I've owned a Poulon mower with this exact Kohler motor for seven+ years and the ignition coil failed at the end of last summer when I was about to run the motor one last time for the season to empty the carb. I've always loved the mower although the crappy plastic latch on the air filter housing stopped working properly a year or two after I bought it so I've been holding it shut with duct tape for quite a few years....no big deal. With the cost of mowers today and after reading online reviews of mowers in my price range I'd rather put my money back into this motor so this tutorial was very helpful. I'm now a subscriber and gave this video a thumbs-up...thanks!
I love this lawn boy which I had for about five years. Forgot to burn the fuel out for the winter so this spring its rough running...stalls on the small inclines so searching for troubleshooting this Kohler 6.5 149cc engine. Your video is excellent. I write Corvette tech manuals for the 1970 years and can appreciate brevity and getting to the point. The point...I get Chevy V8 engines but have no clue about these small engines. But when you give parts names, like crankcase hose, etc ...I get it! The clarity will help me pull my Kohler apart and clean the various systems to ensure I've cleaned out debris...much thanks and nicely done!
what a fantastic video. Clear, not to fast or slow, no annoying music, no joking around with graphics flying around. Since I am so incredicly unmechanical, I'll be buying a battery operated mower next time.
This video is awesome. I was able to, for the first time, fix a small engine that had carb issues without replacing the carb. I was able to take apart the carb and actually clean it and put back together. The mower started after two pulls. Thank you for making a great thorough video.
Thank you! When you told us that the top tube on the gas tank is to vent the tank instead of the gas cap- that was a lightbulb moment. Somehow I was getting fuel to leak onto the air filter from the air vent tubing attached to the air filter housing. Knowing what you told us that the tube only vents air from the tank..... I disconnected the rubber vent tube at the gas tank. It solved the problem for me. I just don’t fill the gas tank more than 80% and I haven’t had any sputtering out or gas leaking, and engine runs strong. My neighbor threw out this 3 year old kholer toro and I salvaged it thanks to you. It’s like a brand new mower. All I had to do is disconnect the rubber vent tube at the top of the engine. Now the gas tank just vents to the air from the hole where the rubber tube should be connected. EASY. And fixed this chronic problem. No more gas on the air filter. No gas leaks of any kind. Seems like the Environmental Protection Agency is the root cause of this
Thanks for sharing your step by step fix and carb clean. Great job. Appreciate you being a decent repairman that is good to their customer. Love your tips as well. Great video.
I bought a OEMTOOL pneumatic/manual fluid evacuation . Very nice unit , can be used for cars , trucks ,snow blowers , mowers .Good Quality easy to use . Makes life easier . Great video , now you have a costumer for life .
the last time I cut the grass for my in-laws last fall the mower quit and I couldn't get it re-started. Thanks to this video I know where to look first.
I had the same comment from the lawn mower shop when I first took my lawn more in than my daughter took it to somebody that knew what they were doing and they fixed it.
Amazingly accurate. I just dismantled and cleaned a Kohler carb on my Lawnboy mower with this exact motor. Instructions were clear, concise and on point. I live in BC, or I’d bring my business to you!
Great explanation of this particular carb setup ! I also prefer the air vane design, as a matter of fact whenever I get a Troy Bilt with the primer bulb that no longer primes I'll go to the junk yard and get all of the parts to convert the engine to that design because the engine starts first pull without priming ! Those parts include: Starter recoil that has the correct model number and the correct cut out for the air vane arm, the bi-metal thermostat behind the muffler with the extra gasket, the carb. with the choke butterfly, the rear air cleaner housing, the tiny air governor spring and the plate behind the carb to attach the tiny spring to. The governor spring is identical to the original spring.
Always make sure you have fresh gas. Shell 91 octane works good new plug. Drain all old gas out of tank and out of lines and carburetor there is a bolt at the bottom of carburetor flush out with new gas let drain well put bolt back in refill with shell gas and it should be good to go
Nice to see both competent skills and ethical business practices still exist. I agree... who does that? Well I have a few local examples i have dealt with ... but they are businesses you don't deal with ever again and you make sure to warn your friends about.
Dealing with a customer now who has a brand new unit that's been to 2 "dealers" and no one can figure out the issue. Cub Cadet CC30 runs rich, it's the oring between the bowl and the carb that leaks and allows too much fuel in. Simple fix but these guys are hacks now a days. Bolts are stripped already, units 1 year old. Taking pictures of everything to show my customer. He says he'll never go back to them ever again. Always treat people good and they'll always return!
Carbs with blocked fuel flow don't have the symptoms you have and will either immediately die with an autochoke system or not run at all. If it runs for a little bit then dies kind of slowly, that very much points to a bad gas cap or blocked tank vent passage, either of those will cause vacuum in the tank and stop fuel flow to the carb after the engine runs for a bit. If it ever happens again try running it with the gas cap removed to see if it fixes it, and you just need a new cap. Vent problems and/or incorrectly connected carbs are probably the problems I see most common that aren't from a dirty Carb.
There is lots for me to digest here. Thank you! I am a near-panicked homeowner with insecurities ... I imagine after seeing me outside most of today trying to start my Toro 20383 without success, they laughed or felt pity. I suspect it's all in my head but you never know. 25:10 is very helpful when you discuss the auto-choke. By the way, I'm now confused, my mower has the bi-metallic spring thing AND the "governor" (plastic thing you talked about ~25:20). I wondered why my choke was wide open all day and now I may have an explanation. Thanks for the video ... back to troubleshooting in about 5.5 hours after it's an acceptable time in the morning!
Lawn mowers are like cars if it takes to much work and will consume to many hours and cause panic or confusion it’s better to leave to the pro ‘s. Repairs will be done with a warranty mow the lawn worry free. My 2 cents. Enjoy life!!
Thanks a ton !!! Pulled a lawn mower out of the garbage would not start, Watched your video .....was a dirty carb ....This is the best detailed video I have ever seen ....Thanks again you made me $200 bucks .....Tim
Very well done Sir! Excellent instruction and attention to detail! I really like your thoroughness and business style. I have taught trade school here in Ontario for over 25 years and I learned a lot from this! You have a new subscriber for sure! Thanks
Just did one like this. Problem with that type of choke system is it won't restart right away when its hot. Unless I'm missing something ? That coil is still hot. When it cools down the one I'm flipping will start 1st pull. I'm a rookie here 😊
Good day Interesting video. I found a lawn mower like this side of road, thought it home. sprayed either into it fired up. But it does not start on it's own. Thanks very informative. I see red ford in back ground.
There’s plenty of auto repair shops. Where you gonna take your zero turn mower to have a drive belt replaced? I started charging a deposit. I’ve been stuck with junk that I’ve worked on for hours and didn’t receive a cent. Oh, you can keep it for parts. Hell with that. My time is valuable. I may spend 4 hours on something but can only charge one hour. “ it only needs this.” “ it’s something simple”. “It was just running”. Come spend a week with me raisingakitas. The smartest thing I’ve ever heard someone say was “it’s not hard work for the person NOT doing the work”. That’s why the man charges $60 an hour. We don’t have a machine to plug into to tell us what’s wrong with these things. Lord hope it’s nothing electrical.
"It probably a loose wire or sumptin." "Tell you what. I'm gona save you some money. You fix loose wire!" (Used to help people repair their electronics. Used to. Don't work for friends or relatives. Just do em a favor & hope they reciprocate when needed ;~)
I have the same engine that won’t start. I tried cleaning carburetor and the fuel tank. Still won’t run, so bought new carburetor, coil and auto-choke.still nothing. Any ideas? should I take head off and check the piston and valves?
This is a great video, very detailed and explained very well, I have the same engine/carburetor on a husqvarna hu675awd that seems to have similar issues, you have given me some ideas, I think I need to clean the carburetor and fuel filter. I changed the air filter, put in a new spark plug and only half cleaned the carburetor, need to do a full clean I think.
You missed that with the gas tank vent line being supplied with air from behind the air cleaner, that a very clogged air filter will start to vacuum lock the fuel tank & may not let gas gravity feed into the carb.. This type of vacuum lock would worsen as the level of gas in the tank lowers. So maintaining a clean air filter is quite important on equipment with this type of tank breather setup. Also try harder to use the correct name for the part you are referring to, saying this or that & pointing to some part lessens the quality of your other wise top notch video.
I have this same mower engine and it had a leak from the oil sump gasket. I opened the case and changed the oil sump gasket, put it back together and the RPMs are 6k out of control. The Governor arm adjustments not working. Is there a certain way I needed to set the Governor shaft as I put the case back together? I can’t get the RPMs down!
Big thanks for doing the carb clean. Followed you to do one I picked up off the street. Excellent explanations. Really appreciated. Side note... what are the selection of “carb cleaners” in the bottles in the window?
@@EliminatorPerformance I forgot to mention one thing that happened different from your vid! I removed the main jet and... something else fell out! The air jet / distribution tube / emulsion jet/tube whatever its called. Kind of surprised me. It was nice and clear but I hit it with the carb cleaner anyway. Anyway - thanks again!
Leave a like he says dude I’m about ready to learn how to work on mowers myself dammit lol I enjoy a good video that actually tells you just had him deal with certain parts especially miscellaneous parts and it actually teaches u a few things not gonna lie that sonic cleaner is dope 😂
@@EliminatorPerformance I am working on the same engine, cleaned the carb out completely, put back together, started on first pull.... runs rough, the auto choke is not opening soon enough... if I manually move the lever it smooths out, and after it warms up the choke opens, and it is smooth. My problem is when I shut it off with the engine warm, it will not restart.... If I leave it to cool off so the choke closes, it will start... any idea what is wrong?
Thinking about replacing a B&S motor with one of these. Despite the small 149cc size the 6.75 hp impressed me. Ive had tons of experience with larger kohler engines on concrete surfacers, conveyors, concrete saws etc but not these little ones. Are they any good? Will it chop tall grass is a concern. Im guessing there is no throttle advance. Also curious about the shaft. Do they require a hub or blade adapter or will the blade mount directly to the shaft. Good thorough video. Nice explanation without being too much. And no crappy music. Thanks
Great video. Why didn't you pull the emulsion tube out as well? You didn't need to in this case because the machine ran fine after the carb cleaning. BTW, there are recalls (TSB's) on this model Kohler engine for the single latch air box and the fuel tank. The single latch air box TSB did apply in this case. The fuel tank TSB did not apply. You may want to look them up when you get a chance. Again, great video. Dave
I figured it was just that chunk of rust that caused the issue, sure enough, it was! And ya, the single latch air boxes are garbage. Thanks for watching!
Blown governor gear, or the spring has too much tension because you might have hit something. Check the governor arm coming out of the engine (it has the rod going to the carburetor) make sure it moves freely (about half inch or so)
95% of the time it’s always the carb on small engines…it’s like ridiculous how easy it is to fix these things..small engine mechanics vrs automotive mechanics is like preschool vrs college
When you removed the main jet, how come you didn't go inside the carb throat and push the emulsifier tube down and out and clean that as well? I didn't see you do that?
1. You shouldn't charge a diagnostic fee unless you have to take it apart to figure out what the problem is. 2. $60 an hour labor is pretty steep. That is what auto mechanics charge but they are working on more complex engines and vehicles that cost thousands of $$$ along with a lot more overhead costs. Between your labor, parts and ultrasonic charges you wouldn't be far from buying a new cheap mower like the one you are working on in this video. And, if I were working on this guys mower I would have fixed the stripped bolt using a tap and die set. Would take about 10 minutes. Maybe that's just me. I would have a hard time giving something back to a customer that still had problems.....ones that I could fix.
1st off, I only charge a diagnostic fee if the customer doesn't want the repair. If I end up doing the repair, that fee is waived... 2nd, $60/hr around here (Southern Ontario Canada) is actually one of the most affordable rates. A local shop here charges $150/hr for working on riding mowers. While another shop 10mins away charges $75/hr. I charge the same $60/hr for any job, regardless of difficulty level. Automotive shops charge anywhere from $85/hr - $125/hr. This mower ran perfectly when it left my shop, and the customer hasn't brought it back for a repair or tune up, meaning it's still running good today!
First, this wasn't a riding mower. $60 is a bit too high, even for 2019. $45-50 tops. Get rid of that separate ultrasonic charge. It's part and parcel of the carb repair.
Well you'll be pleased to know that I raised my rate to $65/hr for 2019 and I've not had a single complaint about my hourly rate. In 2020 I may even raise it to $70/hr as inflation is making everything more expensive. Additionally, higher Tariffs on Chinese imports increases my costs for some aftermarket parts. And at $70/hr I'm STILL the most affordable rate for quality service in the entire region (County).
Also, I'm in Canada so take 33% off of my hourly rate if you're in the US for a more accurate comparison. So for the average 1.5hr lawnmower fix at $65/hr that's $97.50 CAD Minus 33% exchange rate would be about $65.33 USD for 1.5 hour of labour. That works out to about $43.55/hr USD.
Absolutely he should charge a fee for the cleaning service. If you want A the price is this. If you want B the price is that. Price is dictated on the time spent. If you dont want ro pay it then do the work yourself and buy the shop materials yourself.
Great walk-through man but for the love of God stop saying "Uh" so much, drove me nuts how many times you said "Uh". Had to skip a lot through the video cause of it. But again, aside from the "Uh's" great video.
It sucks that it’s not even worth people really paying to get these mowers fixed by someone like you when you can buy a perfectly good one all day on Facebook for $100 or less..I’ve seen them for $25-$50 all day in perfect running condition it’s ridiculous. Pay $60 to get yours fixed? Or another whole lawnmower for the same $
