This video saved me from purchasing a new lawn mower! As a retired senior lady almost 70 years old on not only a fixed income but a limited one...this is a genuine blessing!! I watched the video twice then put the mower on a table in the garage and went to work!! How easy is was! A few weeks ago I had cleaned the carburetor and replaced the air filter and it started right up. The Friday it would start but not keep running...I am one happy camper!! Thank you carnivore10!!
Don't you just love Easy Fixes...Especially when people throw them away and you get them for Free! ! You obviously knew what the problem was before even looking at it....No substitute for experience, well done.
You, sir, are a legend. My Flymo Techumseh Vantage 35 was running rough and often refusing to start. 5 minutes after watching this video (and also fixing a leaking fuel pipe) the mower was running better than it had done for years.
carnivore10, you are the man! I had taken the carb on a Tecumseh go-kart engine apart twice completely, soaked it in carb cleaner, still no go after 2-3 seconds of sputtering. Was about to load it into the truck and pay somebody who knows how much . . . but after watching your video I removed just that bottom bolt one more time and poked down into it with a sewing needle. Now that kart is purring like a kitten. Thanks for sharing!
I was lucky enough to score a used mower of this type on a trading website recently. Exactly what I needed to replace my old one which died when the blade hit a hidden piece of concrete at the bottom of my section (bent the crankshaft to the point where the blade bolt couldn't be undone). I spent half a day restoring my lucky find - it was pretty well looked after anyway; even the under chassis muffler was still without a hole in it. I am well familiar with repairing these. My section is heavily sloped and a 4-stroke simply won't cut it if you know what I mean. And it has the old-style U-shaped handle that I like and a lightweight aluminium chassis to boot. It will last me for the rest of my life. It is brilliant. The only thing is the petrol tank (same as the one in the video) is smaller than the previous one had. Oh and one other thing; it has a choke setting on the carb - none of these wretched plastic bulb primers that perish and crack.
I have the exact same engine and, like SkiTuscany, the port didn't seem blocked but I followed your instructions and its back running perfectly. There was lots of dirt specks on the shaft and around the port and It was starting and dying after 30 seconds or so. Can't thank you enough since I know nothing. But NOW thanks to you I know SOMETHING! Many thanks.
And it really, really works!! My neighbor gave me his old lawn mower. Would start and die. I figured it was something with the fuel system. Came to youtube and plugged the model - Murry 20 - and got your video. The bolt is a little bit recessed into the bowl and I used a cheap thin rachet wrench to get at it, with some trouble. Hole was very tiny, couldn't believe that would be the problem. But it started right up and I mowed our rocky lawn out here on the high desert in central Oregon.
I had one of these bad boys for 13 years. I never had engine problems. The table rusted out. Gave the motor to some college kids and they built a go cart with it
I have this mower except its gray, same engine. It was given to me, it had no head gasket no muffler, clogged carb. I took it apart rebuilt it i lapped the valves and honed the cylinder. new gaskets all around After all the repairs it runs great. I have two new mowers i bought a year ago. However i find my self using my tecumseh 3.5 most. You can mow six acres on a tank of gas. love this mower.
Thanks Carnivore10. I needed a mower for up at our trailer, and found a similar one at the curb. After replacing the spark plug and air filter I confirmed that it had a spark and compression. Would not start. After following the instructions from your video it started after about 3 pulls. It does however leak, so I still have a little work ahead of me.
+Joey Kean RU-vid "how to" videos are eventually going to kill repair people of all kinds. You can track down cheap repair parts for just about anything online and there are instructional videos about how to repair just about anything around your house. I can't remember the last time I called anyone to repair or service anything.
i suped one of those up today...put a tecumseh 4.5 horse carb on it (its bigger) and drilled some more holes in the muffler to increase the flow. Its about 4-4.5 Hp now
Hello.. it's not mentioned because a damaged or worn-out gasket would only leak fuel..the bowl isn't under a vacuum. The bowl bolt I cleaned in the video is a jet. It pulls fuel like a straw would up to the emulsion tube. If the gasket does leak fuel , the float in the bowl would only continue to allow fuel in from the needle and seat..in saying that,as you say I have seen many dry and damaged bowl seals..so always a great idea to change if it's needed..I do appreciate your comments ..Thank you for your reply!
This so ironic! I did the same exact fix on almost the same mower on exactly the same engine, the only difference being that my mower has the rear grass chute instead of the side one.
Unless you really have a bowl full of crud, there usually isn't any reason to even disturb the carburetor bowl by removing it. Try just removing the bottom bowl nut only and try cleaning the jet and reinstall. In a twisted sort of way, I really enjoy how these "how to" videos take money directly out of the hands of crooked, overpriced repair shops (not all repair shops are crooked, just expensive) and even equipment makers who just lost a sale because someone learned a simple repair and spent 5 minutes of their time to get their mower running again with zero money spent. Good video!
A big improvement is to replace the often problematic brass float with the modern style plastic float that's sold for these engines....no chance for corrosion.
I picked the same mower couple weeks ago from Habitate for Humanity. A male decided to start looking at it while i was already. I felt pressure to buy it because it was light weight and small . A week later i added gas and it started. I noticed there was no oil dip stick and it had a filter. Now im afraid to use it because i dont know how to care for it. The filter is slightly damp not much. Can you help me please to understand what i need to do to protect the motor?
Thank-you, this video helped fix my faulty mower. I got a question though. Recently, while mowing my lawn, the spark plug wire came off, and the engine made a nasty loud explosion noise (misfire?). Nothing seems to be broken and the mower still start up fine. Should I take it to a repair shop or just continue to use it like normal? Do i need to change any parts?
You may remember me from 3 years ago. Today the old Tecumseh 3.5 finally kicked the bucket; cleaned the bowl/jet, drained & refueled with fresh fuel, changed the spark plug...nothing got it to turn more than a second after priming. It starts for a second than dies immediately after. It doesn't even bother without priming. Dad is planning to replace the mower for a modern 4 stroker & self-propelling function as his back isn't doing too hot. Before he makes the purchase, any ideas other than a full rebuild?
Hi Trades, Yes I do remember you, I hope your well. If your certain the jet is clean, you need to also be sure that enough fuel can even get to the bowl through the needle and seat. You'll need to be you have also enough compression. It could be many things., If your running after a prime it does sound like a fuel issue though. Sometime it is time to just purchase a new one. If you do, id recommend staying to a " known popular brand" of engine at least, Please keep in touch, love to hear what was decided.Good to hear from you.
***** Thanks for the reply. Looks like it was a timing issue; the flywheel key was sheared off. Annoyingly I couldn't find a replacement as no stores nearby carries them. Just yesterday my father came home from work with a Husqvarna w/ Briggs & Stratton 675 self-propelled unit. I already alerted the local agency to pick up the old Tecumseh this week.
good vid man!!! I just got an old tecumseh 3,5HP that looks just like the one in your video... it start on the first pull... but I am a bit confused about the oil? where should I check if it has enough oil?... or is it a 2 stroke engine?... if yes, what ratio fuel/oil should I use?... please help! thank you!
Hi...sorry I missed your question...its a 4 stroke...oil goes in on the left side if your at the handle cutting position. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!!
I have this same exact mower and it wouldn't start. I did just what you did and it started and ran great, but after about the third time I used it after getting it running, I found that all the gas ran out of the tank into the crankcase. I rechecked my work and refilled the gas tank, but they same thing happened again--all the gas ran into the crankcase. Any ideas? Thanks.
