My lawn mower is pissing me off!
It's a 1989 Toro 16793 self-propelled lawn mower with a 4 HP Tecumseh TNT100 engine (4 cycle) and Electronic Ignition (battery).
So, I got it for free from some relatives....I rebuilt the carb, changed the oil and drain plug after breaking the old one , changed the spark plug, drained the old gas and put some new stuff in, cleaned out the fuel line, replaced the battery....and so now it will only start if I prime it and then it will run for about a second. So I figure I have to take the carb off again and clean it out, even though I used the air compressor on it and blew every hole with 100psi of air. And just recently the starter decided not to engage the flywheel, only sometimes....so I guess I'll have to bring it to a shop for repair seeing as I don't see any internal parts online for it, just the whole thing ($173.40!). I've heard using some WD40 on the shaft can possibly correct the problem though...we'll see.

Yea, so I officially declare my lawn mower POSSESSED!
Anyone else have a possessed lawn mower?

TOC Admin
Brando

Oh yea, I forgot to mention that sometimes the starter would decide to engage and turn the flywheel. That's one of the main reasons why I think it's possessed!
Yep, guess I'll have to try oiling the starter shaft up.

TOC Admin
Brando

Hi Brando, hello All
100 PSI could blow more out than you intended.
WD40 is the wrong type of solvent to use in a carb.
Aerosol carb cleaner (lacquer thinner) sprayed inside the carb can work wonders with any carb.
Assuming the fire is still there, make sure gas is getting from the tank into the carb (aside from the priming system) then make sure there is no vacuum leak between the combustion chamber and the carb.
With the starter, odds are: dirt, lubrication or wear.
Taking it to a repair shop would be admitting defeat.
Regards, Norm

Hehe, this is very true.

I cleaned the fuel line out too, so I know fuel is getting through there...
With the 100 psi air I actually blew out the old seat (which I replaced with a new one, and needle)

TOC Admin
Brando

At our house we have a 1989 craftsman self propeled mower, its like pushing a cement truck, its heavy, leaks oil, has rot holes (*all the way throught the body that is, you can see throught the body due to a gap thats about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. It must be the loudest mover in the world!

Oh...well this one isn't that bad....
Where does it leak oil? Could be the dipstick tube gasket....

TOC Admin
Brando

Some of those small engine carbs have a prime bulb on them and some don't but almost all of them have a pickup on the bottom of the bowl which sucks fuel up the carb into the intake passage. On my "new" lawnmower that pickup tube is a bear, I had to re-clean the carb twice before I got it right. It is so small and so close to the bottom of the bowl that the smallest of debris can clog it up. As I said "new" the thing got about six hours on it last fall before the end of the season. I stored it under the deck covered with an old lid to a round type bar-b-que grill. This was not enough, even though I rinsed out the fuel tank with fresh fuel this spring I still had to clean out the carb twice like I said. It seems to me the older lawnmowers were not as particular and were a lot more durable........Oh well.

I think thats where its leaking from, but the sooner it dies, the sooner I get a new one that doesnt wake up the neighborhood!

when you get a new mower..get a LawnBoy.
great lawn mowers and their 2 cycles so no oil to change.

I love my Lawnboy almost as much as my Olds.

Hi Brando, hello AllIf, while it is still running, you push the primer bulb, does it still die, or rev back up?
Regards, Norm

Well, after oiling the starter shaft up, the starter now engages correctly.
If say pushing the primer bulb in does kick it back up, what does it mean? I'm thinking I might need to adjust the throttle cable a little bit.

TOC Admin
Brando

Hi Brando, hello all
Regards, Norm

Ok, well I know for sure gas is getting into the carb, as the bowl is always full of gas when I take it apart. This is a simple Float Carb if I didn't mention it.

TOC Admin
Brando

Now that we know it's getting into the carb, you need to verify if its getting through the jet and is being sucked into the airflow as it passes through the carb.
The primer bulb test indicated there is adequate airflow.
Regards, Norm

This is what I would do with it.
1. Put lots of styrofoam into gas, tus making napalm
2. once done, wrap it around the lawnmover and end in the gas tank
3. drop it off where no one will call the cops on you
4. light it,blow it, record it, post it
5. get a new lawnmover