On Sun, 25 Jan 2015 19:06:40 -0800 (PST), bob_villa
wrote:

On Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 7:06:20 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2015 13:08:49 -0800 (PST), wrote:

When i haven't used a tool in a few months and it is hard to start, i find that
Taking out the spark plug, and putting a few drops of gas in there, and replacing the
Plug, helps get it started.
The question is, can this do long term damage?
It less than 1/2 a thimble i put in.

I know too much gas could hydrolock which would be bad so
I keep it too a very small amount.

Can the gas wash the oil off the cylinder walls and cause
Excess wear? I don't see how that could happen.

Mark


That sounds like a lot of trouble. No, it's not too much gas to
hydrolock it, and while it will wash off the oil from the cylinder
walls, it's not significant. But here is a better way. Get a pump oil
can. (Made to fill with oil and lubricate stuff, by pumping the
trigger). Put some gas in that can, and pump a few squirts into the
carburetor. (you have to remove the air cleaner cover, but that's
easier than taking out the spark plug). You dont have to replace the
air cleaner cover (YET), just try to get the engine to start. If it
wont start, spray a little more gas in the carb. Once the engine is
running, you should put the air cleaner cover back. Just be careful
doing that while th engine is running.

Dont leave gas in your pump oil can real long or it goes bad.

This is much better for the engine than using Starting Fluid, which can
damage engines.

Remember when WD-40 was the bee's tits for starting engines? Light lube
and propane propellant...now they use CO2, phuk!

Yep, I did that. I also have used an unlit (turned on) propane torch
held above a carburetor on older car engines that would not run, and
appeared to be due to a lack of fuel. If the engine ran with the
propane, then I knew for sure that the problem was not ignition, and was
definitely fuel related. This also assisted an engine that kept killing
because of partial or poor gas delivery (usually a partly plugged carb
or fuel filter).
I could keep the engine running, while adjusting the carb, and not have
to keep restarting the engine. If it could not be adjusted, then I had
to check other things, like the filter, fuel pump, etc.

There was a trick to doing that, which was to shield the torch tip, so
the propane was getting sucked into the carb, while still allowing air
to enter the engine. Just a slight move of the torch would make a huge
difference in how it ran, (or quit running).

I still remember, probably 30 years ago, when my car quit running and
was blocking traffic. I had a buddy sitting on the fender, with the
hood open, and he was holding the torch over the carb while I slowly
drove the car over to the shoulder. But since it got the car to the
shoulder, we decided to see if we could drive it to his house, which was
about 1/2 mile away. Of course I could not see the road with the hood
up, so he had to tell me what to do. That was pretty insane, but it
worked, even though I must have had to restart the engine at least 25
times!

(We later found it was nothing but a clogged fuel filter).

I dont know if this would work on modern fuel injected engines????

It might work on a lawn mower, I have never tried it!!! (HINT HINT for
the OP).