Hope someone can help me with this. I own a Snapper 5.5hp push mower, with B&S engine. I believe it was new in the mid-90's. Last summer I had issues with the engine dying on me. My father-in-law asked if there was a hole in the primer (which there was), and suggested sealing it with some silicone. I did it and it worked... for a while. Several weeks later, I noticed gas leaking from the carburetor into the air filter housing and saturating the filter. I was told the float assembly needle and seat probably needed replaced, which I did. It still leaked gas. So I replaced all the gaskets on the carburetor, which seemed to do the trick. In the process of redoing the carb., I also replaced the Primer bulb with a new one. So now with everything cleaned and replaced, I finally got the engine started back up... for a few seconds. Then it died again. Much as it did before I put silicone over the primer bulb hole last summer. So my question is, should I put silicone over the primer bulb again?? Will this hurt the carburetor?? any other solutions or thoughts?
The hole in the primer has to be there, because not only does it prime for starting, but is also the vent for the carb bowl. If you plug that hole, or the associated passage, it can, and will cause a siphoning effect. Barring a clogged prime passage, the needle valve/seat is leaking again, and will require disassembly to determine why.
