SirMuddyKnees has been busy lately. Busy and productive. Let’s talk small engine repair for a minute.
The Briggs and Stratton push lawnmower I bought 3 years ago (model 10T500) started acting funny at the end of a normal grass-cutting session last month. All of a sudden it gasped, wheezed, and surged weakly. You couldn’t cut any grass with it. It seemed like it wasn’t getting enough oxygen, fuel, or both.
First thing: clean the dirty air filter and try again. No change. Check the fuel for contaminations, get clean fuel, spray Sta-Bil in fuel canister. No change.
At this point I’m nearing the end of my expertise about small engine repair. Of course I checked the oil and changed the spark plug. No change. I had changed the oil at the beginning of the summer. Besides, dirty oil shouldn’t make it surge at a weak idle like this. It surged and sputtered at low idle and struggled to stay running.
So it was time for SirMuddyKnees to start his research. First, he talked to people he knew and got some ideas. Jimmy said to take the carburetor apparatus off and look at the plug at the bottom and clean it. I started looking at the carb and soon realized I was going to have to take this engine half apart to get to it, which was something I haven’t done.
So SirMuddyKnees got down on his knees and got to work. He took the engine apart piece by piece and found some gaskets that looked like they needed replacing. As it turned out, it was the breather manifold that was busted, a part on the outside of the engine and easily accessible. The guy down at Napa Auto, an authorized dealer of Briggs and Stratton, was very helpful. He said it was all the ethanol they put in the gas that ruins these gaskets. I went ahead and replaced the carburetor diaphragm too (the gasket underneath, between the carb and the gas tank) while I was in there.
I adjusted the springs on the thingy on top of the carb (tightening them up) and she started right up and has been going strong ever since.
So for about 8 US American dollars I fixed my machine.
Thanks be to the internets. I found a Briggs and Stratton engine parts manual for my model that showed exactly how everything was put together.
So, what have we learned? That you can do things that you never thought possible (viz, fixing a lawnmower engine), if you just put your mind to it, use your noodle, conduct some research (including the best kind–ask a friend or an expert), and get a little dirty.
Go ahead. Try it.
