Riding mower doing weird things...
 

Riding along, things were fine...then stop. Started again, and died.
Noticed much white smoke. After looking closer, gas was coming out of
the air filter like crazy. Disconnected the gas filter from the carb,
letting the gas drain out. Took out the air filter, cleaned up, went
ahead and changed the oil, checked the plug. Nothing seems wrong.

Then I put the gas filter back on, and saw the air filter chamber
start to fill up with gas again. Help! What causes gas to come out of
the air filter chamber? I just got this thing fixed - am I doomed to
bad luck this year?

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

"Xlar54" wrote in message
om...
Riding along, things were fine...then stop. Started again, and died.
Noticed much white smoke. After looking closer, gas was coming out of
the air filter like crazy. Disconnected the gas filter from the carb,
letting the gas drain out. Took out the air filter, cleaned up, went
ahead and changed the oil, checked the plug. Nothing seems wrong.

Then I put the gas filter back on, and saw the air filter chamber
start to fill up with gas again. Help! What causes gas to come out of
the air filter chamber? I just got this thing fixed - am I doomed to
bad luck this year?

Either consult your local lawnmower repair shop for a fix, or get a Catholic
priest to do an exorcism.

STeve

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

maybe a stuck float

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

In article , (Xlar54) wrote:
Riding along, things were fine...then stop. Started again, and died.
Noticed much white smoke. After looking closer, gas was coming out of
the air filter like crazy. Disconnected the gas filter from the carb,
letting the gas drain out. Took out the air filter, cleaned up, went
ahead and changed the oil, checked the plug. Nothing seems wrong.

Then I put the gas filter back on, and saw the air filter chamber
start to fill up with gas again. Help! What causes gas to come out of
the air filter chamber? I just got this thing fixed - am I doomed to
bad luck this year?

Bad float or float valve in the carburetor. Get a carburetor rebuild kit from
your dealer: it will have both parts in it, and new gaskets as well.

More detail: There's a valve in the carburetor that controls the flow of fuel
into the carburetor. A float, hinged at one end and free-floating at the
other, is supposed to push that valve shut when the fuel reaches a certain
level. This is not happening, due most likely to one of two causes: either the
rubber seal in the valve is worn out (allowing fuel to come past the valve
even when it's fully closed), or there is a hole or crack in the float, which
causes it to sink instead of floating like it should, and thus never closing
the valve.

Either way, you have to tear the carburetor down to repair it. It's not rocket
science, but it's kind of a pain. The rebuild kit with new float, new valve,
and new gaskets probably won't cost over twenty bucks, and if you're at all
handy with tools, you should be able to do the job in a couple of hours at the
outside. Or you can pay your dealer to do it, but I bet they charge you a
hundred, and can't get to it for two weeks.

If you do this yourself, it helps to have access to a source of compressed
air, to blow the passages in the carburetor clean. Not vital, but it helps.

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

I had this same problem last year. the problem turned out to be the fuel
lines deteriorating and sending bits of rubber into the carb float valve.
You have to take the float bowl off to clean the rubber out and check that
the float isn't stuck, full of gas, or otherwise broken. Check the fuel
lines and filter while you are cleaning out the carb. I replaced my fuel
lines and filter for less than $10.00



"Xlar54" wrote in message
om...
Riding along, things were fine...then stop. Started again, and died.
Noticed much white smoke. After looking closer, gas was coming out of
the air filter like crazy. Disconnected the gas filter from the carb,
letting the gas drain out. Took out the air filter, cleaned up, went
ahead and changed the oil, checked the plug. Nothing seems wrong.

Then I put the gas filter back on, and saw the air filter chamber
start to fill up with gas again. Help! What causes gas to come out of
the air filter chamber? I just got this thing fixed - am I doomed to
bad luck this year?

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

Thanks to all. Its handy to have an inlaw who knows these things as
well. He simply tapped at it a few times and apparently the float
unstuck itself. But knowing whats causing it will help if it happens
again. I generally shy away from messing with things I dont
understand, but you guys know how frustrating it can be when only half
of your lawn is mowed and the mower does things like this. Ill
probably go ahead and look into buying a rebuild kit and try to learn
it. But as usual, you guys were right on the money. Thanks again.

Riding mower doing weird things...
 

On 27 Jun 2004 05:19:57 -0700, (Xlar54) wrote:

Thanks to all. Its handy to have an inlaw who knows these things as
well. He simply tapped at it a few times and apparently the float
unstuck itself. But knowing whats causing it will help if it happens
again. I generally shy away from messing with things I dont
understand, but you guys know how frustrating it can be when only half
of your lawn is mowed and the mower does things like this. Ill
probably go ahead and look into buying a rebuild kit and try to learn
it. But as usual, you guys were right on the money. Thanks again.

Don't leave old gas in mower over winter... run it out of gas when you
think it's going to be the last use of the year..

How come it's so easy to say that but I never seem to rember to do it
myself...
Chuck