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I have a Toro Recycler...22 inch with a B&S Intek 6.75 HP engine. It has always started on the 2nd or 3rd pull...hot or cold....until this Summer. It always starts when cold, but now, after running for 20 or 30 minutes, it is a real bear to restart...takes a dozen or more pulls. If I leave it sit for an hour, it starts right up. I have pulled the plug, and it appears to be flooding. I replaced the carburetor...I found a new one online for not much more than a rebuild kit...and it acts the same. I took the engine covers off and cleaned out all the dirt and debris, in case it was overheating. I just use this mower to trim around the trees, etc., before I get the riding mower out. Does anyone have any tips on what else I might check. I installed an in-line fuel filter, and a new air filter. The mower is about 10 years old, and has been great until this began. I also checked the coil for gap, etc., and the plug wire...my spark checker indicated that I am getting good spark. I've seen some tips about valve seating, when hot...but I don't notice any real difference in the compression (how hard it is to pull the rope), hot or cold. Mowing season is about to end, so I will have plenty of time in coming months to work on this.

adjust valves with engine cold, post model xxxxxx, type xxxx, trim xx & code number

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/n...nemanuals.html?searchrequested=126t02-0220-b1

https://www.ganino.com/games/Briggs... Single Cylinder L-Head BRIGGS & STRATTON.pdf

mechanic mark said:

adjust valves with engine cold, post model xxxxxx, type xxxx, trim xx & code number

Click to expand...

Here's the engine numbers.....126T02-0220-B1 0710 1958. Found them on a plate above the muffler..hopefully that will help.....looks like it is a Flathead engine...not OHV.

Thx for responding.

Difficult hot starting is one of the indications of an over rich mixture
It is also an indication of a failing coil.
So you can clean out thee the carb paying particular attention to the float needle & seat and try again
You can eliminate the coil as a problem by fitting an inline spark tester and seeing if you get a reliable spark when hot.
New ignition modules are not particularly expensive but you don't want to go replacing it if it is still working fine.
One of my customers ended up fitting one of those flashing spark plug caps on his mower as a 4 pack of them was cheaper than the tester,

I've built a very simply and cheap spark tester out of a lamp cord (the type with 2 spades and no ground)and two alligator clips. Pinch the two plug spade together until they are about .030 apart. On the other end strip back the insulation and soldier a clip to each of the wires. To use pull the spark plug boot off and clip one end to the spark plug and the other to the terminal in the boot. When you pull the engine over you should notice a spark jumping the two spades on the plug. Mine is about five feet long, so I can hold it, the mowers brake bail and pull starter safely from behind the mower..

bertsmobile1 said:

Difficult hot starting is one of the indications of an over rich mixture
It is also an indication of a failing coil.
So you can clean out thee the carb paying particular attention to the float needle & seat and try again
You can eliminate the coil as a problem by fitting an inline spark tester and seeing if you get a reliable spark when hot.
New ignition modules are not particularly expensive but you don't want to go replacing it if it is still working fine.
One of my customers ended up fitting one of those flashing spark plug caps on his mower as a 4 pack of them was cheaper than the tester,

Click to expand...

I replaced the carb, with the same results.
I have installed a good spark tester, and I have good spark....hot or cold.

Then you have ruled out the coil going bad.
This leaves you with a plug of loose crud in the bottom of the fuel tank.
As the fuel get sucked through the fuel line the crud blocks off the fuel outlet.
When the engine sits for a while the crud disperses and fuel flows freely.

bertsmobile1 said:

Then you have ruled out the coil going bad.
This leaves you with a plug of loose crud in the bottom of the fuel tank.
As the fuel get sucked through the fuel line the crud blocks off the fuel outlet.
When the engine sits for a while the crud disperses and fuel flows freely.

Click to expand...

Good idea...I haven't pulled the gas tank...will do so, and clean it out. Also, I found a couple of tips about the gas cap, which might apply. It seems that when the motor is hot, the gas can expand, and force the engine to flood when it is stopped. That seems to fit my "condition"....as it appears that the plug is "wet" when I pull it after the mower sits for a few minutes, Hot. I found a vented gas cap online, and ordered one.

What ended up happening?

Prodeje79 said:

What ended up happening?

Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't update this topic. After installing a new vented gas cap, the mower has worked well for the past couple of Summers. The original gas cap wasn't "vented", and I suspect that the combination of a hot Summer day, and the engine heat, allowed the pressure to build up in the tank, and flood the carb/engine. Now, I can run the mower for 1/2 hour, then stop the engine for a few minutes, and it restarts with one or two pulls.

I had this identical problem with my Toro lawn mower. It's about 10 years old. Always started first pull when hot or cold. Now it takes a couple of pulls when it's cold, and won't start at all when it's hot. I need to let it set 15 minutes after stopping it to empty the trimming bag. I tried a couple things suggested here. I replaced the spark plug and air filter (first time since buying it). I also tried loosening the fuel cap such that it wasn't air tight, to see if a vented fuel cap would solve the problem. None of these changes made any improvement in my hot starting. Then I started messing with the choke. I'm not a motor guy AT ALL. I added a picture that indicates where the choke is on my mower. I shoved a clothes pin into the choke to force it closed, and the mower started first pull. I had to pull out the clothes pin quickly so it would run smoothly. So I loosened the screw holding the choke, which I highlighted in my second picture, sprayed some WD40 at the connections, and cleaned the grass and dirt from it. Now it runs great and starts first pull hot or cold.