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Homelite 26B 2 cycle engine. Was rough starting last year. Worse this year. Now will not start all all. Changed the fuel lines. New spark plug - gap set at .025 to match existing - unconfirmed if this is correct - no info. in manual.

Confirmed it is getting spark. Confirmed it is getting gas - can see and smell gas in cylinder when spark plug is off.

After new fuel lines and spark plug - almost got it to start after approx 20 pulls. But will not start and run.

Any ideas?

Thanks-

Check your head bolts and make sure they are tight.

tspencer1 said:

Homelite 26B 2 cycle engine. Was rough starting last year. Worse this year. Now will not start all all. Changed the fuel lines. New spark plug - gap set at .025 to match existing - unconfirmed if this is correct - no info. in manual.

Confirmed it is getting spark. Confirmed it is getting gas - can see and smell gas in cylinder when spark plug is off.

After new fuel lines and spark plug - almost got it to start after approx 20 pulls. But will not start and run.

Any ideas?

Thanks-

Click to expand...

Sounds like it is flooded, try starting without priming it so heavily.
Check air filter
Hard to Start Engines:
When working with 2-stroke engines, you should understand that they're easy to flood and a flooded 2-stroke is harder to start than a flooded 4-stroke. The best thing to do is to prevent flooding it. It's also important to understand that a cold engine and a hot engine may require a different procedure to start the engine. If the piece of equipment is yours, learn how to start it under various conditions and it will be much more pleasant to own/use. If you're borrowing it, ask the owner how to start it. If he has problems starting it, look up the owner's manual for it. It should provide the best starting procedure.
For most 2-stroke engines, you set the engine shut-off switch to 'run'. You choke it and pull it until you hear it 'pop' (a sharper sound than it initially makes). As soon as you hear it pop (try to start), immediately take it off of choke and pull it a few more times. If the engine is in good working order, it should start after only a few more pulls. If you continue to pull one it with it on choke, it will flood and you will either have to let it sit for 30 minutes (or more) or take the plug out, dry/clean it, pull it many times to clear the fuel in the cylinder and then reassemble it to start it. Hard-starting is one of the biggest problems/complaints with 2-stroke engines. The problem is often the procedure, not the engine.

Check the spark arrestor screen in your muffler.
Those can get plugged up with carbon. preventing the engine from exhausting.
That is a slow developing problem which can cause an increasingly difficult start/run problem.
Like the old potato up the tailpipe trick....if the engine can't exhaust, it can't breathe....it can't run.

BlazNT, Shiftsuper and Ronno - thanks all - will check.

And on flooding - that makes sense since:

1. I smelled a lot of gas when I took the spark plug off; saw gas in the cylinder; and the spark plug was wet with gas.

2. Makes further since because last night I tried to start it and it started on 1st pull.

Thanks all.