Hi!
First post on this forum. I'm writing from Sweden so please be gentle if my English isn't perfect. :smile:
So, I have a Tecumseh TWM140 6.0 HP motor on a riding mower that have me really stumped. I can usually fix engines that won't start or I'll be able to determine that it's a lost cause...but this one is an enigma to me. I bought it as a non runner and the plan was to fix it and sell it with a small profit. So far it owes me about $80.
The previous owner was given the mower in another deal and had gotten a carb kit for it. He told me it was leaking fuel from the carb after he put it back together. I took the carb apart and found that the needle seat was missing. I got a new kit, cleaned the carb and put it all back together. The engine was given new fuel, spark plug and oil before I tried to start it. It did start and after some tweaking of the carb i was able to run it for awhile. It didn't run perfect and suddenly it just died, like the spark was killed. I checked for spark and it was there, so was the fuel. I tried to prime with some fuel directly into the cylinder and it fired but wouldn't run.
After several attempt to get it to run I gave up and ordered a replacement carb with new air filter from China. It took forever to get here, but it finally arrived last week. I had to modify the fitting for the fuel line since it needed to be 90° angle and the carb had a straight fitting. I also used the old shaft for the choke to be able to use the linkage arm.
Today I tried to start it again. First try was encouraging...it started after a few pulls and ran pretty good for a few seconds...then it just died the same way again, just like the kill switch was activated. I tried all my tricks: fuel directly in the cylinder, turning the mixture screw in or out, ether (starter fluid?), choke/no choke, full throttle/half throttle/no throttle. It will fire and sometimes even run for a few seconds but I haven't been able to get it to run. I can't identify one thing that makes it fire...it seems to be completely random. Aaaaargh!!! My arm is numb and my hand is blistered after pulling the pull cord 100 times!
I checked the compression and it was about 90 PSI. I don't know what it's supposed to be but I don't think that it's that bad. I have checked the spark and it is there, but I have a feeling that it's not that strong. The ignition is solid state so there are no points to check.
Any suggestions what I can do? I can't sell the thing if it's not reliable to start and run fine.
First post on this forum. I'm writing from Sweden so please be gentle if my English isn't perfect. :smile:
So, I have a Tecumseh TWM140 6.0 HP motor on a riding mower that have me really stumped. I can usually fix engines that won't start or I'll be able to determine that it's a lost cause...but this one is an enigma to me. I bought it as a non runner and the plan was to fix it and sell it with a small profit. So far it owes me about $80.
The previous owner was given the mower in another deal and had gotten a carb kit for it. He told me it was leaking fuel from the carb after he put it back together. I took the carb apart and found that the needle seat was missing. I got a new kit, cleaned the carb and put it all back together. The engine was given new fuel, spark plug and oil before I tried to start it. It did start and after some tweaking of the carb i was able to run it for awhile. It didn't run perfect and suddenly it just died, like the spark was killed. I checked for spark and it was there, so was the fuel. I tried to prime with some fuel directly into the cylinder and it fired but wouldn't run.
After several attempt to get it to run I gave up and ordered a replacement carb with new air filter from China. It took forever to get here, but it finally arrived last week. I had to modify the fitting for the fuel line since it needed to be 90° angle and the carb had a straight fitting. I also used the old shaft for the choke to be able to use the linkage arm.
Today I tried to start it again. First try was encouraging...it started after a few pulls and ran pretty good for a few seconds...then it just died the same way again, just like the kill switch was activated. I tried all my tricks: fuel directly in the cylinder, turning the mixture screw in or out, ether (starter fluid?), choke/no choke, full throttle/half throttle/no throttle. It will fire and sometimes even run for a few seconds but I haven't been able to get it to run. I can't identify one thing that makes it fire...it seems to be completely random. Aaaaargh!!! My arm is numb and my hand is blistered after pulling the pull cord 100 times!
I checked the compression and it was about 90 PSI. I don't know what it's supposed to be but I don't think that it's that bad. I have checked the spark and it is there, but I have a feeling that it's not that strong. The ignition is solid state so there are no points to check.
Any suggestions what I can do? I can't sell the thing if it's not reliable to start and run fine.
