Toro mower wont start

I am new to this... just 8 hours of experience now, so bear with me.

I have a Toro CTS-XL self propelled lawn mower. The engine is made by Briggs and Stratton. The mower is about 8 years old now. It has been sitting in my shed un-used for about 4 or 5 years. I got it out today and she would not start.

The engine will turn over if I spray a little starter fluid in the carb, but it will stop after a second or two.

I took off the carburetor and cleaned it up a bit. There was some gunk in pickup tube so I cleaned that out. The bowl under the carb was filthy and had bits of glaze floating in it. Cleaned that out thoroughly as well. The self Metering ports on the bowl bolt were clogged as well, so I cleaned them out too.

The air filter was dirty so I blew it out with the air compressor, and when that didn't work, I replaced it with a new one. The Spark plug was gummed up with oil so I cleaned it up with WD-40 and when that didn't work I replaced it with a new one. The primer bulb was leaking so I replaced that as well.

The mower now as a new spark plug, new filter, new primer bulb, clean carb, clean bowl and it still will not start.

Since it will turn over when I give it some started fluid, but wont keep running, I suspect that it is a fuel supply or fuel / air mixture issue. But not sure what else to do.

The float in the bowl seems to work fine, I confirmed that it allows and cuts off the fuel flow in the respective positions, and the and the bowl is definitely filling with gas, so it is not a fuel line / supply issue. The throttle valve is clean and moves freely. So it is not an air supply issue. The gas is new, and the plug is sparking.

Help!

Thanks.

Sounds like you forgot to clean the main jet in the carb. Here's how. Get the bowl off and first make sure the float moves freely. OK. Now, in the middle of the float there is a shaft with a threaded hole in it. Look down there and there is a brass, flathead screw. Careful now, use the right size flathead and don't damage the screw when removing it. Once it's removed you will see the screw has some tiny holes in it. Make sure you can see light through them all. Just a tiny particle can stop the whole operation. Find a tiny wire that will fit through the tiny holes and push the wire through each hole. including the hole in the middle of the top of the screw where you put the screwdriver. Spray it with some carb cleaner and spray some carb cleaner in the hole where the screw goes. You should be good to go now. Reassemble everything and add some fuel. After adding the fuel allow a moment for the fuel to get to the bowl and then fire it up.

The jets in your mower may differ. If there is no flathead screw and instead there are two holes in there just shove the wire through them and spray some cleaner in there.

Just a tip, if you cant find a tiny enough wire, get an old, junk bicycle and cut the brake wire and use the strands from that.

I hope that helps.

I think that the "brass, flathead screw" that you are referring to is the self metering screw. the same screw that holds the bowl to the bottom of the carb.

See picture: 2011-09-05_1703 - PMG2009's library

Yes, there are 3 ports on this screw, left, right and top. I've cleaned those out as well.

I've also cleaned out the main injection tube (see picture) - Please correct me if I've mislabeled any of this stuff.

See picture: 2011-09-05_1700 - PMG2009's library

I thought that there might be a problem with fuel flow due to alignments of the parts. Doesn't the notch in the bottom of the main threaded cylinder have to align with the self metering screw ports? I double checked that before and after re-assembly too...

See picture: 2011-09-05_1712 - PMG2009's library

But she is still acting like she is not getting any gas.

Could this be something else? Like a safety? I've got the safety bar depressed fully when I'm pull starting her, but maybe there is something else? Catch bag sensor? Anything?

I also don't seem to have a manual throttle on this unit. Just thinking out loud...

I am still confused, and the grass ain't gettin' any shorter.

Help!

Thanks.

This sounds like what I have had when I have left gas in the carburetor for way too long. The insides can get gunked up with a varnish-like deposit. I have managed recently to save a carburetor through the use of Sea Foam fuel treatment. The Sea Foam brand seems far more effective than its competition (and is priced accordingly). Clean things up as best you can, then use a strong dose of it in the gas tank and if the carburetor is savable. It may not be enough. A couple years ago I had to replace a carburetor on a generator that sat for 18 months.

i would take it off again and soak it overnight in cleaner...go head and replace the needle and seat while your at it and both gaskets on either side:smile:

Make sure the metering holes for the throttle plate are clear as well.

http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/images/kohler_carb_4705315/_lo_holes.JPG
(yes, I realize it is a kohler, but the same principle applies to Briggs & Stratton)

Try a set of dentist picks, or a torch tip cleaner bent at a 90 degree angle to clean these out.

Other possible options for why it won't start could include valves out of adjustment (if overhead valve), a sheared flywheel key causing the unit to be out of time, or low compression.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

Where the Self metering screw go in to is were you need to clean. That is clogged up and what you need to clean out

That hole should go through to the barrel of the carb