Recent content by Tiger Small Engine

Take it to a tire shop and have them installed. When tires are brand new they are next to impossible to install yourself.

Mulch kits are great for leaves a few weeks out of the year. Not good for grass the other 30 weeks.

If the blower is getting up to speed fine, then it is not the spark arrestor. You have replaced a lot of parts. Are the replacements OEM or aftermarket? How old is it?

I have never been a fan of fuel stabilizer, nor used it. Fresh fuel with zero water in it is the way to go. This topic is another controversial one like ethanol debate.

Make sure the engine has oil and it is at full mark. If you want to add a little oil down spark plug hole and crank it over a few times, nothing wrong with that at all. Remember that long term engine longevity for your engine is regular maintenance including oil changes, checking oil, and...

Don’t forget the emulsion tube, pilot jet, and main jet also getting blocked partially or fully is what mainly leads to hunting and surging. It is normally lack of fuel (running lean) that causes RPM fluctuation. Occasionally it can be air leaks in intake gasket, etc. Rarely is it a governor...

You can also put a wooden Q-tip with valve lapping compound on it and chuck it up in a drill at low speed. Then switch to carburetor cleaner, then blow out the seat.

Oregon and Rotary are simply distributors, selling aftermarket and sometimes OEM parts.

It is a Nikki carburetor from the looks of pictures. If you can’t tell a pulse fuel pump from an electronic fuel pump, I would suggest going to a shop for help. Why would an electronic fuel pump be on a carbureted engine?!

How many people actually remove a cylinder head every once in a while to decarbonize it? Way less that even remove the engine shroud to check for dirt, debris on cooling fines and top off engine. How expensive do you think it would be to buy a used cylinder head off of EBay, remove the one on...

If the engine running on one cylinder was your first thought, why would bypassing the governor make it better? Address the issue with why only one cylinder is running and do NOT mess with the governor.

Charge battery, 12.05 volts is flat. Remove carburetor and address the leaking needle and seat issue. Install fuel shut off valve for backup.

Helicoils are normally very reliable long term if installed correctly. Who would go to the trouble of removing the cylinder head, welding it, tapping a new hole, probably have to replace head gasket, and reinstalling cylinder head? That sounds like something they would do in Pakistan.

I buy several 5 gallon buckets of Citgo 10W-30 locally at place that sells lubricants. The local Walmart became to unreliable on stock availability as well as cost and quantity I was needing.

One of the main reasons yearly maintenance prevents most problems is because you usually catch problems before they happen. Example: A drive belt that has cracks about every inch and needs to be replaced. Very few people seem to do yearly maintenance with their equipment, at least in my experience.

Many times when removing spark plugs from customer engines, I find the plugs to be too loose. I think they are afraid of stripping it. Anyway, I have two engines with stripped spark plug threads and one engine with stripped carburetor bolt threads I will work on this winter. Occasionally people...

Probably a worn and tired engine with a combination of worn rings, worn valve guides/seals, sloppy valves, etc. If you have time and money and motivation, go for it.

I burn spark arrestors out for customers occasionally right on the spot. Equipment can’t exhale when exhaust is blocked. Fairly common issue.

The carburetor you installed isn’t dead on correct and is probably a large part of the poor starting and running issue. New doesn’t always mean correct.

I have rebuilt a few in the past. Only one had stopped moving the mower. I tried sanding the pumps and pump surfaces unsuccessfully apparently because it did not improve forward and reverse travel on the mower. I have one this winter I am going to tackle, or swap out another K46. Customer pulled...

First charge and load test battery. Second clean and check all terminals for tightness. Could be one of several problems, but always start with the battery.The high pitched whine you hear is the starter slowly being killed. You can always turn the engine past the compression stroke by hand...

Look for scoring on pumps as well as the surface they ride on. If too deep may need to buy new parts. Real pain from start to finish to rebuild a hydro transaxle. If you do all that work and it doesn’t help it then becomes very frustrating and time consuming as well.

Once again, go through the OEM Zama carburetor and clean it. Hipa has good aftermarket parts, however, aftermarket carburetors on 2-stroke handheld equipment can be more hit or miss.

Keep an eye on the oil and run it. The Kohler Courage single was a dog of an engine that had several problems. That said, I have yet to see one that developed the Kohler crack or broke a connecting rod. There is a large counter weight and these engines were not the most balanced or smooth.

You bought an OEM Zama carburetor from Hipa and Amazon online? You state it is a Zama. You probably meant it cross references to that Zama. Thoroughly clean and replace screen, and metering diaphragm in the OEM Zama carburetor and install on trimmer. If you can’t do this properly, take it to a...

Do what the manufacturer recommends. Do not overthink it.

My advice is to turn down the repair. Call the customer and tell them you are unable to help them. Let another shop (if they can find one) take on this repair. The chances of it leaking again are too high.

The way the oil cooler is mounted, it is impossible for the oil lines to rub and leak. Plus, all you have to do is inspect them and see what kind of shape they are in.

Throw them back on EBay for sale.

Look at the Predator 304 cc engine at Harbor freight if replacing. I repowered my splitter years ago with this engine and it has been great.

Are the armature and field and brushes good. Do the windings look burnt? Did you take it apart or just throw some WD-40 on the bendix gear? Did you try to bench test it?

Selling used equipment can be frustrating, however, you just have to wait for the right buyer. Cannot take things personally, and need to find a person who sees real value in the product you have to offer. Used sales provide extra income, can be easy to sell, and help people out that cannot...

The Kawasaki FH series engine puts it at about 20 years old, must be new old stock. Look on the silver sticker for date of manufacture. Unless it is a used engine. The Kawasaki FS series engine is basically the FR series with a better air filter and something else minor. No reason you can’t get...