My friends Yardman was sick............ I knew it was a good mower as I tuned it up a few months back.......... There seemed to be oil half way up the dipstick, and oil coming out of the sparkplug hole.... I cleaned the oil out of the carb and fuel tank..... and drained 500ml out of the engine to get it back to correct level.... It started and blew smoke out for 5 minutes.......... then ran fine..... I told her to keep her 4 year old away from the oil containers...........he has go no idea of mower maintenance.....
speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
Hmmm that looks to be a Briggs with a float carburetor. IF so then did you pressure test the carburetor? If it does have float valve that is leaky you set it up for an early death from gas polluted oil.
I just checked that it wasn't leaking fuelfrom the carb. What is the easy way to pressure test the carb? Just connect fuelline and hold float upwards with bowl off,maybe? thanks speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
Actually pressure testing requires inverting the carburetor and applying 5-7 psi pressure and seeing if the pressure drops over 30+ minutes. This is with only the natural weight of the float. Holding the float with your hand prevents proper testing of the needle valve seal seating.
Here I use a MityVac 8500 tester for this. Note the test line will needs clamps to insure a tight seal of the pressure line. This is same tester I use on 2 cycle cube carbs.
Most gravity fed carburetor pop off at around 5 psi and fuel pump versions can go as high as 10 psi depend on the design; more commonly around 7 psi.
The above tester is also very useful in testing 2 cycle engine's crankcases for pressure and vacuum leaks.
Speedy a simple way to test is sit the carby up on the bench and hook a fuel bottle up to it with the bottle sitting a couple of hundred mm above the carby. Then you can observe if it is leaking
Norm I was speaking professional way testing that eliminates those that seep that don't under such a test as you describe. I use the same method and after several comebacks I found it was wise to get the equipment and be 100% sure there is no seepage. At first I had a few false positives but it was that I wasn't using clamps. It has been money well spent.
When I did the gravity test you are describing it might be 24 hrs before a problem show up. It one the reason I always left the carburetor loose on the engine overnight with tissue underneath the carburetor leaks would be easily seen even when things were dry the next morning. The reason is that a fluid doesn't leak as easily as air due to surface tension. It will tend to seal a hairline problem until it dries past that point.
This tester I am using now finds even hairline scratches that causes seepage which Kohler Commands and Courages with Walbro carburetors that tend to seep when the needle is worn. This is a bad enough that I keep the kits in stock at all times for these Kohlers.
AVB I know what you are saying, but then there is the difference between doing things professionally and doing things as a hobby, becomes hard to justify buying tools for the odd occasion you use them. These days I agonize over buying any new tool (I love tools) because I have to justify to myself if I have enough of that work that requires me to buy that tool and for how much longer I am able to do this sort of work. It is a fine line we tread.
I know what you mean as it took me 5 yrs to break down and buy the tool myself. In this business you can become tool poor in a hurry if you buy every tool you need. Sometimes though it is unavoidable. It b ad enough that I have spent over $1000 so far this year on new tools.
Of course there is all the room they take up in the shop. I currently have 44" tool boxes (both tops and bottoms) plus a 26" top and bottom and there still tools sitting on the shelves that I have to hunt when needed.
I always turn to my crappier tools first before using my Mercedes tools. As a result I have beautiful socket sets that only come out to play occasionally because I am loath to have to clean them after use.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I have a metrinch socket set here that belonged to my fathers, brothers father, I have never used it and I doubt the owner ever used it either. Case is a bit rusty now, so what happens to all the tools we leave behind when we leave this place. My son has said he is putting a for sale sing out the from with "As is" on it
I have 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 dr Metrinch socket sets as I was sold on their wall grip design. The sockets themselves are fine, but the tm ratchet handles leave abit to be desired. They will generally tackle less common bolt sizes like British standard etc. This came in handy our once when a guy I knew had an AEC bus he had converted to a camper and it had a semi auto gearbox with soft copper gearbox plugs in the fluid flywheel which required single hex sockets to avoid damaging the soft bolts, and the Metrinch removed it with ease, to check the oil level of the box. One time though, I had to remove a tiny nut and the 3/4 drive couldn't do it, but by cheap sub $10.00 combination set had the exact size needed.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I do get the old sidchrome spanners from the tip - must almost have a set now. Got an old Mercedes wheel nut wrench the other month. Sadly, they are probably all from deceased estates.
New $13 socket set from Repco - good deal a few months back.
Back in early 2015, I bought a few Kmart 'Performer' power tools - $20 Jigsaw cutter, $20 angle grinder, and $35 18v drill driver. No regrets buying those. They go great, the drill has a pretty good battery life. I've built numerous things with them, haven't missed a beat. What most surprised me was that with both the angle grinder and jigsaw were a pair of carbon brushes in a small bag in with a piece of paper saying that, "Over extended use, the brushes may wear out, install these new as a pair by unscrewing the... ". I found that very considerate, considering the price. They were on clearance for $7 last year. None left when i went though.
Sure they are no Festool or Makita, DeWalt, but they go well, and I can run them with my 850w GMC 2 stroke generator if I need to.
