Neighbors Troy Bilt Pony cranks slow then kicks back, think its the ACR?

[slomo]

Fires on starting fluid for half a sec then dies.

What does this tell you? Engine needs air, fuel, spark (at the correct time) and compression to run. She is thirsty........

Stuck on ACR I see. Ignored the fueling deficiency above.

Take some 2 stroke mix. Spray directly into the carb inlet. See how long she will run WHILE spraying 2 stroke mix. Throw the Ether in the trash.

 

[sgkent]

the high compression could be a bad compression release. But if you can pull it over with the rope, or the starter crank it, it should fire even easier with the higher compression. If you are chasing a hard to pull engine then yes, ACR may be the issue. But if you are pulling and pulling, and cranking to no avail, that is not the ACR unless the engine is spinning so slow you are barely turning it over. Even then it if you get any spark and fuel ignition at all it should take off.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

With 145psi in a Briggs, sounds to me she is all carboned up internally. Yours and every other engine manual out there states to de-carbon the engine say like every 5-7 years.

Your other tests look good to me. 10.8 volts cranking is good.

Most people never even have the valves adjusted in many small engines. Probably the only time an engine gets the carbon cleaned internally is when a cylinder head gasket is being replaced, for example.

 

[BackyardBrian]

Fair enough fellas, you got me. I was so locked in on the grunt n kickback that I kinda blew right past the fuel side.
@sgkent and @slomo that makes sense. Even at 145 if its gettin proper fuel it should catch and keep runnin, not die half a sec after the starting fluid burns off. Fuel flow at the inlet and gas in the bowl both checked out, so whatevers starvin it has gotta be past the bowl. Main jet, emulsion tube, somethin in there.
@slomo I hear ya on the ether, its goin in the trash lol. Gonna spray some 2 stroke mix in the carb tonight and see if she keeps runnin while Im feedin it. And yea on the carbon. 10 yrs n 300 hrs and I doubt my neighbor ever had the head off, so its prob caked in there.
Cam kit is delivered and waiting so heres the plan for the weekend. Crack the sump, swap the cam, line up the timing marks and fish out any busted ACR pieces. Pull the head, scrape the carbon and throw a fresh head gasket on. Shroud has to come off for that anyway so Ill clean the fins while Im in there. Then the carb comes back off and gets torn all the way down. Emulsion tube, jets, float height, the works.
Will report back once I get the case open. Appreciate yall callin out my blind spots