Recent content by ilyaz

I got it from the nearest gas station 1-2 weeks ago

Well, tried it. Also cleaned the mower a bit -- it was pretty clean to begin with, no oil leaks combined with grass/dirt. Things seem to be getting worse: now after about a dozen pulls all I get is a loud pop and that's it. Will be looking at the flywheel.

I primed a couple of times, then took the filter off and sprayed carb cleaner into into the carb. Not sure if it helped at all. Don't remember seeing it here. What's the trick? No, I got the primer model. I am curious if there was a reason why the previous owner put the wrong carb on it...

Got the new carb in the mail today. Installed. Primed. Started with 2-3 pulls. Then I stopped it and needed a dozen pulls to start again. It ran, then died. Now I can't start it at all. Every 2-3 times I pull, I hear pops like mini explosions. What's my next step?

:LOL::LOL:

Any of those parts ever not Chinese? :) Are they made of different metals/alloys? If so, are any better than any other ones?

This or this are a lot cheaper than this. But are they "you get what you pay for" kind of cheap?

Thanks guys! It says 123K02-0258-E1 03072559. Not sure if the 2nd number is important but the first one links to 498170 . Any other websites I should check to be 100% sure? What's the difference between 498170 and 799868

Crawled all over that thing - nothing. I'll bite the bullet and will go by the mower model number. Thx for all the help!

That's what I did

The mower model is 917388521, so on Sears Parts Direct I am seeing part num 498170. Is this the same as 799868 ?

OK, so I closed the choke and it started right away. Seemed to be running OK although not perfectly smooth. So it looks like the problem is the wrong carb. If I keep the choke forced closed like this, will I be burning too much fuel and putting more stress on the engine than needed? I am...

Will try. But another thing I noticed earlier was that the spark plug was dry when I pulled it out. Do you think closing the choke like this will help with that?

So here's another photo. No cable or anything like that, plus a thread for some sort of bolt ("?"), so the whole thing does seem out of place. Did I reconnect the spring correctly? ("??") So from the looks of it, are my options: 1. Get a new carb. Would need a primer carb, not a choke one...

Are you saying you can install a wrong-type carb and it will fit? FWIW, the mower did run when the previous owner gave it to me. He said he had to occasionally take of the air filter and spray carb cleaner(?) to be able to start it.

That'll be my next thing to try.

Trying to figure out where precisely I should be looking. Pressed the bulb but heard/saw nothing. I took a few photos -- anything there seems out of whack? (In the 1st photo I took off the plate, then put it back on)

Thank you much for all the details! Since it cracked, I would expect it to leak fuel -- was it?

What could happen if I don't drain and flip it on its side with the gas tank facing up?

Before removing it I'll want to flip the mower upside down. Do I first need to drain all gas and oil from the mower first? Even if I somehow manage to remove it without flipping, can I swap the deck without draining?

Was your plastic part cracked? Was it simply blocking the mixture flow or redirecting it somewhere? I am assuming you replaced the part? Do you happen to have a URL for a replacement? Or just the name? Thx

I did it only once, so will try again if nothing else helps.

I didn't check but it started from one pull right away and ran like it's brand new! I have another Craftsman (in the other thread) which has no rust yet I can't get it to start!

And I posted another thread: Carb cleaning Not sure if I want to cannibalize that one just yet, but is this a matching deck?

Will a matching deck necessarily be Craftsman? Or are there other brands that have compatible models?

OK will try this in the next couple of days. Thx!

OK thx. Do I just need to remove the blade and then detach the whole top of the mower (engine and all) from the deck, and move it to the other deck? Or is there more work with the top? Also, when I look for a matching mower to cannibalize, how close do I need to get to model number or whatever...

Have this Craftsman mower that was running when someone gave it to me, but I can't get it to start. Watched a bunch of YT videos, cleaned the carb (or I think I did) but still nothing. When I pulled out the spark plug after trying to start, the business end of it was bone dry. So carb still...

I have this push mower. The blade is good, the engine runs great, but the deck is full of holes. What's the best way to patch them without welding? Aluminum flashing cut to size, bent and attached with metal screws? I also read somewhere about using fiberglass cloth + epoxy -- is this a good...