I hate mother-$#@!ing carbs.

I hate carburetors with a passion so deep the Laurentian Abyss can't compare. For something as simple as a device to meter and atomize fluid by way of vacuum, they have the habit of never working correctly when you need them to. I have never owened anything with a carb, that at some point in it's life did not require me to attempt to rebuild that unholy abomination. It doesn't matter that I've followed every guide on youtube, or replaced every seal, gasket, or float inside them. Don't even mention the so called metering screws, turn them till the bottom out, count the turns, blah blah blah, doesn't matter if I had a laser measuring system to make sure they are back in the original positions, these pieces of excrement still would be tuned incorrectly. My only solution to this nightmare has been to just flat out buy a new one, every single time. B&S 12hp motor on my mower at age 14, replaced, twice. Nissan 720, rebuilt factory Hitachi, then replaced with a Weber. Weed Eater, rebuilt, then replaced, then just thrown out. Now just as I'm trying to sell my push mower, it starts leaking like a sieve out of the carb. Took it off, cleaned it out, no longer leaks, also no longer starts..Piece of $*#(

/rant

Sounds like the float is stuck. It stuck open causing the leak I bet when you took it apart and put it back together it is now stuck closed. Will it run on carb cleaner?

I

In reply to dean1484:

See that all sounds sane and logical, and is probably whats happened, but why would it get stuck closed when it's clean? Is it too clean? Did I not hold my tongue right when I put the float bowl back on? Is the moon not in the correct phase int he heavens? Did I not get the correct deodorant from the voodoo witch?

I have no problem with carbs. Drum brakes, however, are a different story.

t25torx wrote: In reply to dean1484: See that all sounds sane and logical, and is probably whats happened, but why would it get stuck closed when it's clean? Is it too clean? Did I not hold my tongue right when I put the float bowl back on? Is the moon not in the correct phase int he heavens? Did I not get the correct deodorant from the voodoo witch?

aahahahaha, I enjoyed that, thanks for the laugh.

But I feel your pain, I have the same luck with carbs.

Find an old man to show you how its done.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Find an old man to show you how its done.

I need an old priest and a young priest.

I am on a no-carb diet. all my cars are thankfully injected

[Mr. Burns]

Excellent!

When the EMP hits, they'll all be coming to me!

Then my precious carburetors will be worth millions!

[/Mr. Burns]

Before Megasquirt, I thought of the spraybar/venturi in my 2002's Weber DGV as a little catwalk. I imagined a tiny drunkard named Gunther wandered back and forth on the catwalk, and whatever he spilled out of his little stein was what the car ran on.

I prefer EFI, though my Kawasaki's carbs have put up with pretty sorry maintenance and run no worse than I deserve.

Trans_Maro wrote: [Mr. Burns] Excellent! When the EMP hits, they'll all be coming to me! Then my precious carburetors will be worth millions! [/Mr. Burns]

i remember you one time saying that you liked 1930s cars because they had all that style, coupled with the mechanical complexity of a lawnmower.

In reply to JoeyM:

Exactly, I don't understand how fuel injection is simple and carbs are complex.

A totally mechanical device which performs nearly 99% as well as a complex electronic one sounds like pure genius to me.

Some people seem to make things harder than they need to be.

You only hate them because you don't understand them.

That being said, I share your sentiments on carburetors.

have you tried tapping it on the side with the handle of a screwdriver?

that will fix float and needle and seat problems about 98% of the time...

Carburetors are barely controlled fuel leaks. I hate seeing one stuck on an LSx. Give me EFI any day. The only thing I currently own with a carb is my riding mower, and it's given me more trouble than I'd like.

Trans_Maro wrote: In reply to JoeyM: Exactly, I don't understand how fuel injection is simple and carbs are complex. A totally mechanical device which performs nearly 99% as well as a complex electronic one sounds like pure genius to me. Some people seem to make things harder than they need to be.

In light of that earlier conversation I've pulled the (e)lectronics of my L24(e) and replaced it with a nice dual SU intake off of a 240Z. Wish me luck.

If the mower is a 3.5 briggs, you probably didn't get the seal around the intake back in correctly. There is a o-ring and then a retainer piece that goes around the intake and the carb slides over the o-ring and the retainer pops into the carb. Those carbs are the simplest ones you can ever deal with. The vacuum of the engine pulls the fuel up from the tank into the carb and there is a butterfly leading into the intake.

at least you don't have this:

In reply to Grtechguy:

Oh yeah that reminds me, I forgot about the twin carbs on my GS500, and how one had a bent needle somehow and would stick closed, then I would end up with a 1cyl bike instead of 2. Surprisingly my FZR600 and my FZ1000 both carbed never gave me any trouble.

A little more info: It's a 6hp B&S on top of a 22" Craftsman mower. It has sat for about a year.

someone on here has posted about how he "fixes" peoples lawn equipment in a very few min. (works at a HD maybe) for practically nothing on carbs that have sat for a long time ... sorry I can't find the thread ... but I bet someone can

It's funny because I started out being into 60's cars. mostly Fords but I had a few other brands. I never had a single fuel system issue with any of them. I've had a couple of 70's Saabs with carbs and they have been a bit more trouble but I have always been able to get them started everyday even if it takes a bit of sweet talking. My fuel injected cars on the other hand...... Sure, when they run they run great but there have been multiple times when the fuel injection system meant I was finding another way to work.

t25torx wrote: A little more info: It's a 6hp B&S on top of a 22" Craftsman mower. It has sat for about a year.

The fuel nowadays causes more issues with the small engines, especially when they sit. My dad fixes small engines and over half of the stuff he gets has issues with fuel from sitting. Either run them out of gas before storage or use a good fuel stabilizer.

The local motorcycle shops love the fuel, they get plenty of repair work from bikes sitting.

Personally I have no problems with carburetors. While they do have their issues, they are usually easy to fix. Whether a carb or EFI, when they run they are great, when they don't then they aren't much fun.

I actually like the roadside-repairability of carbs. No need for code readers or spare sensors, a screwdriver is usually enough.

I'll just go ahead and +1 the original post. When DIY offers a plug-n-play for a weedeater, I'll buy it.

odd... I have run some crappy cars.. but never once had a fuel injection failure. Carb failures yes, injection no