I need help again from the small engine gurus of DU

[ulysses]

My mower is leaking gas from behind the air filter.



Any ideas? I'm assuming it's a hose somewhere, but I can't feel a leak in one one to the extent that I can feel behind that back plate. TIA.

[Kali]

1. sorry for the smart ass answer

but get a push mower or a sheep!

[ulysses]

2. baaaa.

:P

[pscot]

3. If you google

the make and model, you should be able to find a diagram. It should be a simple matter to unclip the hose and examine it. A suitable replacement can likely be found at an auto parts store.

[ulysses]

4. can't seem to find a diagram online

and the one in the manual is for shit. I think I'm just going to go take the sob apart...

[demosincebirth]

5. I've found out that some times its cheaper to buy a new one.

[jmowreader]

6. I don't think it's a hose

Besides the fact that some lawn mowers don't have fuel hoses, just a little stub sticking out the bottom of the gas tank that mates with a little stub sticking out the top of the carb...

Behind the air cleaner is the carburetor. In it is a float that sits in the float bowl. Think of the float bowl as the last fuel filter that gas will ever see--the really big chunks sink to the bottom--and the float bowl also regulates how fast the fuel gets sucked out of the tank, because the float pushes against the needle valve. When the needle valve is shoved up, no more gas will go into the float bowl. As the gas is burned off, the float falls, opens the valve, and lets the gas flow into the carb again.

I think your problem is that the float is stuck down, which happens when either too much shit gets in there and binds against the bearing or the float gets a hole in it, fills up with gas and sinks. When it's stuck down, fuel will eventually start leaking out of the carb because it's got nowhere else to go. (And forget the "when you shut the engine off, shouldn't the fuel pump stop too?" question; a very small engine doesn't have a fuel pump. It's gravity-fed.)

Evidence: it's leaking in the right place, and there's only about 30 pounds of shit on the deck of that lawn mower.

You fix it by cleaning all the shit off the deck of your mower, getting a carb kit from a Tecumseh dealer or a small engine shop, and overhauling the carb. All one does to overhaul a carb is to take it off, dump the gas out of it, take it apart, have it cleaned at a machine shop (where they have the parts cleaner from hell) and put the carb back together using the parts out of the kit and put it back on the mower. (The instructions for doing this come with the kit.) I know it's a Tecumseh because I see "Craftsman" written on that mower, and Tecumseh makes the Eager-1 engine Sears sells. Before you put it back together, get a jar of rubbing alcohol and put the float in it for a day. If it's at the bottom of the jar when you get back, there's a hole in it and it must be replaced.

[ulysses]

7. thanks!

That makes sense, since the leak wasn't coming from the hose (which it does have). I always wondered if all that shit might cause a problem. ;-) The engine is actually a Briggs & Stratton, though.