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It will start with starting fluid and run for a few seconds. I called a shop and they suggested the carb. needs cleaning but it's kind of hard to check that. Do those fuel pumps really do any pumping? Doesn't seem that they do. I put a new one on and it made no difference.

Start throwing money at the problem is no way to fix the problem besides it can get down right expensive guessing at the cause.

The shop is right as it is most likely a dirty carburetor. To check the fuel pump disconnect the fuel line from carburetor and try cranking the engine. Fuel should flow out in pulses.

You mentioned fuel pump so that means it must be a ride on mower or wide area walk behind
And you mentioned Craftsman so the engine could be a Generac, Tecumseh, Kohler Loncin or Briggs
So now we have narrowed down the field to around 4000 by eliminating Honda, Kawakasi & Yamaha engines
Of course we still do not know weather the mower was made by AYP, Murray, Noma or MTD .
Likewise we can eliminate Toro, JD , Troy Built and about another 5 factories who never made mowers for Craftsman ,
So if you think it is too hard to clean a carb then why should I bother to get a headache trying to work out what your problem could be ?
Then after working out what the problem is we then have to work out what you did to cause it other than to ring the mower shop .
Even then is it worth my time & effort as you obviously can not be bothered to tell us anything about the mower and even after being told the carb needed cleaning you decided to ignore what the shop told you ( which was correct by the way ) and swap the fuel pump .
So help you ?
I will have a think about it after I have helped every one else who has made some effort to tell us what the problem is and how it happened because they have made life easy for me so I will make life easy for them

You win. We can't guess the make and model. Now give us the model number and serial number of the mower, and of the engine. Maybe some photos, and also tell us how old the fuel in the tank is.

Mine is a 2005 LT1000 with a Briggs & Stratton engine, and mine has an electric solenoid that shuts off and opens on the carburetor when it gets voltage.

I think mine is like that. I fixed this once before. I seem to remember there was a pin sticking out from the bottom of the solenoid and I pushed it in and everything was fine. This time I don't see the pin, which seems odd. There is a black wire that comes out of the bottom but no pin. These silly shops try to tell me it's a dirty carb. No way. I use ethanol-free fuel only. And besides a dirty carb. wouldn't prevent the mower from running. It may not run as smooth, but it would still run.

Sounds like a similar problem I had with my JD Z425. Sometimes wouldn't start, sometimes randomly quit. Checked fuel pump, it was operating fine. I finally tracked the problem down to a defective ignition switch, it wasn't keeping the fuel solenoid operated. Replaced switch and everything worked fine after that. Hope this is helpful.

cupboy said:

I think mine is like that. I fixed this once before. I seem to remember there was a pin sticking out from the bottom of the solenoid and I pushed it in and everything was fine. This time I don't see the pin, which seems odd. There is a black wire that comes out of the bottom but no pin. These silly shops try to tell me it's a dirty carb. No way. I use ethanol-free fuel only. And besides a dirty carb. wouldn't prevent the mower from running. It may not run as smooth, but it would still run.

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Bull. It doesn't matter if run non ethanol or not. All fuels contains additives that can clog carburetor over time. And yes a dirty carburetor can cause one not to even start or run.

If it was the first start of a new season I would always suspect bad fuel or varnish in the carb, or maybe a mouse or rat chewing on wires.

I had already drained the fuel and replaced it. The same fuel as used in the string trimmer and the string trimmer works fine. The mower doesn't even try to use any fuel anyway.

1. Air to fuel ratio
2. Compression
3. spark at the right time

Which ever is missing is why something does not run right. It really is that simple.

The op believes firmly that it is impossible to have a carburetor problem because he used so-called 100 pure gas. It might be ethanol free but is not without additives.

I give up trying to explain things. I haven't spent the last 13 yrs cleaning various carburetors just for my health. It like saying since I don't smoke so I cant get lung cancer.

I did quit using the toxic chemical cleaners in favor of soap and water.

StarTech said:

I give up trying to explain things. I haven't spent the last 13 yrs cleaning various carburetors just for my health. It like saying since I don't smoke so I cant get lung cancer.

I did quit using the toxic chemical cleaners in favor of soap and water.

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If i had $40/hr for every customer who brought me a mower saying they cleaned the carb and it can't be the problem. Oh wait...i do. Especially the honda type carbs with the tiny pilot jets that take a micro drill to open them up that no amount of carb spray will fix. My weapon of choice is the ultrasonic cleaner. I love the utube vids where somone just sprays a little crappy carb cleaner through it and miraculously it is perfectly clean.

It $55/hr here. What worst is the MTD carburetor that even the rebuild kits didn't fix as it burning too rich and I even used the smaller jets. I ended replacing the carburetor. Or the carburetor on the Honda generator that I having to replace due the plastic needle seat leaking and not replaceable. Hopefully the second carburetor is okay. At it is not broken like the first one.

YouTube is a joke at times.

StarTech said:

It $55/hr here. What worst is the MTD carburetor that even the rebuild kits didn't fix as it burning too rich and I even used the smaller jets. I ended replacing the carburetor. Or the carburetor on the Honda generator that I having to replace due the plastic needle seat leaking and not replaceable. Hopefully the second carburetor is okay. At it is not broken like the first one.

YouTube is a joke at times.

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You mean you actually got the MTD carb kit to fit. Almost every one that I have had to install there is some part in the kit that is incorrect for the carb. Correct part number per IPL but the float valve is wrong, or the wrong bowl gasket, or some other part that you need but can't use.

And you guys are cheap with your labor. I am on the cheap side for my area at $70/hr. Most are in the $85-150/hr for the big dealers.

All the dealers around me are right at $100 an hour. I do ok at $40 but i am considering going to $50. I have a lot less overhead than the dealers.

Hammermechanicman said:

All the dealers around me are right at $100 an hour. I do ok at $40 but i am considering going to $50. I have a lot less overhead than the dealers.

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if you are full time and not a semi-hobby I would raise /hr price. Add up the hours you loose looking for parts, checking inventory, invoicing, keeping your books, doing your taxes etc..

at least is higher than my brother insisted on charging for his work. He wanted to do at $10 /hr. He lost his shirt tail and 6K the first year. Started accusing me of stealing from him.

sgkent said:

if you are full time and not a semi-hobby I would raise /hr price. Add up the hours you loose looking for parts, checking inventory, invoicing, keeping your books, doing your taxes etc..

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I am pretty much full time spring till fall. I retired at 61 a few years ago and took the shop full time. I had been doing it as a side hustle for 30+ years. My overhead is almost no existent and no mortgage and no debt. At $40/hr i actually clear more profit than dealers at $100/hr. I also run a one man consulting business so i have plenty of work. In fact my accountant told me to buy some more stuff that is deductible to help with taxes so i am really upgrading my woodworking tools.

I dunno. Got named one time in a civil lawsuit back in the mid-80's in the all those other folks involved list because someone borrowed my office and desk to sign a business transaction that went south. I was on vacation and literally knew nothing about it nor had I been involved in any way. The plaintiff just saw my name plate on a credenza where the other guy set it while he was using my desk cause he was new and didn't have a permanent office yet. The million dollar plus lawsuit was finally discharged by the judge but for about a year there was always the possibility that I might have to hire an attorney to keep my name out of it otherwise. Since then I either make enough money to cover weird things like that if they happen, or I am not interested in the work. No way do I want to make $60,000 a year in a job someone in a hurry can damage their foot with a mower, and then say that I screwed up the controls working on it. But I understand that once retired the government takes a lot more back per dollar earned. State paid me roughly $10,000 they assessed themselves as a penalty for not properly paying my last pay check for months after I retired. I ended up losing about $8500 of that to additional taxes it caused on top of my retirement.

Everything i do is legal. I have a LLC business license and a tax ID number and liability insurance. My accountant approves all my deductions. I make and sell and pay sales tax on stuff i make like cabinets, wooden flags and other things. So my wood shop tools are deductible just like tools for the mower shop. I am not going to draw social security till i turn 67 so i don't have to woory about uncle sam cutting my paycheck.

Well Hammer I need the Medicare so I pulling the trigger at 65 myself. Right I doubt the government will even pay me the SS checks since it has been over two years since I filed the 2020 tax return and I am still awaiting my refund. I also havent anything on this year's (2021) tax return either which I am also due a refund on.

No way in heck you can talk to a real person at the IRS (Idiot Ran Service). So if I don't get a refund by next tax filing I file and send no money.

I never see my taxes. I drop off everthing at the accountant and she does everything and e files it for me. She sends me a hard copy in May. I turn 65 this year so i will get on the Medicare bandwagon and quit paying through the nose for marketplace healthcare.

I think that one can file for medicare, and postpone on the Soc Sec part but I don't know for sure. I know that when covid hit the wait times at soc sec / medicare offices went astronomical. It was like six weeks between appointments back in 2018 when I retired, "fill this out, call to make another appointment, and bring it back then" sort of deal. That said, kinda waiting on the OP to come back with the reason his engine isn't getting fuel.

Yes, Medicare and SS are separate.

For me it is my current income level would not support paying medicare and the part C plans. If I didn't own my home I would be in serious trouble now.

But we need to get back the OP problem that started this thread.

StarTech said:

But we need to get back the OP problem that started this thread.

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He needs to actually properly clean the carb check the fuel pump and lines. Like 50% of all the problems folks bring here.

The OP needs to post the status and where he wants to go next with this.

The OP needs to answer the questions asked way back in replies 3 & 4 .
IF & when he does that then I will chime in but I am steadfast in the approach that if we ask people do do something & they don't do it then we are wasting our time & there are plenty of people who actually want & appreciate our help .

cupboy said:

It will start with starting fluid and run for a few seconds. I called a shop and they suggested the carb. needs cleaning but it's kind of hard to check that. Do those fuel pumps really do any pumping? Doesn't seem that they do. I put a new one on and it made no difference.

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Is there a possibility the fuel tank cap vent is plugged? A long shot, but hey.

Removed that solenoid and the pin did seem to be stuck so now it isn't but the stupid thing still won't start. I also made sure 12V current was finding it's way to the solenoid. Who knows, maybe someone siphoned my gas? I will check that tomorrow and also try starting it with starter fluid. I am running out of ideas.

One other funny thing that happened was that the metal clip that helped hold the air filter in place popped off when I was working on these other problems and now I can't find it. Weird.

If it was legal (and I had the skills) I would rig this machine up with dynamite and blow it up.

You could always pull a Colonel Potter from MASH and just put it out its misery by shoot it.

You guys at $40.00 and $50.00 an hour are way off the scale. We get $80.00 and hour. We have a shop in town that gets $85.00 an hour and a minimum charge of $80.00 just to look at it.

All depends. Big shop in town and the JD dealer are $98/hr. I am $40/hr. They have massive overhead costs. Rent, employees, debt payments, advertising, benefits the list goes on. I on the otherhand have almost no overhead. Other than liability insurance, business cards and a website i don't have any overhead. I could probably open a bigger shop and make more money but i don't need to. Bigger is not always better.

Hammermechanicman said:

Bigger is not always better.

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Well, "sometimes" bigger IS better !!!

Cusser said:

Well, "sometimes" bigger IS better !!!

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I see what you did there.

Hammermechanicman said:

All depends. Big shop in town and the JD dealer are $98/hr. I am $40/hr. They have massive overhead costs. Rent, employees, debt payments, advertising, benefits the list goes on. I on the other hand have almost no overhead. Other than liability insurance, business cards and a website i don't have any overhead. I could probably open a bigger shop and make more money but i don't need to. Bigger is not always better.

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And it doesn't mean they are honest either. I have been lied to with a straight face. And I know they were lying. Nor have tech that actually know what they are doing. I got several local shops here including the JD dealer that have tech that don't have any idea of what they doing.

Just a couple examples of the local dealer techs. One told a customer of mine that his Z925A Kawasaki didn't have an oil pump. Then what is the oil filter for? Another tech had no idea how to do pressure/vacuum test on a Stihl HS56 hedger nor could he find a bad spark plug. Another shop did one heck of a hatchet job of another customer ZTR wiring harness that I had to straighten out.

Yes I am at $55 / hr currently 60.23 / hr with taxes. And I don't have the overhead like the brick and mortar shops but at least I don't lie to the customers either. I am however planning on raising my rates soon due expenses I am now incurring due to inflation now.

What happened to the OP?

This thread in nothing but 3 thread jackers and a lot of W-2 wonder business guff. 4 pages now with no resolution.

At least the guy is not selling MS junk like some other spammer on here LOL.

Who me? I think I just need to replace the solenoid. If I remove and push in that pin it starts but then the next time I go to use the mower it is stuck again. What sort of price could I expect to see on this part?

cupboy said:

Who me? I think I just need to replace the solenoid. If I remove and push in that pin it starts but then the next time I go to use the mower it is stuck again. What sort of price could I expect to see on this part?

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Not much for a plug block off bowl hanger nut.

Or free if you snip off the plunger and shaft. Idle down and shut off gas about a minute prior to killing the engine, As in you are driving it to the shed.