So I had this exact brand and model toro, and a craftsman lawn mower. Both have the exact same engine. I figured it was easy enough to fix mowers to flip for a side job. I'm pretty good with research to figure out problems. Yet when i got these two mowers carbs serviced, neither one started afterwards. One week trying to figure this out. I did find a dead coil on the toro, switching coils back and forth from mower to mower. Sanding coils, and the contact points on the flywheel. They are older so I deemed them coincidentally, timing being off. But I thought I would research a little more. I found this video. In the end it was pretty much ignorance on my part. The carburetor bowls go on a certain way! Thanks man. 5 years later and still helping.
These engines on Craftsman/Toro and all OEMs are notorious for broken gas caps (carb/tank vent issues), breather blockages that are difficult to figure out for most and why these Tecumsehs have a worse rep than Briggs. My 2000 Craftsman 22" w/ the LV195 had run issues and sounded blown with weird oil loss/dilution until I figured out the carb/tank wasn't venting and I went over the easy external seals to make sure everything was actually tight and not leaking. They're not complicated but all the vertical Tecumsehs run an oil pump off the Cam which appears to make them less tolerant of seal/vent issues. IMO they're very good once you understand those issues but they took effort to.
This is the best of many youtube videos I watched to try to figure out my lawnmower. Although it does help that my mower is just like the one in this video, with a Tecumseh engine, nowhere else did I see the float adjustment, shown at 17:38 into this video. I had put the same kit in, with the needle valve and seat, and it would run fine, but then slowly leak out all the gas. The float adjustment did the trick. THANK YOU JEFF!
Use your Tecumseh Tool, that's one of it's purpose to check for proper clearance between the plastic float and the metal carb frame. I scribe line on the bowl and the carb base where it was originally assembled, so I can reassemble the bowl correctly. Great illustration video, that you for that. Thumbs up!
Great video! Just cleaned the same carb a second time - first before your video - then after. I missed the hidden jet behind the small cap. I was lucky I didn't need any parts. The bottom O-ring on the emulsion tube has seen better days. I just picked up an assorted o-ring kit... will replace the two O-rings in the next few days. although its running fine.
Just tore down my whole engine and cleaned it well. replaced the coil, ran it and sprayed sea foam in, adjusted the spring for carb, and it runs awesome now.
I bought a new carburetor rather than rebuild it. Amazon had a kit that included a carburetor, air filter, fuel line, spark plug, fuel filter. I didn't use anything but the carburetor and air filter. I gave the lawnmower a very good cleaning...wasn't quite as filthy as the one in the video, but it had a lot of crud built up under the cover and behind the things I took off. 15 year old Toro recycler self-propelled lawnmower runs great now! Thank you so much!
You were lucky. These kits are Chinese knockoffs most of the time, many of them are faulty. Rather than throwing something away, rebuild it. A carb is something you don´t just swap out unless it is in very bad condition and unsavable.
This video is really awesome. I decided to replace the whole carb ($19 including spark plug, filter & plenty of fuel line). The job went super smooth thanks to the video. The only extra step was to move the air filter mounting bracket from the old carb to the new one.
Great video Jeff! I am so thrilled. First time taking on a lawn mower repair. Not interested in forking out all that $ for a new mower and what great satisfaction it is to get it mowing again. I'm in Ontario Canada ....finding the genuine replacement parts was time consuming but worth it.
Hey Jeff , To remove a Tecumseh carb, Take out the two bolts holding the manifold to the head and it will come right off without fighting it like shown in your video.
Good to see you removed carburetor off of manifold not engine all linkage stays on engine. The emulsion tube can be tricky to get out. Some times I have to dig the lower oring out with a tiny screwdriver to get it moving. When it won't come out all the way I have a course thread sheet rock screw to pull it rest if way out. I have extra tubes on hand
I agree those plastic emusion tubes can be difficult to remove sometimes. I often push down on it from inside the carb throat with a screwdriver and use a 90 degree pick to poke it the rest of the way through..
Good video. The only other suggestion is to add a fuel cutoff switch between the gas tank and the carb. This is the best way to let the machine turn off so you can ensure the carb is empty and doesn't gum up with ethanol. It's a $5 mod.
Great video. Thanks for the detailed assembly/tune up work. The four bolts that hold the engine cover can be a nightmare if they are rusted and caked with debris. Pays to keep them clean & plug the holes with a cork.
Thank you Jeff for the detailed instruction. There is a small detail missing. See time slot 4:52 ~ 4:55 for removing a clamp that is used for secure fuel line to the carburetor. When the demonstrator attached the fuel line back to the carburetor at 22:27 ~ 22:33, he did not install the clamp. The fuel line and the clamp should have been attached before 19:40.
Great informational Video and he shows everything, my 1 concern is he did not put the clamp back on his gas line when he installed the new gas line.So I would worry about him working on my lawn as the motor could get hot and the gas start leaking and boom.
Clean the dog-on lawnmower exterior like you did the interior parts. It's the professional way to do things and pleases the customers like presenting them with a new lawnmower. Great job on the tuneup. How you left the exterior dirty was very irritating to many of us.
Probably the best guide i have watched, exactly my mower, thank you! I have three questions if you have the time: 1) On the Tecumseh carb, why is there a spring on one of the screws? I thought that screw was just a jet so would be fully seated, but the screw suggests it is to be set a number of turns back. 2) When i was young all the push mowers were in the 2.5-3.5HP range, they now claim double those values but do not seem to be any more powerful. What is going on? 3) Throttles on the handle are disappearing. I liked being able to run low rpm when not needed and throttle up for high weeds or grass. Is there a "hack" to be able to replicate the ability? Many thanks!
Hello! 1. the slow speed "adjustable" screw on the side has a spring so it holds the adjustment where you set it. It does not thread all of the way in. Usually 1 1/2 turns out from bottoming out. with no spring it would fall out of adjustment from vibration. 2. The engines are more powerful today. If you notice they measure lawnmower engine power now in "torque" not horsepower. Because their "horsepower" ratings over the years were not accurate to what a horsepower measurement actually is. 3. No hack that I know of to do that other than fabricate something up yourself with a random throttle cable assembly.
In my case I bought a new carb from ebay it was only 13 bucks. My old 88 16775 model the carb was too far gone from water filling it over winter. It was left on my property so I took on the project 😁
Thanks. Very informative. My mistake was a stupid one but your video was the only one that made me recognize it. Linkage in the wrong hole. DUHHHH! Thanks again.
Well... got a Toro ... a bit different model but the owners manual says it's the same engine. First time I ever did repair on a lawn mower engine instead of junking and buying a new mower ( cheap mower ) was replacing the carburetor. Now .... for the first time in multiple decades of mowing grass ( mostly my own ) I changed the oil. Wasn't too hard after finding some vids on youtube. Got it changed ... put oil back in... sharpened blade ( have done this a few times ). Mowed once this year ...... Was on the second mowing of the season and after about 30min .... white smoke was billowing. So ok .... I know that means burning oil. Stopped the mower .... checked the dip stick there was oil on the stick said low but there was some on it. Added some more and wondered if it would restart. First pull .... popped right off. Bit of white smoke then cleared up. 30 seconds later billowing white smoke? Toro's damn pricey to replace so thinking I'd like to fix. Do I tear all the way down to the piston to replace rings? FOr this I'd go to a mechanic and pay him. Or .... is there a seal ( blown ) that might be the only thing needed. How do you tell? By the way .... Nice video.
JEFF , your Tecumseh tool is the gap for setting the float hieght using the 2 flat sides spanning the carb under the float , you can also use a 13/64 drill bit flat under the float.
Hello Jeff, Awesome video very detailed, I have had fixed many lawn mowers over the last few years for elderly neighbors and friends, thanks to helpful experienced mechanics like yourself. So Thank You for helping people that are on a restricted budget and just need a little help sometime from a DIY person.Most problems are due to bad gas because of high ethanol percentage and build up from not being used enough, mostly dirty or worn out carb pairs from ethanol gas. I was hoping you could advise me on something on same mower and engine shown in video. I have replaced and cleaned every part you shown in the video,( I didn't know about the small screw and port under the cap) I cleaned that as well.All New filters,Air, oil & spark Plug changed, new fuel line , cleaned gas tank and using 4 cycle ethanol free fuel. The mower is running as it should and I am able to mow the yard with it but the engine while idling or using it still seems to stagger a bit (not quite enough to call it an obvious strong surging sound), just not a solid smooth constant engine sound like yours was at the end of the video, if I up the rpm it still does the same thing so not sure if bending the bar will help or I springs are worn. I was curios about the adjustment screw that was not mention in the video , but saw in the comments someone asked about it and you mentioned it was the idle screw, I am not sure if that would help or not? or if it could be the float out of adjustment as you shown in video or what it could be causing the staggering engine sound. Again I replaced all parts in the carb with new ones, O rings, float & needle and cleaned all inlet and outlet ports. Any suggestions on what could be causing the engine to stagger and not run soothly?
Not sure without hearing it. It could be a partially sheared flywheel key, very tough to diagnose but you could check that. Look for large dents in the blade too this could indicate that the blade hit something hard and sheared the flywheel key.
Thank you , got a yardman with the same model Tecumseh motor you did . A junk find , fixed the starter and it had a broken bolt in the blade holder - went ahead and presently soaking the carburetor for a couple of days in submerged gasoline . Done did all the other things , good spark, good compression, hopefully it doesn't have a bent or partially bent shaft . Fingers crossed after I put a new blade holder and new blade on it . I said a junk find , gave $12.50 for it . It still has a lot of paint underneath the mower deck , thinking this mower wasn't used that much . Didn't know that until recently they quit making Tecumseh motors either ...Cheers
Jeff, have you ever replaced the engine stop switch on the bracket? I have one that will not turn off. It ohms check good but when its running the mower will not turn off.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService turned out to be the coil ground connection. I cleaned it down to bare metal since it was corroded. Put some dielectric grease on it. Engine stops now. Glad I did not order bracket assy.
Hey man I’m glad found you I got one mower just like yours can’t get it to start. I replaced carburetor, spark plug, ignition coil, pull starter, fresh oil. Couple day ago pull the engine apart and everything looks alright. Any advice?
try using starting fluid to see what happens and go from there. That can tell you if you have spark and compression if it tries to start. If it tries to start then dies it tells you that you have a fuel delivery problem or a carburetor is not working correctly. If you put a cheap carburetor on it, that may be the problem because cheap carburetors are often crap.
A really really good video, by far the best I've seen on this, because you show and explain things really well in a calm voice. My tecumseh won't start, after 2yrs being stored. It has a good spark and good compression and renewed fuel, but it is dead on start up. So the carb must be gunged up with stale fuel and probably tiny rubber parts have deteriorated, as you show here. But it is all so unbelievably fiddly to do, and get back together again properly. I don't think I'll be able to manage doing this, but I'll have to try. Everything is so tiny and fiddly, and has to be so clean, you have to be like a surgeon with it all. Great video, I admire you're skill and presentation, thankyou, best wishes from Alan, in England.
I had one of them with a Tecumseh on it, got rid of it and I got me one with a Briggs and Stratton! Problem solved! Running strong,starts on first pull every time, 11 years old!
Have you ever fixed a tecumseh lawn mower engine with crankshaft end play? I got a free toro lawn mower with a tecumseh but I noticed the crankshaft has a lot of vertical play...
Really nice video. If you stupidly played with the adjustment screw (with the spring on it), any tips on how to get that back to factory setting? Thanks!
Nice video Jeff. You covered a lot of points others never mention such as the proper orientation of the float bowl relative to the float hinge. However I did not see you replace the fuel line clamp after attaching the line. Even up to the point of replacing the engine cover. Lots of vibration in these kinds of engines.
You do very nice repair jobs. Wish you had a work bench and garage. I did it like you for years until I finally got my shop. Love it. Thanks for the video's.
You sure have a lot of dirt and debris in the ares you're working on, its like causing the possibilities of acquiring dirt in the carburetor upon removal and replacement. Clear that dirt out first. I water hose clean all my lawn equipment after each use and do a safety inspection, especially the under decks. A thumbs up from Pennsylvania.
Thank so so much saved me a lot of time and effort. Seems I had a small bit of debris in my slow idle screw port and I was a no start. You showed me the problem and she runs like a champ! All the best! Jay
hi Jeff i just found one side of road and it was leakin gas out the carb and a red straw came out can i get the carb on amazon,or try rebuild the one have,20016,model,toro recycler 22,didnt know had tecuseh engine though,,do you know the carb number,thanks
the red tube pokes into the back of carb and goes into the air filter. The carb is very common and the same for almost all push lawnmowers with this style tecumseh engine.
@Abasc Yiahim That's why I don't do my own work! They always make it look simple in the video, but.... You have to remember most likely this is their umpty millionth repair on the same kind of engine....
i found a TORO lawn mower on the side of the road it had a 190cc Briggs Flathead and the gas tank was full of gas the oil was low but i put some more oil in it and gave it a big pull and it started running i had no use for the mower since we already have a riding mower so i put the engine in my racing lawnmower
I dont know if i'd call it a problem... But, a lot of the time the bowl float will misshapen and cause a no start. I cured mine by getting a cheapo carb on amazon and swapping the float.
Thank you so much for this video! I love how you included part numbers at each step, you are a lifesaver. Very well done video. PS good luck with the chickens
Wow, I would have thought you would have a lift for that lawnmower if that is your business or hobby. Backbreaking or hard on the knees doing it on the ground and easy to lose parts as well.
So recently I picked up one of these mowers. Runs great for now. But for the future I might have to do a carb rebuild. So where did you get those little hook tools? Would want something like that.
That's all beyond what I can do myself. How common is this problem? Mine runs right now, but I've heard their GTS mowers are rarely that and Toro has shops that say the customer screwed up and so they won't cover their "guarantee." Thanks.
After watching your video, I tried it on my mower. I am not sure what I did but now it's not starting, hehehe. Maybe one part got reassembled incorrectly
Why would the first step not be to take thirty seconds and get a leaf blower or compressed air to clean off the debris? That would bug the crap out of me. Still very informative though.
cleaning is good, but I work on many pieces of equipment everyday and only have time to fix them. I usually don't clean them. I would have so much sludge around my house from cleaning lawnmowers everyday it would be a toxic waste site!
That was my first thought, too. Then, again, he is a pro, minor details like dirt and hay, and grass, are not a factor, waste of time, goes straight for where the money is. I loved it. Me? Brush it off nicely, looking good, just in case the neighbor or my kids watching so I can look as if I know what I'm doing, and then, when everybody is in the pool, I dissemble, clean, and when I can't put it back together, sneak it back to the shed. And then, when my wife asks why it is not working, but there was nothing wrong with it yesterday, I answer, you don't get it, I had to tune it up. And when nobody was home I gave 20 bucks to the neighbor kid to run over with his riding one... My wife came home, nice, honey, it did a much better job after the tune up. (Now I secretly have to buy a new one and replace it when nobody is watching) . Nice video, though.
agreed; he may or may not be a pro ( pros can take a needle valve out easily and not say "oops" )... but common sense is to get debris out of the way (grass, dirt, etc.) BEFORE you open up the machine carburetor. It takes a few seconds and can avoid wind blowing stuff into the machine.
I get it but wth should Jeff have to clean someone else's funk if he does he should charge them for there laziness he's cleaning what he's getting paid to clean most shops charge for cleaning especially under decks which are neglected
You can also take the 2 philips screw out that the down piece is connection to and bring the 2 pieces out together is what i do... then you dont have to mess around with the linkage and the hidden screw in the back.
Thanks Jeff - to increase the RPM on my Toro with the same engine, I used the torx screw right next to the spring bracket you bent (visible at 24:02) - was this incorrect for me to do? Thanks for the video and the part numbers - very helpful!
Jeff's Little Engine Service hey Jeff thank you by the way but why is my primer bulb not priming abd the lawnmower is starving for gas does it need full rebuild
I want to clean my deck and the engine before I toured apart so I could make sure that I got everything back together without lotta grass and dirt in it I'd like to see how you put your fuel line on now after you
Your supposed to put the fuel line on first then hook up linkages etc. Also remove the whole manifold connecting to the carburator makes it much easier to get at that rear nut and bolt assembly
Yess this is the one exactly like I have so glad to now u had a video on this type and everything hopefully everything is good and runs on mine whenever I get it back togeather . Been a pain in the butt and I definitely got to get a air filter for mine too
Great video and great explanation of that carb rebuild. I have this exact same mower and same engine I have a weird problem I'm having trouble with. Engine starts fine but rpms drop slowly and eventually stalls out. Start it up again and it runs like garbage for about 10 to 15 minutes until it's nice and hot then its much better. Just runs really crappy especially when cold engine. If I use the self propelled to move it forward or hit any sort of thicker grass it stalls out again just need to go very slow. Always used stabilized ethanol free fuel. I replaced spark plug, air filter, cleaned carb, I even replaced the head gasket and still have issues! Any idea what else I can check? I'm tempted to just replace the entire carb but it doesn't seem like a fuel issue I don't think.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService thanks for the reply! These aftermarket carburetors are only about $15 on Amazon, not sure how to tell a good one from a bad one other than reviews, any good brands of aftermarket that are better than the rest? Otherwise it's off to Ebay for an OEM I think!
I had a similar problem and cleaned out the carburetor which seem to work a little. But the RPMs are still down. It was suggested I check the governor switch or muffler… Any suggestions about that? Thanks
@@andrewlipski9570 the governor arm you will see a silver wire with a spring attached to it next to the throttle arm, you can try to bend that forward just a hair and it will speed up the engine just a bit, make small adjustments first. You don't want the rpm to go higher than designed. Also make sure you check if the gaskets on the carburetor, intake, and exhaust are in good shape, and tighten down all the bolts in those areas to make sure there is a good seal.
My mother-in-law laid her toro mower on its side in her shed for about a year so when I pulled it out and tried to check it for compression it blows oil out the muffler. I only pulled the cord a couple of times and no it didn’t start. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
@@JeffsLittleEngineService They are for sure not as good as the original. I have an 18 year old Toro recycler and those aftermarket carbs last 2-3 years in my experience
So I had this exact brand and model toro, and a craftsman lawn mower. Both have the exact same engine. I figured it was easy enough to fix mowers to flip for a side job. I'm pretty good with research to figure out problems. Yet when i got these two mowers carbs serviced, neither one started afterwards. One week trying to figure this out. I did find a dead coil on the toro, switching coils back and forth from mower to mower. Sanding coils, and the contact points on the flywheel. They are older so I deemed them coincidentally, timing being off. But I thought I would research a little more. I found this video. In the end it was pretty much ignorance on my part. The carburetor bowls go on a certain way! Thanks man. 5 years later and still helping.
Thanks for watching, good job!
These engines on Craftsman/Toro and all OEMs are notorious for broken gas caps (carb/tank vent issues), breather blockages that are difficult to figure out for most and why these Tecumsehs have a worse rep than Briggs. My 2000 Craftsman 22" w/ the LV195 had run issues and sounded blown with weird oil loss/dilution until I figured out the carb/tank wasn't venting and I went over the easy external seals to make sure everything was actually tight and not leaking. They're not complicated but all the vertical Tecumsehs run an oil pump off the Cam which appears to make them less tolerant of seal/vent issues. IMO they're very good once you understand those issues but they took effort to.
This is the best of many youtube videos I watched to try to figure out my lawnmower. Although it does help that my mower is just like the one in this video, with a Tecumseh engine, nowhere else did I see the float adjustment, shown at 17:38 into this video. I had put the same kit in, with the needle valve and seat, and it would run fine, but then slowly leak out all the gas. The float adjustment did the trick. THANK YOU JEFF!
good job! Thank you!
Well done. Clear and precise. Camera in focus. No dopey music intro. Thanks.
Use your Tecumseh Tool, that's one of it's purpose to check for proper clearance between the plastic float and the metal carb frame. I scribe line on the bowl and the carb base where it was originally assembled, so I can reassemble the bowl correctly. Great illustration video, that you for that. Thumbs up!
thanks! Great tip!
Great video! Just cleaned the same carb a second time - first before your video - then after. I missed the hidden jet behind the small cap. I was lucky I didn't need any parts. The bottom O-ring on the emulsion tube has seen better days. I just picked up an assorted o-ring kit... will replace the two O-rings in the next few days. although its running fine.
Just tore down my whole engine and cleaned it well. replaced the coil, ran it and sprayed sea foam in, adjusted the spring for carb, and it runs awesome now.
The video was so good that when I rebuilt my carb I got it done in one beer!
strong work! lol!
I bought a new carburetor rather than rebuild it. Amazon had a kit that included a carburetor, air filter, fuel line, spark plug, fuel filter. I didn't use anything but the carburetor and air filter. I gave the lawnmower a very good cleaning...wasn't quite as filthy as the one in the video, but it had a lot of crud built up under the cover and behind the things I took off. 15 year old Toro recycler self-propelled lawnmower runs great now! Thank you so much!
How much was the kit from amazon?
You were lucky. These kits are Chinese knockoffs most of the time, many of them are faulty. Rather than throwing something away, rebuild it. A carb is something you don´t just swap out unless it is in very bad condition and unsavable.
@@mcdavidhome100 too cheap
@@v-g-z3689 I was not so lucky. First replacement only lasted a season. Had to replace it again last year and never was able to get it to run.
@@lydiahubbell6278 Yep, that´s what happens, not surprised at all.
Great video. Always nice to watch someone that knows what they're doing.
This video is really awesome. I decided to replace the whole carb ($19 including spark plug, filter & plenty of fuel line). The job went super smooth thanks to the video. The only extra step was to move the air filter mounting bracket from the old carb to the new one.
good job! thanks for watching
Got a part number for the carb?
Need carb number to 😊
Watching this video made my lower back hurt !! I put my mower up on the tailgate of my truck. Less back strain. :D Good Video Thanks
Yeah, no back strain by lifting a mower up to your tailgate I guess?
Great video Jeff! I am so thrilled. First time taking on a lawn mower repair. Not interested in forking out all that $ for a new mower and what great satisfaction it is to get it mowing again. I'm in Ontario Canada ....finding the genuine replacement parts was time consuming but worth it.
Excellent! Good job
Hey Jeff , To remove a Tecumseh carb, Take out the two bolts holding the manifold to the head and it will come right off without fighting it like shown in your video.
I do the same I thi knots funny watching people struggle with that back bolt when really you should have the whole assembly in your hands🤣🤦♂️
That's how I did it.
Excellent video. It was exactly what i was looking for. You just saved me $ 500 on a new mower. Thanks !
Glad I could help
Good to see you removed carburetor off of manifold not engine all linkage stays on engine. The emulsion tube can be tricky to get out. Some times I have to dig the lower oring out with a tiny screwdriver to get it moving. When it won't come out all the way I have a course thread sheet rock screw to pull it rest if way out. I have extra tubes on hand
I agree those plastic emusion tubes can be difficult to remove sometimes. I often push down on it from inside the carb throat with a screwdriver and use a 90 degree pick to poke it the rest of the way through..
Well earned thumbs up for rock and roll chickens!
Finally an excellent video on rebuilding a tecumseh carb but holy crap dude, power wash that thing before re-installing the carb.
Good video. The only other suggestion is to add a fuel cutoff switch between the gas tank and the carb. This is the best way to let the machine turn off so you can ensure the carb is empty and doesn't gum up with ethanol. It's a $5 mod.
Great tip!
Excellent job!!! Well done, illustrated very well. Showed step by step from start to finish.
Thank you very much!
Thank you for the explanation of how to do maintenance to the carburetor of my lawn more. Your explanation was very clear.
Thank you! you are welcome
thanks. your closeups are really good.
Thank you!
Great video. Thanks for the detailed assembly/tune up work. The four bolts that hold the engine cover can be a nightmare if they are rusted and caked with debris. Pays to keep them clean & plug the holes with a cork.
Thank you Jeff for the detailed instruction.
There is a small detail missing. See time slot 4:52 ~ 4:55 for removing a clamp that is used for secure fuel line to the carburetor. When the demonstrator attached the fuel line back to the carburetor at 22:27 ~ 22:33, he did not install the clamp. The fuel line and the clamp should have been attached before 19:40.
no clamp is ok as long as it doesn't leak. New fuel line fits tight also
Great informational Video and he shows everything, my 1 concern is he did not put the clamp back on his gas line when he installed the new gas line.So I would worry about him working on my lawn as the motor could get hot and the gas start leaking and boom.
Didn't know about bending that tab with the spring. Thanks man!
Thank you for saving me $400 for a new mower!
Clean the dog-on lawnmower exterior like you did the interior parts. It's the professional way to do things and pleases the customers like presenting them with a new lawnmower. Great job on the tuneup. How you left the exterior dirty was very irritating to many of us.
that would be nice but I cannot wash 6 lawnmowers a day everyday at my place it would make a huge mess over time
No Morr Peter!
Probably the best guide i have watched, exactly my mower, thank you!
I have three questions if you have the time:
1) On the Tecumseh carb, why is there a spring on one of the screws? I thought that screw was just a jet so would be fully seated, but the screw suggests it is to be set a number of turns back.
2) When i was young all the push mowers were in the 2.5-3.5HP range, they now claim double those values but do not seem to be any more powerful. What is going on?
3) Throttles on the handle are disappearing. I liked being able to run low rpm when not needed and throttle up for high weeds or grass. Is there a "hack" to be able to replicate the ability? Many thanks!
Hello!
1. the slow speed "adjustable" screw on the side has a spring so it holds the adjustment where you set it. It does not thread all of the way in. Usually 1 1/2 turns out from bottoming out. with no spring it would fall out of adjustment from vibration. 2. The engines are more powerful today. If you notice they measure lawnmower engine power now in "torque" not horsepower. Because their "horsepower" ratings over the years were not accurate to what a horsepower measurement actually is. 3. No hack that I know of to do that other than fabricate something up yourself with a random throttle cable assembly.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService Thank you!
Thank you! Love to see it done before I do it! Very good talk through!
Fancy crochet hook... appreciate the video, I just got one of these.
Tecumseh air filter 36905 just what I needed to know. Thank you so much.
In my case I bought a new carb from ebay it was only 13 bucks. My old 88 16775 model the carb was too far gone from water filling it over winter. It was left on my property so I took on the project 😁
Thanks. Very informative. My mistake was a stupid one but your video was the only one that made me recognize it. Linkage in the wrong hole. DUHHHH! Thanks again.
Glad it helped
Well... got a Toro ... a bit different model but the owners manual says it's the same engine. First time I ever did repair on a lawn mower engine instead of junking and buying a new mower ( cheap mower ) was replacing the carburetor.
Now .... for the first time in multiple decades of mowing grass ( mostly my own ) I changed the oil. Wasn't too hard after finding some vids on youtube. Got it changed ... put oil back in... sharpened blade ( have done this a few times ). Mowed once this year ...... Was on the second mowing of the season and after about 30min .... white smoke was billowing.
So ok .... I know that means burning oil. Stopped the mower .... checked the dip stick there was oil on the stick said low but there was some on it. Added some more and wondered if it would restart. First pull .... popped right off. Bit of white smoke then cleared up. 30 seconds later billowing white smoke?
Toro's damn pricey to replace so thinking I'd like to fix. Do I tear all the way down to the piston to replace rings? FOr this I'd go to a mechanic and pay him. Or .... is there a seal ( blown ) that might be the only thing needed. How do you tell?
By the way .... Nice video.
Thanks! It could be a blown head gasket OR your engine may be ruined from low oil
Don’t see many tecumseh mowers in West Texas, it’s 95% b/s stuff and kohler, kas are making a strong comeback now on zero turn mowers
Tecumseh's were kind of a crap engine in my opinion.
1st pull!! Well done!
It 's nice when things work out so easily.
Thank you,
Make sure to not knock any dirt down in the hole Jeff ! 😄
THANKS for all the info!
I'll be doing this tomorrow.
Just wondering why didn't you clean the thing up first so there wouldn't be any dirt to knock into the hole
I fix too many mowers a day to clean them all
JEFF , your Tecumseh tool is the gap for setting the float hieght using the 2 flat sides spanning the carb under the float , you can also use a 13/64 drill bit flat under the float.
cool! Thanks for the info. I did not know that
You do it your way smart ass i will do it the tech trained way smart ass.
And further more you must have a lot of carbs pissing fuel out due to a worn seat and needle your way SMART ASS
Gil Picard leave the gut alone....
you are a real dumb ass
Hello Jeff, Awesome video very detailed, I have had fixed many lawn mowers over the last few years for elderly neighbors and friends, thanks to helpful experienced mechanics like yourself. So Thank You for helping people that are on a restricted budget and just need a little help sometime from a DIY person.Most problems are due to bad gas because of high ethanol percentage and build up from not being used enough, mostly dirty or worn out carb pairs from ethanol gas.
I was hoping you could advise me on something on same mower and engine shown in video.
I have replaced and cleaned every part you shown in the video,( I didn't know about the small screw and port under the cap) I cleaned that as well.All New filters,Air, oil & spark Plug changed, new fuel line , cleaned gas tank and using 4 cycle ethanol free fuel.
The mower is running as it should and I am able to mow the yard with it but the engine while idling or using it still seems to stagger a bit (not quite enough to call it an obvious strong surging sound), just not a solid smooth constant engine sound like yours was at the end of the video, if I up the rpm it still does the same thing so not sure if bending the bar will help or I springs are worn. I was curios about the adjustment screw that was not mention in the video , but saw in the comments someone asked about it and you mentioned it was the idle screw, I am not sure if that would help or not? or if it could be the float out of adjustment as you shown in video or what it could be causing the staggering engine sound. Again I replaced all parts in the carb with new ones, O rings, float & needle and cleaned all inlet and outlet ports.
Any suggestions on what could be causing the engine to stagger and not run soothly?
Not sure without hearing it. It could be a partially sheared flywheel key, very tough to diagnose but you could check that. Look for large dents in the blade too this could indicate that the blade hit something hard and sheared the flywheel key.
Thank you , got a yardman with the same model Tecumseh motor you did . A junk find , fixed the starter and it had a broken bolt in the blade holder - went ahead and presently soaking the carburetor for a couple of days in submerged gasoline . Done did all the other things , good spark, good compression, hopefully it doesn't have a bent or partially bent shaft . Fingers crossed after I put a new blade holder and new blade on it . I said a junk find , gave $12.50 for it . It still has a lot of paint underneath the mower deck , thinking this mower wasn't used that much . Didn't know that until recently they quit making Tecumseh motors either ...Cheers
FANTASTIC video my man ! 😀
Thanks for the visit
Very good video. Just an FYI, you buy a new replacement carb with air filter and spark plug for less than $20 on Amazon. Reviews are pretty good.
Always use OEM carburetor. I don't trust those cheapo carbs. good luck!
Jeff, have you ever replaced the engine stop switch on the bracket? I have one that will not turn off. It ohms check good but when its running the mower will not turn off.
Hi old friend! Yes, unfortunately it is the whole bracket that gets replaced
@@JeffsLittleEngineService turned out to be the coil ground connection. I cleaned it down to bare metal since it was corroded. Put some dielectric grease on it. Engine stops now. Glad I did not order bracket assy.
Hey man I’m glad found you I got one mower just like yours can’t get it to start.
I replaced carburetor, spark plug, ignition coil, pull starter, fresh oil.
Couple day ago pull the engine apart and everything looks alright.
Any advice?
try using starting fluid to see what happens and go from there. That can tell you if you have spark and compression if it tries to start. If it tries to start then dies it tells you that you have a fuel delivery problem or a carburetor is not working correctly. If you put a cheap carburetor on it, that may be the problem because cheap carburetors are often crap.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService thanks man
This was very helpful thank you Jeff
THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. JEFF YOU ARE THE GREATEST !
Thanks for watching friend
I have the same two lawnmowers...The old murry has given me a headache...Retired Larry....
A really really good video, by far the best I've seen on this, because you show and explain things really well in a calm voice. My tecumseh won't start, after 2yrs being stored. It has a good spark and good compression and renewed fuel, but it is dead on start up. So the carb must be gunged up with stale fuel and probably tiny rubber parts have deteriorated, as you show here. But it is all so unbelievably fiddly to do, and get back together again properly. I don't think I'll be able to manage doing this, but I'll have to try. Everything is so tiny and fiddly, and has to be so clean, you have to be like a surgeon with it all. Great video, I admire you're skill and presentation, thankyou, best wishes from Alan, in England.
Thank you, nicely explained and the video is excellent showing close up. Tomorrow I will try it. I have the same toro lawn motor.
That was an excellent & informative video. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Always struggled with this carb thanks for clearing it up for me!
I had one of them with a Tecumseh on it, got rid of it and I got me one with a Briggs and Stratton! Problem solved! Running strong,starts on first pull every time, 11 years old!
good upgrade
Thank you for a very informative lesson that did get the message across
Have you ever fixed a tecumseh lawn mower engine with crankshaft end play? I got a free toro lawn mower with a tecumseh but I noticed the crankshaft has a lot of vertical play...
No I have not. Probably just needs a shim but also could be the sign off a very tired engine
Hey Jeff can you adjust that screw with the cap over it
no it is a non adjustable jet
Really nice video. If you stupidly played with the adjustment screw (with the spring on it), any tips on how to get that back to factory setting? Thanks!
thank you. The threaded end should poke through apx. 1/8". If you adjust it while running you can set it where you like.
A true backyard mechanic. Cheers.
Nice video Jeff. You covered a lot of points others never mention such as the proper orientation of the float bowl relative to the float hinge. However I did not see you replace the fuel line clamp after attaching the line. Even up to the point of replacing the engine cover. Lots of vibration in these kinds of engines.
Good observation its best to use a clamp but often not needed
Those gas lines won't usually leak without clamps
excellent video,very helpful,,thanks
Thanks friend!
You do very nice repair jobs. Wish you had a work bench and garage. I did it like you for years until I finally got my shop. Love it. Thanks for the video's.
This helped a lot. I just got one of these mowers and had to do work on it. Thanks.
You sure have a lot of dirt and debris in the ares you're working on, its like causing the possibilities of acquiring dirt in the carburetor upon removal and replacement. Clear that dirt out first. I water hose clean all my lawn equipment after each use and do a safety inspection, especially the under decks. A thumbs up from Pennsylvania.
I have them same one an problems... I don't know where that part came off I learn by watching. My air filter is great knew spark plug so on!!
Thank so so much saved me a lot of time and effort. Seems I had a small bit of debris in my slow idle screw port and I was a no start. You showed me the problem and she runs like a champ! All the best!
Jay
Awesome video ,game changer in hepling me maintain my 2007 toro, thanks again for the instruction and video.
nice work...but why not do propane conversion to eliminate any further carb issues...remove fuel tank to mount 1lb propane bottle
I have never done that. sounds interesting!
hi Jeff i just found one side of road and it was leakin gas out the carb and a red straw came out can i get the carb on amazon,or try rebuild the one have,20016,model,toro recycler 22,didnt know had tecuseh engine though,,do you know the carb number,thanks
the red tube pokes into the back of carb and goes into the air filter. The carb is very common and the same for almost all push lawnmowers with this style tecumseh engine.
Thanks Jeff Little you help me out in a Big way brother!!!
Love how he makes it look easy, I'm suffering like a dog,
Yep!! Me to!!
Me three!
And damn it's hot outside!!!!!
@Abasc Yiahim That's why I don't do my own work! They always make it look simple in the video, but.... You have to remember most likely this is their umpty millionth repair on the same kind of engine....
i found a TORO lawn mower on the side of the road it had a 190cc Briggs Flathead and the gas tank was full of gas the oil was low but i put some more oil in it and gave it a big pull and it started running i had no use for the mower since we already have a riding mower so i put the engine in my racing lawnmower
Great video!! Thank you sir!
I hope it helped.
Jeff how do I find the part number for the gasket that goes on engine to the pipe then the carb. Not the carb gaskets
I appreciate this. Thank you Sir.
Glad it helped
I have same toro mower and at first when it starts it takes while for it get up to full power then when it shuts off smells like gas in muffler
the carburetor needs cleaning/rebuilding
I dont know if i'd call it a problem... But, a lot of the time the bowl float will misshapen and cause a no start.
I cured mine by getting a cheapo carb on amazon and swapping the float.
Thank you so much for this video! I love how you included part numbers at each step, you are a lifesaver. Very well done video.
PS good luck with the chickens
Thank you friend!
Does this model come with a fuel filter?
not really. The fuel filter is only a simple screen in the fuel tank
Wow, I would have thought you would have a lift for that lawnmower if that is your business or hobby. Backbreaking or hard on the knees doing it on the ground and easy to lose parts as well.
So recently I picked up one of these mowers. Runs great for now. But for the future I might have to do a carb rebuild. So where did you get those little hook tools? Would want something like that.
It is a Tecumseh made tool
@@JeffsLittleEngineService ohhh so would that mean that I can't even get one now?
That's all beyond what I can do myself. How common is this problem? Mine runs right now, but I've heard their GTS mowers are rarely that and Toro has shops that say the customer screwed up and so they won't cover their "guarantee." Thanks.
After watching your video, I tried it on my mower. I am not sure what I did but now it's not starting, hehehe. Maybe one part got reassembled incorrectly
Why would the first step not be to take thirty seconds and get a leaf blower or compressed air to clean off the debris?
That would bug the crap out of me.
Still very informative though.
cleaning is good, but I work on many pieces of equipment everyday and only have time to fix them. I usually don't clean them. I would have so much sludge around my house from cleaning lawnmowers everyday it would be a toxic waste site!
That was my first thought, too. Then, again, he is a pro, minor details like dirt and hay, and grass, are not a factor, waste of time, goes straight for where the money is. I loved it. Me? Brush it off nicely, looking good, just in case the neighbor or my kids watching so I can look as if I know what I'm doing, and then, when everybody is in the pool, I dissemble, clean, and when I can't put it back together, sneak it back to the shed. And then, when my wife asks why it is not working, but there was nothing wrong with it yesterday, I answer, you don't get it, I had to tune it up. And when nobody was home I gave 20 bucks to the neighbor kid to run over with his riding one... My wife came home, nice, honey, it did a much better job after the tune up. (Now I secretly have to buy a new one and replace it when nobody is watching) . Nice video, though.
agreed; he may or may not be a pro ( pros can take a needle valve out easily and not say "oops" )... but common sense is to get debris out of the way (grass, dirt, etc.) BEFORE you open up the machine carburetor. It takes a few seconds and can avoid wind blowing stuff into the machine.
lol! I was thinking the same, I find items the first thing is cleaning before I work on it.
I get it but wth should Jeff have to clean someone else's funk if he does he should charge them for there laziness he's cleaning what he's getting paid to clean most shops charge for cleaning especially under decks which are neglected
You can also take the 2 philips screw out that the down piece is connection to and bring the 2 pieces out together is what i do... then you dont have to mess around with the linkage and the hidden screw in the back.
Thanks Jeff - to increase the RPM on my Toro with the same engine, I used the torx screw right next to the spring bracket you bent (visible at 24:02) - was this incorrect for me to do? Thanks for the video and the part numbers - very helpful!
it is ok. that screw adjusts the idle speed. it won't hurt to screw it in more.
Jeff's Little Engine Service hey Jeff thank you by the way but why is my primer bulb not priming abd the lawnmower is starving for gas does it need full rebuild
Excellent explanation!
I want to clean my deck and the engine before I toured apart so I could make sure that I got everything back together without lotta grass and dirt in it I'd like to see how you put your fuel line on now after you
Your supposed to put the fuel line on first then hook up linkages etc. Also remove the whole manifold connecting to the carburator makes it much easier to get at that rear nut and bolt assembly
HOW COME YOU DON'T CLEAN THE CARBURETOR OF ALL DIRT ON THE OUT SIDE BEFORE TAKING IT APART
HoW dOeS tHe oUtSiDe dIrT aFfEct tHe iNsIdE??? 🤡
It eliminates the chances of dirt and whatever other debris that’s on the outside, from GeTtInG oN tHe InSiDe
Great video sir 👍 just where can I buy these exact parts you used is the first time for me to take a carburetor and I see it need this parts replaced
Ebay or your local lawnmower repair shop
@@JeffsLittleEngineService thank you sir really appreciate it
Yess this is the one exactly like I have so glad to now u had a video on this type and everything hopefully everything is good and runs on mine whenever I get it back togeather . Been a pain in the butt and I definitely got to get a air filter for mine too
That carb and air filter wouldn´t mind a proper clean on the outside as well...
😄
Great video and great explanation of that carb rebuild. I have this exact same mower and same engine I have a weird problem I'm having trouble with. Engine starts fine but rpms drop slowly and eventually stalls out. Start it up again and it runs like garbage for about 10 to 15 minutes until it's nice and hot then its much better. Just runs really crappy especially when cold engine. If I use the self propelled to move it forward or hit any sort of thicker grass it stalls out again just need to go very slow. Always used stabilized ethanol free fuel. I replaced spark plug, air filter, cleaned carb, I even replaced the head gasket and still have issues! Any idea what else I can check? I'm tempted to just replace the entire carb but it doesn't seem like a fuel issue I don't think.
The carb probably needs to be rebuilt. If you buy a new one make sure it is OEM or a quality aftermarket one.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService thanks for the reply! These aftermarket carburetors are only about $15 on Amazon, not sure how to tell a good one from a bad one other than reviews, any good brands of aftermarket that are better than the rest? Otherwise it's off to Ebay for an OEM I think!
OEM is best but expensive. But $15.00 might be worth a try!
I had a similar problem and cleaned out the carburetor which seem to work a little. But the RPMs are still down. It was suggested I check the governor switch or muffler… Any suggestions about that? Thanks
@@andrewlipski9570 the governor arm you will see a silver wire with a spring attached to it next to the throttle arm, you can try to bend that forward just a hair and it will speed up the engine just a bit, make small adjustments first. You don't want the rpm to go higher than designed. Also make sure you check if the gaskets on the carburetor, intake, and exhaust are in good shape, and tighten down all the bolts in those areas to make sure there is a good seal.
Awesome work thanks for sharing I learned a lot
My mother-in-law laid her toro mower on its side in her shed for about a year so when I pulled it out and tried to check it for compression it blows oil out the muffler. I only pulled the cord a couple of times and no it didn’t start. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
dan TheDude overfilled with oil
i find your videos so great at explaining how to do things great work man!!!!
Thank's good learning
Thanks for watching
I don't have carb cleaner in me. I have brake cleaner n pb blaster. What else could I use?
You can also just buy a brand new aftermarket carburetor for like $15-20. It's super easy to swap out.
I have not had good luck with cheap carburetors. Hopefully the quality is improving.
@@JeffsLittleEngineService They are for sure not as good as the original. I have an 18 year old Toro recycler and those aftermarket carbs last 2-3 years in my experience