the same since they changed from updraft carbs a LONG time ago. You need to try and figure out the model number of the engine (usually stamped on the very back of the pull rope cover) or at least get an idea of the range of the model number so you can find parts that way. Most lawn care dealers can probably match the carburetor kit to your particular engine if you take the carburetor, disassembled, up to them.

B&S parts are very easy to identify and find usually.

 

[98blaster+4]

crap...by the way its a riding mower, if that matters. key start no pull

 

[sicivicdude]

I shouldn't have said pull start... The air fan shroud, lol. The cover that bolts down over top of the flywheel usually has the model and serial number stamped into the "head" end of it.

 

[Paulie B]

It's running lean. Some reasons:
Your carb is dirty
Your pump diaphragm is torn, worn, or dry rotted
Your fuel filter is clogged.

 

[UncagedShadow]

I worked at my uncles lawnmower repair shop for a little over a year and if you can tear down a blasy carb then you can tear down this carb blindfolded... I have found working on lots of lawn mowers that 99% of them can be brought to almost new running condition with fresh gas, a good thorough carb cleaning, and a new and oiled air filter.

 

[roadkill]

I worked at my uncles lawnmower repair shop for a little over a year and if you can tear down a blasy carb then you can tear down this carb blindfolded... I have found working on lots of lawn mowers that 99% of them can be brought to almost new running condition with fresh gas, a good thorough carb cleaning, and a new and oiled air filter.

and at least clean the spark plug too

 

[98blaster+4]

info that wasnt added at the beginning
new plug ,new gas , fuel filter flows very freely
gonna clean and oil the filter too, didnt think of that before, but it was very clean when i looked at it...... had to check for mouse nests before i started it

 

[UncagedShadow]

Totally forgot about the plug, thanks roadkil. And I forgot to mention check/new oil, but im sure you checked the oil already. When you throttle her up to the speed you would cut at, does she run better? Ive worked on some 20+ riding mowers that just dont run exactly right at idle and never will, but run perfect at cutting throttle.