Lazy Man's Carburetor Cleaning

[presence]

I always use ethanol free gas... but I failed to store properly last year on a 14hp kohler command, this is hint #1 carb is $#@!ed.

Hint two is it ran like a pearl before you put it down for the year... now you yank on the bitch 20-30 times until you consider blood pressure medication.

But, how do you know your carb is $#@!ed? And how do you deal with it without getting your blood pressure any higher?

Engine needs fuel, oil, air, & spark.

Step one check fuel line, old and crusty? replace with new line new clamps new fuel filter... I like the big metal inline type. Plastic ones crack... fuel everywhere, blood pressure medication, etc. Drain fuel, put new in tank. The other important fluid is oil... check level. If ya ain't done a oil and oil filter since god-knows-when... do it.

Fuel check!
Oil check!

Step two check air filter, clean it out... If nasty replace. But don't put it back on; you don't need it for test fire in the shop. With no air filter you know you have no air restriction.

Air check!

Step three pull spark plug... put plug back on plug wire and ground the plug to something steel on your engine like the muffler. Pull cord slowly u should see spark. If good put it back in. Don't touch plug while pulling cord... or do as you will and get shocked; to each his own.... getting shocked equally good method of checking for spark. If need be gap and a little emory paper...

Spark check!

Step four put plug back in, put tablespoon of petro into carb from air filter end. Pull cord.... should start.

...but if it dies... carb is $#@!ed.

You have good fuel but it ain't gettin' past the carb.
Cussin' at this point because u know its ur own damn fault for not storing properly last season is legit.
Cussin' at this point because u did store properly but used 10% ethanol last season... also legit.

So carb $#@!ed. what to do?

Clean it!

Step five, go to auto parts store and get rebuild kit, don't skip this step it will only piss u off later when fuel leaks onto your garage floor... and it may take a day to get there, so order it now. Best $10 u can spend. Rebuild kit is just all new rubber parts / gaskets, don't reuse used rubbers that's gross. Just trust, its not worth frustration, get the kit.

You have two distinct choices, here before next step
1) hands covered in gasoline
2) hands covered in nitrile gloves
Do as you will.

Step six, pull air filter and carb. remove everything moving or plastic on your carb, try not to forget how to put it back together.... if u do there are diagrams and youtubes; so off comes the walbro and its stripped down to just a machined block. Put all the little parts in a jar with a lid and save for later.

Step 7 now the cleaning of the carb block.... the issue here is you have a half dozen tiny little holes and they're full of stale gas muk and corrosion.




method 1; standard normal, assured to increase blood pressure:

Any old goat will tell u that u need to getcha a can of MEK (methylethylkeytone) which if you get it on your skin will absorb immediately, go directly to your brain, and make u into a retard / cause u to twitch like a bug in bug spray, soak it in the MEK for 24 hours.... that's right... you're not mowing the lawn today, carb needs to soak. Best not to soak in a plastic container that MEK can eat through in a few hours.... best way to find out if container is compatible is when MEK is all over garage floor. Then day two: getcha about a half dozen cans of carb and choke and look for all the tiny little holes in your carb and spray them clean... then while they're wet with carb and choke and a little mek u want to apply compressed air to all the little holes with a rubber tip air tool. Be sure to get some noxious chemicals in your eyeballs and ear holes whenever possible. Never hurts to go full retard and be a mouth breather while spraying carb cleaner. Expect an hour of being soaked in carb and choke, mek, and muk. Wear your best clothes. If you're cleaning any of the little parts be sure to go full bore with the carb cleaner so they shoot off to the far edge of the universe never to be seen again.

method 2; the hocus pocus method u wish u knew before you tried method 1:

take carb block with all moving/plastic parts removed, rinse it with hot water
You can take your nitrile gloves off now.
then put it in an empty clean plastic peanut butter jar, you can put any of the mucky METAL parts, like the bowl, in there too.
fill jar with genuine, not diluted, original formula Pine-Sol; the same stuff momma uses to clean the kitchen floor
put lid on jar, put jar in bottom of 5 gallon bucket
put 1/4 sheet vibratory palm sander in bottom of 5 gallon bucket with it
hang bucket from garage ceiling with bungee cord
turn on palm sander, come back in 1 hour
remove carb from vibrating pine sol bath and viola: Holy $#@!! Factory new!
rinse with hot water... maybe a toothbrush in the kitchen sink
after rinsed with water... apply compressed air to all the little holes with the rubber tip...
you might get a little water in your eyes or ear hole.

Now after cleaning method 1 or cleaning method 2; YOUR CHOICE.... equally effective!





Step 8, reassemble your carb with the new gaskets, rubber valve seat, etc. u got in your $10 kit from napa


Fire in the hole!

ps if it doesn't fire and instead floods (you should be able to see this because your air filter is off) close fuel shutoff.... you forgot to install new rubber valve seat on your float pin valve.

pps if it leaks all over the floor... that's because you skipped step 5 and used the old o-ring on your bowl. Told you so.

ppps if your float is full of fuel its bad... get a new one when you get your gasket kit.

pppps end of next season... before storage: Let engine run dry. drain extra fuel into red container for use in snow blower. empty bowl on carb of any excess fuel.

ppppps find ethanol free fuel near you here: http://www.pure-gas.org/

[Natural Citizen]

I ended up replacing a brand new mower with only 1 summer of use because of that ethanol gas. I was kind of mad about that. A leaf blower, too.

You're right, though, about yanking the thing until you need blood pressure meds.

I think AF had a thread about this a couple of years back, too. He was right proper po'd, too, if I recall right.

[opal]

*bookmarks thread for review later*

[GunnyFreedom]

This will indeed clean a carburetor, but I'm not convinced this is a "lazy man's" version. This is essentially a full rebuild.

A lazy man's carb cleaning would be to simply open the thing, and blow a whole can of carb cleaner at it into every nook and cranny as-is without major disassembly, and then starting the motor once you've gone through about 2/3 of the can.

Way less effective, of course, but also way less work, which is why that would be the "lazy man's" version.

What you did was more effective, sure, but I would never try to call it a "lazy man's" anything.

[presence]

This is essentially a full rebuild.
[]
What you did was more effective, sure, but I would never try to call it a "lazy man's" anything.

yes... I suppose thread title should be lazy man's carb rebuild

the magic here... you never have to touch anything more nasty than pinesol and water.... and you don't have to be there to clean it.... just put in bucket, turn on palm sander, and walk away.

the other perk... its spotless in 1h hour as opposed to any traditional soak which usually calls for 24 hours in chem dip

[tod evans]

Simple Green breaks down varnish/sludge better than Pine-sol...

I use it to clean pitch off belts for the widebelt and you can use it for sawblades but don't leave it on 'cause it'll break down the brazing between carbide teeth and the steel body...

[pcosmar]

yes... I suppose thread title should be lazy man's carb rebuild

or,, Homemade Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner.

[presence]

something of that sort.... none the less she purrs like a kitten again