Briggs & Stratton won't prime

pugaltitude said:

It will be a dry primer so will use air to push fuel up main jet.

The air filter backing plate is not sealing against the carb.

The air filter backing plate can be distorted so you may need a new one but usually just put more gaskets on to seal the gap.

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bwdbrn1 said:

The gaskets are inexpensive so I'd recommend getting a couple of the genuine article for the Briggs and Stratton engine you have. Next, snug the bolts that hold the air cleaner base up, but don't go Magilla Gorilla on them. That's what causes those bases to warp and fail to seal properly.

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Mike88se said:

Hey I was looking at the carb and I don't see any way it will prime. If you look at the pic there are 2 holes in the carb about where the red dots are. I was thinking the primer pushed air through one of those but neither is even close to being where that would happen. I looked closer at the car and here is a plugged hole where the green dot is. That seems to be where any priming action would happen. That bulb is never going to push any air through there.
View attachment 19521

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pugaltitude said:

Yes the green hole is where the priming happens.
I assume its blocked with dirt?

If the engine was to start with a choke instead of primer then the hole would be
blocked completely (not drilled out)

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Rivets said:

That hole should be connected directly to the float bowl. If you take compressed air and blow lightly into the hole and watch to see if fuel is pumped into the carb throat. No fuel means you will have to remove the carb and give it a 24 hour bath, to open that passageway. Can you provide a picture of the front of the carb?

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Mike88se said:

I can get a pic later but a bath isn't going to open the hole ...there is no hole really. Under the brown stuff is just metal. I probed at it with a pik to get the brown stuff out and underneath is just metal.

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