QuestionQUESTION: I was just given a Murray lawn tractor which has been sitting in a garage for the last 4 years. I replaced the battery and tried to see if she would start but the motor would only crank for a second, then freeze up. If I tried to start it again it would seem to be stuck, then crank and freeze again. After trying this a few times to see if it would start I started to smell gas and noticed that fuel was pouring out of the muffler. I looked at some answers to similar issues other people have had and it seems that I need to clean the carburetor. I've removed it from the engine but I can't seem to get the throttle and choke shaft off, nor can I get the idle mixture limiter cap off. I know the can of gunk I have says that I can't put plastic in, but I was wondering if it would be ok or am I just missing some easy way to remove those parts? Is there anything else that I'll need to do to the engine before I can get it working? The motor is a Briggs & Stratton 28w707-0121-E1 and I have the walbro carb. I've already removed the bowl, float, float pin and float needle, and as far as I know the only thing I'm going to soak is the actual carburetor, but I can't get those plastic pieces off. If you could let me know what to do I'd appreciate it. Thanks
ANSWER: Just clean out the carb, don't soak it.
It was flooding because the float or needle was not letting it seal
when the fuel level was reached in the carb, so cleaning and replacing one or both of those parts is likely all you need to do.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Is there any reason why the engine wouldn't crank? Do I need to lubricate
somewhere or is that symptomatic of a larger problem?
AnswerIt is likely caused by the flooding carb has filled the engine with fuel, and the starter cannot turn over. After fixing the flooding carb you will need to drain the oil which is likely fouled with gas,
and remove the plug and then crank the engine to spit out the fuel in there as well, just be careful of the fuel.
