Walk behind Craftsman 37299 21" 132cc Push Mower won't start.

Craftsman 37299 21" 132cc Push Mower won't start. I’ve only mowed the lawn 3 times. I bought a larger plastic gas can, so would guess some gas might have gone stale I’ve drained the gas, changed oil, changed spark plug. No luck. Oil was dirty. Sprayed starting fluid in carb. No luck. Will start for a few seconds then dies. Gas drains out of the carb ok, so fuel is flowing. Fuel filter looks ok. Screw at bottom of carb does not have holes. There is a hole in each side of a cylinder inside carb. Float moves ok. Any ideas? I see Sears warranty does not cover situation with stale gas. Have had several problems with this mower. I think they gave me a returned item instead of a new one. Should have returned it, but now it is past 30 days. Any chance they will give me warranty service on this issue?

Also the primer doesn't seem to feel right. Just seem to be pushing air continually.

Would help us if we had the full model number of the mower as well and the brand and model number of the engine. The mower model number should start with a three digit number like 917 or 358

It is the current year model. Just bought it. MTD 132cc OHV vertical shaft engine (that is all it says in engine manual). Manual gives six different model numbers of the 21" mower. First one listed is 247.37299*.
https://www.sears.com/craftsman-11a...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

Barcode scanner gives 1P1R61RU/ S1711111A1114 ZZONGSHEN

Don......... What item are you talking about that you think is a returned item ????

Yes you should have holes in the bowl nut.... Those holes need to be cleaned out...... They are stopped up so you cant see them ..... The gas passes thru those holes then up into that cylinder you spoke of.... Thats an emuslion tube....

How old is the mower ???

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

It is 2 months old. Just bought it. There are no holes in the lower bolt nut ( i have examined it 3 times).
There is one hole on each side of the carb metal cylinder.
I meant to say floor display item, not a returned item. When loaded in my car, it was
in a box for a different mower. Blade had been installed poorly. Pull start had
been installed in the wrong direction. After putting pull start in right position, the
cord broke 2nd time I used the mower. Motor ran too fast the 2 times it was working.
Obviously a floor display item, which their 800 number said they were not supposed to sell.

You have the MTD engine on your mower. Sounds like the mower was a demo unit that has had fuel setting in it, and the throttle butterfly is sticky as well as stale fuel deposits in the carb. sounds like time to pull the carb, and give it a good cleaning. Unless there is a manufacturer defect with the carb they won't touch it under warranty. And as an authorized service center for the craftsman products made by MTD, there is a bunch of paperwork that goes with trying to warranty a carb issue. Getting carb warranty covered is close to impossible with any brand of engine, Some of them are really difficult including having the factory authorization before the repair is done.

Wow 2 months old and it wasn't supposed to be sold .......... That's cause for a replacement mower ....

IL Engine is correct on his post.......

I would call again and politely talk to someone higher up for a new mower and explain that .......... Most phone calls are recorded for quality assurance.... If you can find the date on that phone call then you might be in good shape..... If you are using a smart phone and remember the number then you can look at the call details ....

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

donnieu said:

It is 2 months old. Just bought it. There are no holes in the lower bolt nut ( i have examined it 3 times).
There is one hole on each side of the carb metal cylinder.
I meant to say floor display item, not a returned item. When loaded in my car, it was
in a box for a different mower. Blade had been installed poorly. Pull start had
been installed in the wrong direction. After putting pull start in right position, the
cord broke 2nd time I used the mower. Motor ran too fast the 2 times it was working.
Obviously a floor display item, which their 800 number said they were not supposed to sell.

Click to expand...

Between the above and the DIRTY OIL, that machines been run a bunch (more than you have).

Being in a different box indicates someone returned it and obviously "dinked" with it a BUNCH.


***It would be best to return to the store and speak with the manager directly, WITH the mower.**

Be nice to start with, if you get nowhere, ask for a supervisor, then his(if needed), IE, be a PIA eventually if need be.

Per the 800 #, ask the manager why it was even sold. It sounds like someone returned a different mower than was originally sold (and no one checked to see if it was indeed the correct mower..

If it's still under warranty (states on-line-2 year limited warranty), bring it to the shop and let them fix the carb (clogged with varnish), governor/linkages.

Also, on the web site, the mower comes with oil, owners manual etc-Oil is NOT IN the engine. Yours, being dirty sounds like it was already in the engine. They sold you a USED MOWER, NOT a new one as I suspect you thought you were getting..

[/B]If the store will not make it right and you paid by credit card / Pay Pal, dispute the charge
.


Can you post a close up pic of the carb with the air filter off?

Lastly, the carb bolt in question, is the one holding the bowl onto the carb body. Is that the one you pulled put?
It should have a larger hole thru the side and a smaller one vertically reaching into the larger hole.. This allows fuel to be sucked up from the bowl into the venturi (sp?).



That engine does NOT appear a Briggs but a Chinese engine(as posted). Parts, like Harbor Freight Chinese engines are really hard if not impossible to find... IMO, find something with a Briggs engine on it

What you have is a Zongshen engine made in China.
It should be a Honda ( chonda) knock off.
There is no service information available for it apart from what MTD cares to tell their authorised service dealers during training sessions.
Times are tough for every mass manufacturer in the USA and most will be Chinese Owned or bankrupt in the not too distant future.
Zongshen have been sued several times by Honda over trade mark violations .
Zongshen make poor copies of both the CV and GXV series Honda engines which you can buy for as little as $ 10 ( US ) if you order in quantities of 10,000 +
If you care to take some photos so we can identify what you have then we can give you some good information as to how to get it running.
Otherwise we are just speculating.

Not sure how consumer advocacy works in the USA.
If it was down here , where we have mandatory 12 months min warranty, I would have gone strait to the government consummer affairs & lodged a claim.