Fixing A Craftsman Mower, That Won't Start When It's Hot. 

A few days ago a lady friend called me saying her mower would only stay running if she tilted it back with front wheels in the air. I told her there's probably water in the fuel and her response was "Nope. I just filled it with gas." Needless to say, I went over, pulled the fuel line off the carb and drained some fuel along with some water...to her surprise.

It is an excellent video, thank you. I bought one of these 5.50 at 158cc without knowing that they are self-propelled, now I'm trying to get the engine to start, but I really don't know where to start, a good sign was that when I checked the spark plug it was dry, so after cleaning the oil and gas tanks I'll start with the carburetor.

i'm glad people like you bring seemingly hopeless mowers back to life..

"first of all, it's MY choice" I couldn't agree more, wether it's easier or not doesn't change that fact

My cable thing broke on ours but we just fixed it and held onto it when starting it and it worked!

I love watching your videos. I repair almost anything with an engine or wheels. It’s nice seeing how someone else goes about things and you’ve definitely taught me a few things that have saved a lot of time !!

I explain to homeowners that water in the tank can and does usually stay at the lowest part of the tank but after running, the water can mix with the fuel through the vibration of the engine running, this allows the fuel water mixture to be drawn up by the carburetor and can cause poor running conditions, stalling and like yours, to quit running when hot. Good point concerning the coil issue too. I have had several engines do that. A simple spark plug tester hooked inline can quickly verify the coil has stopped working. As for electric start mowers, I usually convert them from a lead acid battery over to a Lithium battery. You can use an 11.5 v RC battery and it will deliver more power to the starter, is smaller and can be charged with any cheap lithium charger. I have done it with Electric Start leaf blowers by Ryobi where the battery pack was no longer available. I strip out the old dead cells from the battery and hot glue a small lithium battery in its place, then put the battery shell back together. The power leads can be soldered into the original leads easily. I did two of them a few years ago.

Not surprised that it's a crapsman. One of Americas best companies, turned into best plastic company that has parts made in China. Sad sad. They made really great stuff in the 90s

What a great walkthrough for maintenance. Mine didnt have water in the fuel but with these machines simply taking them apart, cleaning, and putting them back together works wonders. Mine’s working fantastic!

This is another good save! If I was going to use it, I would treat myself and buy a battery, but if you bought it and then the mower was sold, it would be tough to recover that extra cost in the sale price. As to draining the oil, I bought a treat for myself a few years ago - a Briggs and Stratton 5430K oil pump removal kit. It's a hand vacuum pump and a hose that fits into the oil fill tube, and does a good job of pulling out the old oil, especially when it's warm. And if I overfill, I just pump out some oil. The old oil ends up in a sealed jar, and then it's easy to pour it off into a larger container. There are probably other similar ones out there for less. With all of the equipment that you handle, you might get some good use out of something like this.

I'd buy it a battery because a flathead Briggs & Stratton is a wonderful engine and deserves a new battery.

The new style spark tester tells if spark is strong or weak, very handy on a problem like this because it will show weak or none 😊

Long live the B&S Quantum!

I have a small shop at my home. I like working on small outdoor power equipment, it’s a great hobby of mine. I thoroughly enjoy you videos! Everything about them-from the topics to the narration. Great job friend, keep up the awesome work and thank you.

For the wheels sleeves you can make your own from beer cans cut appropriate size strips , works well

Most newer mowers don't have drain plugs anyways, so, in my opinion, if you change oil in alot of different mowers it's good to get used to changing it by draining it through the dipstick.

One that I fixed for the kids had the electric start but no charger and a shot battery. I figured if they wanted that to work, they could get one. I got the mower going and replaced the drive wheels and air cleaner and changed the poil. They've got it now BUT if my Sweetie was mowing I'd get a battery for Her. Thanks and Blessings and that was a NICE mower.

Hey bro what's up? It's nice to see another piece of equipment being saved from going to the landfill again. It's only recently that I've learned how dangerous water in fuel is. In my 22 years of using a trimmer and chainsaw I've never came across this problem so far. I wouldn't replace the battery tho. I probably might use a jumpstarter to start it up and that's as far as I would go with it.

Yes is my answer for the battery. I inherited one of these battery start mowers from my ancient parents after they went to a service. It like to bag the clippings and given the choice to pull that rope or turn a key . . . I'm taking the easy rout.

I agree with the battery. I picked an old Toro recycler 2 with a key start. And the battery and charger would cost more than I'd sell the mower. Plus these "bells and whistles" are just more that can go wrong. For a walk behind mower, self propelled is about as fancy as you need.

Dang brother - you have friends all over the place!!! Including over 56K subs who are interested in what you do and have to say!!! Good job... good job!!!

If i'm at home, 100% gonna just tip the mower over, HOWEVER, at work we have hand pump type pressure tanks which you just pump...2 3 times and then it sucks till the liquid is gone (anything from gas coolant,water, not meant for some of them...but it happens) and they do a really nice job and no spills no mess, you can just walk away, do other things. Handy for far more thanmowers too. Anything with oil or fluids that you need. Gas tanks all sorts. I like the advice you give in these videos, all stuff id tell customers to do to their stuff. Havn't heard any bad advice in all the videos i've watched so.

Last year I was given a old Honda walk behind lawnmower not starting by doing a little spraying of carburetor it came back to life. I do have issues with the wheels it will not roll backwards the transmission gears in back wheels I will also be looking at that issue also in a few days. Thank you for all your advice. I appreciate you. Houli

Don't you wish they all came to you this clean wow !

I never use the electric starter on anything, but a nice feature for someone with carpal syndrome or arthritis I would imagine. I was helping my neighbor with his mower 2 weeks ago (he left old gas in the tank) and was painful to see his fingers all contorted after pulling the starter rope. 😐

Great video, nice work repairing that mower!

Excellent repairs on this Craftsman mower. If I was going to keep and use the mower I probably would by one if they were not to expensive. Or any battery that would work. Should be a good mower for someone. Thanks for the videos.

A great job working on this one getting in running again . I have 2 of those same mowers right now one belongs to a guy up the street from me I worked on earlier this year getting it running for him . And he calls me the other day saying it runs good but won't shut off when he brings it to me I found the ploblem the bracket got bent so bad on the kill switch I tried to fix it but I had to replace it from a parts engine. 2nd one of same mower belongs to a old neighbor friend that he found on the curb across the street from him and he wants me to see if will run again to use as a trim mower all I know it has compression and the cables work on it so far might do a video on it.

My Toro with the flathead B&S was acting the same way. Hard to restart when hot. Turns out it, I replaced the coil. Works great now.

Good job you explained almost everything can make it not start

Electric mowers are ranging from $400 to $1,200 at the Orange Big Box store. They have no real track record yet, the battery strength is too short for a big yard. I like knowing my equipment will get the job done week in and week out.

I definitely think the Briggs auto choke system is more reliable than the Honda thermowax choke system. I’ve replaced a lot of those thermowax chokes and they do have a high chance of failure. Now the Briggs system isn’t bulletproof, if the blower housing gets filled with debris than the choke won’t work and it could also overheat the engine. But I’d rather clean out the inside of a blower housing instead of buying a new part.

another great video brother! I bet you can find the battery cheaper if you look around because that is a very generic common Sealed Lead Acid battery commonly used for security lights and such. All you need is the size and capacity of the battery. That is likely a 12volt 5Ah or possibly lower Ah like a 4Ah which would lower the cost considerably. A battery supply shop or security shop may have them very cheap to make it worth it to have the electric start. I think the $35 is a bit high to be worth it unless you are giving the mower to someone that would have trouble starting it manually.

I would not buy the battery. I would take the electric starter off and sell the starter. Keep it as a pull cord mower. Those Platinum do 1 pull if maintained. Mine did. And I got it free with a rotted deck

It has RWD its said on the front "frond weel drive sistume"

Excellent video! Exactly what I was looking for.

My grandfather has the same mower and loves it

I found 4 LI Fe Po 4 5Ahr connected in series and the starter works fine.

Leave it without a battery. I have a craftsman M260 and when my son was mowing thick deep grass it started making noise and now won't restart. The pull gives a very hard recoil and almost rips from your hand. Honestly this mower was not taken care of with maintenance as my teens did not do it and was told they did. My fault totally, I've changed oil, will replace air filter as it was wasted, took apart and cleaned front and back covers. New spark plug as well have a feeling it's a piston problem. Should I just replace engine $270 or have rebuilt? Great videos great channel you do a great job of explaining your repairs.

awesome video.

Love the video

Agree, not worth the cost to fix/replace battery and or other parts. I usually disconnect and remove all the wiring harnesses for electric start. When I leave it, I get more questions about why I didn't fix it or could I fix it for whatever my selling price is. If it starts within 5 or so pulls you really don't need it. It's a great selling option when new or even used, for someone with limited right hand/arm/shoulder. Great video,. Later

Usually insufficient valve clearances will cause the engine to quit when hot.

My uncle’s old Snapper hi vac smokes from the recoil as well. There is oil burning off from somewhere but I can’t find it and I don’t want to take the whole thing apart. It is a spare mower so I’ll use it until it dies. It does not seem to have lost oil since I changed it. Btw, would not buy the battery. Thanks for your time.

Dude I would love to have a electric start Flat head Briggs and Stratton powered push mower

It’s been sucking dirt ! The filter housing is full of dirt behind the air filter ! It should be clean not dirty

Love these vids

I quite enjoy all of your videos. I have learned alot from both you and another channel user by the name of James condon. I suggest checking him out because he focuses on generators and i learned alot more from him than i didnt know that i needed to know. You and james somewhat share the same diagnosis processes but there are some differences but both are really. Keep up the good work man.

That's interesting about the water in the tank. I fixed one with the same problem a while back. I know water can mess up your fuel pretty bad. I'm surprised there are no metal sleeve in the rear wheels.

Great video keep up the good work

had a flathead on a tiller that when it got hot , it would quit till it cooled down again . got along fine with it (we both got hot , needed a break at about the same time) till one day it wouldn't start at all . this one had points/condenser , and the little composite pushrod that opens the points was swollen/gummed up and wouldn't let points close . given the longevity of the flatheads , someone might run into this situation even today .

no thanks have fun

Honestly I would probably use an adapter that way I can use my Ryobi batteries to start it but if there's a chance to purchase a refurbished battery at a good price I might go that route as well

Another problem I've come across with that particular engine, B&S Quantum, is the intake manifold. It's phenolic resin and I've seen it get worn on the carb end due to loose carb mounting bolts, or incorrect ones used. They are special taper sholdered bolts that only go to the carb to bracket end (O ring end). The mounting bracket can come loose too. O ring failure isn't common but it can occur. It can cause all kinds of runability problems as any vacuum leak does. Also check the engine end of the manifold if it's been overheated.

I'd like to know more about the battery adapter you mentioned. Where to get it, is it plug and play or do have to improvise a bit?

What do you think of the new Powermore engines? How do they compare to Briggs?

HG, I have a craftsman older then the one you were working on in a few days I will start to work on it. I did not replace the battery, exercise is good for me. My machine is 2012 bought it new from Sears. The plug for it is hard to find. Last year it would not start. I will follow your instructions and try to bring it back. I purchased a used Yard machine small riding mower to me in very good condition. My yard is not that big it will be used for the back. And a little for front. Thank you for a great video on the mower. What kind of bench do you use?

Debris in tank should be washed out. 😮

Once in a while I will trash pick a mower that runs but dosent cut because blade was on upside down or keyway was partially sheared so ran rough.

Good day Them batteries are expensive , that why u find battery pack side of road. Thanks

I have this exact mower, and the battery died after 2 years of ownership. The problem with this mower was clippings got into where the battery storage is, and there's no easy way to clean it without dismantling the entire battery system. All the clippings eventually caused a battery cable to fail on mine. I just yanked it out and left it out. No matter what mine starts on the first pull every time. Why do I need electric start? I got this as a clearance model at Sears. Though I hate this mower. As you noticed the plastic wheels, with 10 years of usage, I've gone through 3 sets of front wheels as the plastic just gets chewed away. Occasionally, my automatic choke malfunctions, and if it's not quite hot hot, but not cold, it won't start up again. Especially on colder fall days when using the bagger attachment for the leaves. One of those gimmicks I would rather just have a primer bulb or a lever on the handlebar to choke the engine.

Most garbage picked mowers I find have some water or dirt in carb, clean & service, then $ell! On this mower with the bag and inop elec start, I'd ask $100 firm. Sells usually within a day, as-is. Most customers are happy, but some cry because they find out its 10+ years old.

Yes

Depends on how long I think the mower will last.

Great stuff

HG thank you for great information I fixed the starting issue but now I have 2 other issues it won’t turn off and she runs to me on super high speed Can you help? Ty

Hello HG did you make a video on how to fix that same machine won’t shut down when I release the bail

Man this water in the gas is ridiculous. The water in your mowers gas could be from rain but for me, here in Florida I dried the gas tank out and float bowl of my 125 Briggs push mower. Filled it up with ethanol gas and it ran but was surging the whole time (from water). 30 minutes later it completely stopped running, I drained the carb and tank again and put ethanol free gas in it. Immediately fired backup and wasn't surging anymore. Keep in mind that the gas I put in there that was full of water was only around 2 weeks old in a proper gas can

Does having low engine oil affect on how the lawn mower start?

I have a mower with a 675 flathead, does not start when hot. Carb is ok, coil also changed. I replaced the rings , cylinder is ok. Compression drops when hot. Valve clerance is ok. Time to let IT go?

Thsnk you.

With correct plug and no-alcohol fuel, these start so easy with 1 or 2 pulls just remove battery.

Let me guess, the throttle or the choke shaft doesn't move freely in its bore.

Our Husqvarna LC 247 SP is bogging as if it is running out of fuel i found that the blade governor moves from side to side should i tighten the nut holding the governor or should i adjust the engine speed ? 🤔

Yeah a starter is always cool, if it were mine I would spend the money. I had another Craftsman in the 1990's with a starter, did I use it much no, but what I did like was the throttle control. Yeah it also had blade control which I also liked very much. Those were the days..

Do you have any videos covering the ignition coil and the ground wire? I have an issue with the ground wire possibly grounding against the mower causing it not to start. Thank you for your videos they’ve helped me alot

I got the 7.25 running did a carburetor clean without removing it from machine clean carb bowl and the carburetor nut jet put it all back. Added gas and a bit of oil started right up. HG the only way to turn machine off is to pull the plug. How would you fix that issue. TY. Houli

At first I would of though coil but water in fuel will do that every time

Where can I get those 45° needle nose pliers? I like the size. I've looked around online unsuccessfully. And yes, I found some that were smaller, or only sold in "sets." Neither really had that size I wanted...

the oil almost acts like a coolant on lawn mowers even though it's not I fixed one the other day like this all it needed was oil it would shut off when it was hot it's always the carburetor just always clean the carburetor make sure there's good oil and fresh gas works all the time I fixed over 70 lawn mowers

What battery would you use as a replacement? My Toro Recycler has a battery, and I've been dreading replacing it, as batteries have gotten expensive.

hello friend, great video, keep it up. I just watched all the videos on your 2 channels, very good. a doubt, did you take a course to learn about the machines or did you learn it yourself?

I have never used the battery in my mower. They start with a half hearted pull and I don’t have power in the shed. I could keep it In the garage with power but it has started first pull all but one time (started second pull) for 10 years.

HG my mower starts with bail up or down when I stop I have to pull the plug

I can cut 4 lawns in 3 hours. Trouble is i cant turn the mower off to refuel. I fill the tank up while running. They are not made to run for 3 hours. If i shut the mower off I would have to pull the chord 20X.

Can you say what is your favorite oil for mowers (sae30 or just 10w30,,, Tnx!

Hello! That was a great job. Can you tell me what type of camera or phone you use to make all your videos. Please and thank you. Have a blessed day

I had a toro that wouldn’t crank after it was hot or sat awhile I straightened the spring bracket on the spring on very front of mower yours looked bent also

Is there a way to fix a sticky throttle shaft on a echo SRM 225 ? I wouldn't bother replacing the battery. I would just pull start it

I paid $280 nz for my mower to be fixed as it was popping after running out of oil. Since getting back it doesn’t start for me as it used to. I’ve had it back to the shop twice but they say it’s me , getting old and not strong enough. I’ve been starting it for over 5 years and this morning again. Can’t start . When I disassemble the carburettor and clean it does start but I can’t do that each time and wondering should I have been charged so much when they didn’t do the job thoroughly. Always starts when I’ve had itt back at the shop but sitting one week at home there’s nothing. So unhappy as on pension

@Home Garage Tips for maintaining your battery? Mower, ATV, Car?

Missing air filter to begin with? It did not have one because if it did than the carb inward filter face plate would not be as dirty as it was.

Hey so my mower will start when cold run no problem as long as I want but when I go to start it after I stop it it will sometimes and wont sometimes/ most times

On My Platinum 7.25 My Battery Good But, Won't Turn Starter Over? How Do I Research The Problem? Thanks, Wayne

Check the number on the side of your battery and do a search for it. The one for mine wasn’t that bad.

Sir after a got the mower running it seems to be running on high speed what is your solution Ty

Hey Home garage I got a question I have a Yard-Man mower with a Honda engine and it likes to run on full choke if I take it off of Choke it surges a lot I went through the carburetor twice I took everything out and cleaned it but it still runs on full choke do you have any suggestions

I had one of these mowers and the battery has to be charged with a plug in adapter, I never used it after it overcharged and got cooked.

I wouldn't bother buying a battery for it unless maybe it has a generator coil fitted onto the motor which could recharge the battery !

Would you know how to set the points on a snapper self propel we thought it was the coil but the coil we replaced it and it's still done the same thing dying out so that's why I thought it was the the valves need inset