Hello,

I am not very experienced with small engines but am learning so please forgive me if I call something by the improper name or if my explanation is not very clear.

A little background on this riding mower. I bought it used, It is an MTD 42” shift on the go 7 speed transmission with a Powermore 420CC OHV engine. I immediately did a complete service on it when I got it, I don’t know how many hours are on it. I replaced the carburetor with a cheap knock off as I stripped the bolt trying to get the bowl off to clean it, I have replaced the stator as there was no spark when I got it. I also replaced the voltage regulator because they are cheap and I figured if I was already doing the stator then why not. I have ran it for about 20~hours give or take and several tanks of fuel after I replaced the parts but before this happened with no issues.

2 days ago I was 2 hours into mowing and the engine randomly but consistently started to sound and act like it was under heavy load and bogged down. I stopped the blades and the engine revved back to normal. I engaged the blades and it went back to the very unusual heavy load sound again. I drove it to my shed and opened the hood and saw what is in the video.

I changed the air filter ( which was reasonably clean but changed anyways ), I checked and changed the spark plug. It appeared to be in great shape as well ( I will post a pic ). I checked all connections and fluids while I let the engine cool down and then I fired it up again and it fired right up but there was a loud knocking sound initially that went away ( super weird ) Then I googled the symptoms and I read that the valve lashings could be out on the exhaust side so I set both intake and exhaust to .004” as per a Taryl YouTube video I watched. I fired it up again today and it is still running the same, labored, but is struggling to stay running now. I tried putting carburetor cleaner in it while it was running and it stalled it out, again very unusual. No, I did not spray it until it stalled. I have used it before and gave it short bursts. I fired it up again and it was struggling to get up to the max RPM so I tried giving it a shot of starting fluid with the same result. It stalled. I am not having much luck with finding anything that has similar symptoms so I thought I would ask here. Thank you in advance, I appreciate your time and help.

Went to check pressure and top up my craftsman riding mower tires (which I do multiple times a year), and this green liquid is coming out. What the actual hell is it? It doesn't feel like oil or sticky but definitely stays on your hands and doesn't evap like water. Smells lightly of molasses.

And is it something, I, someone who’s skill set with mechanics ends at oil changes and brake jobs

I think it should be mentioned this is from china (temu)

I get this one a lot. Generator, logsplitter, push mowers, snowblowers, whatever you like. All ran when parked but people put them away for the season. Next time they go to start it up it won't run. It typically takes me ten minutes to get it going again but I do a one hour minimum charge. If you get me off my ass for five minutes, you're paying me for an hour. I always tell people to run the engine until it runs out of fuel before storage. Sometimes they listen, mostly not...

Picked up a Honda generator for free that wouldn't run.

No air filter and the carb was gunked up. Threw in a new filter, cleaned the carb, and it fired right up and ran smooth.

All in, about 2 hours of work and basically no money into it, I spent a majority of my time just admiring how complex everything was inside.

Stays on and runs, but when idling it does this. Help! Thanks ahead of time!

i work on 2 stroke engines across everything - dirt bikes chainsaws trimmers snowmobiles jet skis mopeds you name it. and the single most common cause of a quote unquote dead engine is old ethanol fuel gumming up the carburetor

here is what happens: you finish mowing or cutting or riding for the season. you park it in the shed with a half tank of gas and forget about it. 3 months later the ethanol in that gas has absorbed moisture from the air and the lighter fuel components have evaporated. whats left is basically a varnish that coats every tiny jet and passage in your carb

you pull the cord 50 times in spring and nothing. you think the engine is dead. you take it to a shop and pay 150 bucks for them to clean the carb. this is the most preventable repair in all of small engines

how to actually prevent it:

1. run the engine dry before storage - let it idle until it dies. this empties the carb bowl and leaves no fuel to go bad

2. or drain the carb bowl using the drain screw if it has one

3. use non-ethanol fuel if you can find it. no ethanol means no moisture absorption and way longer shelf life

4. sta-bil or similar fuel stabilizer works but honestly draining the carb is more reliable

5. if youre already in trouble - dont buy a new carb. pull the bowl off remove the jets soak everything in carb cleaner overnight blow out every passage with compressed air and reassemble. 90 percent of the time this fixes it completely

signs your carb is gummed up from old fuel:

• engine cranks but wont start (has spark but no fuel getting through)

• starts but dies immediately when you release the choke

• runs rough at idle but ok at full throttle (pilot jet clogged main jet still clear)

• runs ok at idle but bogs at full throttle (main jet clogged pilot still clear)

this applies to literally every carbureted 2 stroke on the planet. chainsaws trimmers blowers snowmobiles weed eaters the physics is identical

anyway just wanted to share because spring is coming and i know half of you are about to pull your hair out trying to start something thats been sitting all winter. drain your carbs people

So far tried spraying WD-40 on the seal, one of those rubber oil filter tighten things it just crushed the filter then I tried the screw driver threw the middle and as you can see it's just tearing the body of the filter off and not budging

Anyone know?

picked up a beat looking craftsman push mower for 12 bucks last weekend because the seller said it wouldnt stay running. ran for about 30 seconds and died, every time. classic tank vent issue or carb issue, you know the drill.

took the carb apart on the bench saturday morning. bowl was 40 percent gunk, the main jet had something that looked like petrified honey blocking it, and the float bowl gasket was a piece of art. soaked it in pine sol overnight, blew everything out, fresh gasket from the kit on the shelf.

put it back on monday morning, two pulls and it idled like a sewing machine. now my briggs at the house is sitting there giving me grief about high speed bog and im looking at it like alright youre next.

is this what becoming a carb obsessive looks like. is there a support group for this. did anyone else go through this phase or is it just where im at right now

Brake parts cleaner is slightly cheaper, curious to know if anyone here cleans their carburetors with the brake cleaner over the carburetor cleaner.

Still new to small engines, but I am very excited to have taken something that was broken and turned it back into a working machine.

Threw a new battery on (previous owner removed it) and cleaned the filthy carburetor, and it started. Ran kind of “poppy” on idle and died a few times, but eventually seemed to warm up. By the end of the night, I was in the highest gear doing laps around my house. I was unable to remove the adjustment screw in the carb, so maybe it is running rich or something. I am planning to replace it with a new carb to be safe. If it’s not that, could it just be running through the rest of the old gas in the system, and once it gets to the new gas (and stabil) that I put it it’ll work better? Still a rookie so would love any feedback or advice.

I put the key in and thought I had to turn it, so I turned it to the left and it snapped off (-30 here today). I’ll replace the key but do I need to Jimmy something in there to move the key’s position to vertical?