Tecumseh Lawnmower Please Help!

BriggsForLife

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Aug 11, 2017
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Hello everyone,
I have been fixing a Tecumseh lawnmower recently and it has proven to be brutal. When I got it the lawnmower was a mess. I did a bunch of cosmetic work to get it looking nice and then moved to mechanical issues. When I got it it would run then stop. So I cleaned that carb and replaced the emulsion tube (I broke the old one when taking it out to clean it). This got the lawnmower running but not running well. So, after inspecting the flywheel I found that key was bent. Causing about 5cm of play back and forth in the flywheel. Unfortunately I cracked the old flywheel when trying to take it off. So I was able to salvage both a flywheel from another lawnmower and a coil. The flywheel is the same size it just has a different manufacturing number on it and it made great spark so I figured it was fine. So after replacing the key, flywheel and coil the lawnmower ran very strong. I did a couple of passes of my lawn and thought all was well and shut it off. After about 2 hours I came back and started the lawnmower and it ran rough again (just as it had before the flywheel key replacement). I found that if I held in the primer bulb the engine ran smoothly so it was worth a shot to replace the primer. It is also worth noting during the trouble shooting period I noticed a bit of light blue smoke when I took of the foam for my air filter and peered inside. I just assumed this was a bit of oil left over from me tipping it over to sharpen the blade. Or the crankcase vent doing it's job. My theory on the primer bulb was that maybe some air was being let in through cracks in the old bulb and messing with the mixture. (Even though the lawnmower ran great before). What I really think was that pushing in and holding the primer only enriched the fuel mixture. So, after replacing the primer the lawnmower ran fine again. After a couple of days the pull start locked up though my friend fixed it (So I don't have any detail on what was wrong) and got it worked fine again. However, I came back to it a day later and the mower ran rough again and the pull cord locked again. In order to fix the pull cord locking I had to turn the flywheel backwards a few turns. While I was doing this I heard a 'click' sound and the pressure on the flywheel seemed to be relieved. I wonder if it has to do with the engine brake on the handle not engaging properly. I also ran a compression test at this time too but the engine scored 90 psi. However! when I pulled the spark plug I found that there was oil on the electrode. Even after cleaning it and pulling it over I still found oil. The lawnmower still does not run but it has spark and compression. So my suspicion now is that the rings or valve guides on the engine are bad. But I'm not quite sure how that is related to my locked up flywheel issue. I welcome any advice you guys can give me. The lawnmower is for my girlfriend's dad, lucky me right? haha! The model number is LEV 120 361015B
Cheers
 

ILENGINE

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Recheck the air gap on the ignition module to flywheel. May not be a bad idea to recheck the flywheel key to make sure it hasn't moved.
 

BriggsForLife

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Hi again. So last night I was tinkering with the float level and was able to get the lawnmower not flooding. I think what I thought was oil was actually unspent fuel mixed in with the oil from when I tipped it over. I then inspected the bolt on the bowl and then the idle screw and found dirt clogging them. That's the 3rd time they have clogged up even though I have cleaned out the gas tank! So after cleaning them the engine ran well but ran hot (lean) I found after adjusting the throttle I was able to get it to run at an acceptable temperature. The spark plug is dry now when I take it out. The only other issue I would like to fix is prime. The lawnmower doesn't seem to want to start on first pull even with 10 shots of prime. I have tried all the tricks (prime slow prime fast etc). And I do have a new bulb. When I look inside the carb I can see the gas travelling up the emulsion tube and the other tube closest to the air cleaner (Not familiar with its name) I have to hold the primer in for a second so the gas travels down the tube and settles to the venturi. It's just to me the action seems very weak. I'm used to briggs carburetors that shoot the gas straight out when you prime it. This Tecumseh one works but just doesn't seem strong. When I let off the primer the gas travels back down the two tubes (I'm not sure if that is a sign of something) Because the lawnmower is bowl prime (The primer bulb pressurizes the fuel bowl and then gas shoots up the emulsion tube) I thought maybe there was an issue with the float. My thinking was if the float was a hair to low the primer bulb couldn't pressurize the bowl enough to shoot a powerful shot of gas up the emulsion tube. But that was not the case. The only thing left I believe is the bowl gasket. I did oil this up and it felt tight and snug when I put the bowl back on the carb during the carb clean. I also cleaned the face that it sat in because there was a lot of corrosion. But maybe it is time for a new one. It did have a bit of corrosion on it from ethanol. Just don't feel like shelling out the cash if it won't make a difference. I could have torn the new primer bulb when installing it but I don't think that is likely. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks so much
 

ILENGINE

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Air leak at the bowl gasket will prevent the prime from working correctly. Also the air filter mount for the housing has to be attached to the carb for the prime to work on some carbs.
 

cpurvis

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Aug 25, 2015
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If you use paragraphs, more people will read your posts. The more people who read your posts, the more likely someone will recognize your problem.

Not trying to be a smart ***** or anything, just making a suggestion.
 
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