New Carburetor with Oil Question

Gytaryst

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I have a MTD- Yard Machines push mower I bought new in 2012.
Model Number: 11A-A54R229, Serial Number: 1D102K21923

It has the following Briggs & Stratton engine:
Model Number: 10L602
Type: 4457 F2
Code: 12032752

I replaced the carburetor yesterday. Now when I start it, it runs very rough for a few seconds pumping a cloud of smoke out everywhere thru the exhaust, and there is oil all over the carburetor and up into the air filter. No idea where it's coming from.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

bertsmobile1

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It is coming from the breather.
Most likely you will find the oil level to be too high.
If so drain the oil and change it , run the mower for a single mow & change the oil again.

If the oil level is fine then the head gasket is blown.
 

Gytaryst

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It is coming from the breather.
Most likely you will find the oil level to be too high.
If so drain the oil and change it , run the mower for a single mow & change the oil again.

If the oil level is fine then the head gasket is blown.
Thank you. The oil level doesn't seem to be too high. I just changed the oil a month ago. I've been having problems getting it to crank up this year. The original priming bulb dry rotted so I replaced it with a "Universal" one from Lowes. It never seemed to work very good - like it never had a good seal. The other day I was mowing and it just sputtered and stopped like it ran out of gas - except it had 1/2 a tank. Rather than going out and buying a new one I decided to take a gamble and try replacing the carburetor, the air filter and the spark plug. $40 vs a new mower.

Apparently the gamble didn't pay off. So new mower it is.

Thanks for your response.
 

tom3

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When you put the new carb on did you lean the mower over to get to the carb easier? Maybe flooded the valve spring chamber with oil and the breather tube carried a good slug of that?
 

bertsmobile1

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Thank you. The oil level doesn't seem to be too high. I just changed the oil a month ago. I've been having problems getting it to crank up this year. The original priming bulb dry rotted so I replaced it with a "Universal" one from Lowes. It never seemed to work very good - like it never had a good seal. The other day I was mowing and it just sputtered and stopped like it ran out of gas - except it had 1/2 a tank. Rather than going out and buying a new one I decided to take a gamble and try replacing the carburetor, the air filter and the spark plug. $40 vs a new mower.

Apparently the gamble didn't pay off. So new mower it is.

Thanks for your response.

Head gaskets are around $ 10 and take about an hour to replace
Make that $ 15 if you include a new rocker cover gasket.
 

cpurvis

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No need to buy a new mower over this.
 

tom3

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When you put the new carb on did you lean the mower over to get to the carb easier? Maybe flooded the valve spring chamber with oil and the breather tube carried a good slug of that?

OHV engine, oops. Sorry.
 

Gytaryst

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No need to buy a new mower over this.
Maybe.
I bought this one in 2012 and it's taken quite a beating. I had to replace the bail arm a few years ago. The replacement they sent me was supposed to be the correct OEM part, but it's a hair smaller than the original. When I pull it back it's lower than the handle. No big deal - it works, just feels awkward. The priming bulb I replaced never worked right, (not an issue now that I've replaced the entire carburetor). I recently had to replace the front plastic piece that holds the front wheels on. The old one just got tired, soft and floppy. It wasn't cracked or broken, it just didn't hold the wheels solidly anymore you could hold the two front wheels and bend them any whichway you wanted the plastic was so wore out.

Long story short - I only paid $149 for this mower back in 2012 and it's a 158cc Briggs & Stratton mulching mower. To buy one comparable today I'm looking at $250 or more. The stuff I've seen in the $150 range is 120cc no name small, flimsy crap that doesn't look like it would make it through the summer. So rather than fork out $250 I figured I could keep this thing running. But at this point as soon as I replace one thing something else needs to be replaced, and none of the parts I can find seem to quite be the same as the original.

So I think I'm just going to cut my losses, bite the bullet and just cough up the $250. My only criteria is that it's (at least 158cc or bigger), that it's a mulching mower, and that it is not self propelled. I was hoping I could get thru the summer with this one and maybe they'd be cheaper in the fall, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Thanks again guys.
 

bertsmobile1

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Not trying to be insulting or lecturing but you really should be looking a bit higher up the food chain.
If you managed to get 6 years out of a bottom end mower you have done very well, substantially better than most.
Down here the supermarket mowers rarely run better than 3 seasons and most spend more time in trucks being replaced than they do on the lawns.
However both you and the planet would be much better off if you bought a mower that will last 20+ years.
If nothing else you will save a lot of time researching the market every 5 years or so trying to work out which mowers are value for money.
That wipes out the bottom 1/2 to 1/3 price wise which at best could be called single season throw aways.

Start a new thread "Best value push mower for X size yard"
Describe your requirements , your yard if you know the type of grasss.
There are lots of techs here who will happily give you unbiased advice on which mower will suit your needs and give you a long service life.
Then it is up to you to see which ones you can afford.
In 1966 my father bought his first petrol powered mower and we had a very rough 1/3 acre lot. We could not afford it and paid it off over 3 years.
My sister still has it and her neighbour uses it to mow the common areas of the block of apartments she lives in and the grass on the blocks either sides.
Now in 1966 that mower had a price tag which was 3 weeks wages but over 50 years the cost has been effectively nothing.
Every now & then the hipsters see Ron mowing the grass with the "anchient Victa" pull over & offer him silly money for the "cool " mower, much more than dad paid for it even allowing for 50 years of inflation.
 
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