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Hi all,
I was using this mower on a slight incline when it died. I checked the oil and there was very little in the reservoir. This one burns a little oil routinely. If I ran it dry is it for sure dead? I checked the carb and cleaned all the orifices, Installed 2 gaskets at the breather(from YT video), cover does not seem warped at all, but really how can you tell. None if these things helped. I was able to get it to run for a second or 2 & then it would die. I figure if I am getting a few seconds run time it must not be seized.

Make sure oil is on full mark, check air filter, check for spark at plug, check for compression by pulling cord, if cord is hard to pull you probably have good compression, if cord is easy to pull low compression & will not start. Let us know how it goes, thanks, Mark

bluegirl said:

Hi all,
I was using this mower on a slight incline when it died. I checked the oil and there was very little in the reservoir. This one burns a little oil routinely. If I ran it dry is it for sure dead? I checked the carb and cleaned all the orifices, Installed 2 gaskets at the breather(from YT video), cover does not seem warped at all, but really how can you tell. None if these things helped. I was able to get it to run for a second or 2 & then it would die. I figure if I am getting a few seconds run time it must not be seized.

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Is there a reason you don't put oil in the engine?

Might hire a lawn crew since you don't do any mower maintenance.

slomo said:

Is there a reason you don't put oil in the engine?

Might hire a lawn crew since you don't do any mower maintenance.

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Thank you for the snide reply. It just got away from me.

One thing I forgot to mention is that when I prime the gas none comes through. Usually I can hear it squirting in.

Forums are like computers.
Nothing good happens till you put some data in
So lets start with the engine make model & Numbers.

bluegirl said:

Thank you for the snide reply. It just got away from me.

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Bluegirl, if the mower were seized it wouldn't turn over when you pull the cord. It sounds like your carb is still the culprit or possibly the muffler is full of oil. You can always remove the muffler and see if it runs.

bluegirl said:

Thank you for the snide reply. It just got away from me.

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Yes it was snide. And yes oil is important in a push mower engine. Takes a whole half quart to fill one up. Not a big deal.

Snide part was to assist in getting the importance of the oil into your knowledge box.

Friendly tip, might want to check the oil in your car or truck too. All meant with pure love, sugar on top and bottom, sweet kisses on the mouth and hugs all around. Even a few for Scrubcadet10.

bertsmobile1 said:

Forums are like computers.
Nothing good happens till you put some data in
So lets start with the engine make model & Numbers.

Click to expand...

It's a Craftsman Model 944.363201 with a Briggs 125K02 0253-E1 036061657

If no gas is coming through the primer, maybe there is a crack in the fuel hose causing it to suck air in? That's the problem I just had with my ancient leaf blower. Once the cracked fuel hose was replaced it worked fine.

As far as I can work out, that engine came with 2 primers
If your bulb has no hole in the middle then it pumps fuel into the carb to start a cold engine
If your primer bulb has a hole in the middle then it pumps air into the float chamber to depress the float slightly and flood the carb so does not squirt fuel directly into the engine.

This is why numbers are important

They both look almost the same but they work differently.

I will hazard a guess that when on the incline, some water or debris that was i the bottom of the fuel tank found it's way into the carburettor.
Remove the carburettor , drain the float bowl check the jet holes are clear then reassemble

Here is what I have done so far, to no avail. Oil level good, new spark plug, removed carb & check all orifices/float, removed the coil & cleaned(no rust, it was shiny}, checked primer bulb(there was some debris behind the bulb at the screen), fuel moving well through the line & into the carb. It doesn't give me even a small hope of starting.

bluegirl said:

Here is what I have done so far, to no avail. Oil level good, new spark plug, removed carb & check all orifices/float, removed the coil & cleaned(no rust, it was shiny}, checked primer bulb(there was some debris behind the bulb at the screen), fuel moving well through the line & into the carb. It doesn't give me even a small hope of starting.

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Magneto installed right side up?
Check for spark when you pull the rope?
Proper gap on magneto?
Small shot of starting fluid into the carb any help?

bluegirl said:

Here is what I have done so far, to no avail. Oil level good, new spark plug, removed carb & check all orifices/float, removed the coil & cleaned(no rust, it was shiny}, checked primer bulb(there was some debris behind the bulb at the screen), fuel moving well through the line & into the carb. It doesn't give me even a small hope of starting.

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Just checking, when you put the coil back on, did you gap it properly? Do you have a spark?

I check the spark today and yes there is a spark. Will do the starting fluid in carb test next. Update: no go with gas in carb.

bluegirl said:

I check the spark today and yes there is a spark. Will do the starting fluid in carb test next.

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You need to load test the coil.

Joed756 said:

Bluegirl, if the mower were seized it wouldn't turn over when you pull the cord. It sounds like your carb is still the culprit or possibly the muffler is full of oil. You can always remove the muffler and see if it runs.

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Yes, it turns over when I pull the cord. I removed the muffler & other than a bit sooty it looks ok. Tried to start it, but no success.

bluegirl said:

Yes, it turns over when I pull the cord. I removed the muffler & other than a bit sooty it looks ok. Tried to start it, but no success.

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Spark and fuel. Check them out.

bluegirl said:

Hi all,
I was using this mower on a slight incline when it died. I checked the oil and there was very little in the reservoir. This one burns a little oil routinely. If I ran it dry is it for sure dead? I checked the carb and cleaned all the orifices, Installed 2 gaskets at the breather(from YT video), cover does not seem warped at all, but really how can you tell. None if these things helped. I was able to get it to run for a second or 2 & then it would die. I figure if I am getting a few seconds run time it must not be seized.

Click to expand...

The last time that our Craftsman 6.75hp mower wouldn't start, after hundreds of pulls on the starter cord, I noticed a tiny section of the cylinder head gasket hanging from the bottom of the cylinder head. So it was a blown head gasket & loss of compression issue.
Ordered a new one from searspartsdirect for approx $7.
And —except for the small matter of me cracking the cyl head by over-torqueing the head bolts a wee bit of a mere 183 ft-lbs too much— that was the reason ours wasn't starting.

winmod21 said:

And —except for the small matter of me cracking the cyl head by over-torqueing the head bolts a wee bit of a mere 183 ft-lbs too much— that was the reason ours wasn't starting.

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Thank the lord the head didn't fall off while mowing. LOL Only needed 15ft lbs. Aluminum block and heads......

winmod21 said:

The last time that our Craftsman 6.75hp mower wouldn't start, after hundreds of pulls on the starter cord, I noticed a tiny section of the cylinder head gasket hanging from the bottom of the cylinder head. So it was a blown head gasket & loss of compression issue.
Ordered a new one from searspartsdirect for approx $7.
And —except for the small matter of me cracking the cyl head by over-torqueing the head bolts a wee bit of a mere 183 ft-lbs too much— that was the reason ours wasn't starting.

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Did anything feel different when you were trying to start it?

bluegirl said:

Did anything feel different when you were trying to start it?

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Well, I do remember that the more I re-pulled the starter rope, the more numb I felt.
Until eventually, after what seemed like more than a hundred pulls . . . I apparently turned into a numbskull. ?

But no, everything felt and looked normal as ever. So I had no idea why it wasn't starting, as it had always typically started within a couple pulls. And I don't think I recalled that it had backfired - the last time I had shut it down, but perhaps it did. Maybe it doesn't take much of a backfire to blow a head gasket if the engines' usage hours are high, which was the case with ours; purchased it in 96' or 97', and I think the head gasket blew in 2014~15, so it was 18 or 19 yrs old.

Then after I had to replace the cylinder head, due to my—glad to say temporary—infliction of being a numbskull who torqued the head bolts to 200 ft-lbs—instead of the proper 200 in-lbs —it started right back up and ran great.

In the meantime, we purchased a Husqvarna from Lowe's that had several non-starting issues, so after several mowing's promptly returned it to Lowe's and with our refund money bought a Honda mower from HomeDepot that's been super great; it's now 6 or 7 yrs old and still starts every time on the 1st pull !=))

Is this cylinder head my problem?

Could stand a good cleaning. I've seen worse than that run.

bluegirl said:

Is this cylinder head my problem?
View attachment 58245View attachment 58246

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Not your issue but as others said, should be done say every 6 years depending on how much you mow. That is de-carbonizing the cylinder and valves. It's in your engine manual as a to-do thing. That carbon insulates the parts slowing heat transfer leading to over-heats. Plus those carbon chunks get between the piston and bore scoring the crap out of the bore, not a good thing.

Thanks all. I will get the cylinder cleaned up, but what next? Replace the carb & the primer bulb cover/assembly?

Remove the air filter cover and filter. LOOK into the carb throat. Hit the primer bulb. Should see a small squirt of fuel come from the bottom center of the carb.

What do you see?

bluegirl said:

I was able to get it to run for a second or 2 & then it would die.

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Carb is dirty.

slomo said:

Remove the air filter cover and filter. LOOK into the carb throat. Hit the primer bulb. Should see a small squirt of fuel come from the bottom center of the carb.

What do you see?

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I see no action whatsoever. Usually I can hear the gas moving thru the line.

bluegirl said:

One thing I forgot to mention is that when I prime the gas none comes through. Usually I can hear it squirting in.

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That should tell you your primer isn't working right?

bluegirl said:

I see no action whatsoever. Usually I can hear the gas moving thru the line.

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Replace the primer bulb and gaskets. Don't over torque. Just a gentle snug is all you need.

Also make sure the tiny hole just below the top left air filter base screw hole is clear.

Here's where I'm at. Cleaned up the cylinder head and reinstalled. Replaced the primer bulb & new gasket, but I still don't hear or see any gas movement. I have a new carb to install, but I figured the bulb would be the game changer. Could it be the bulb plate instead?

Scrubcadet10 said:

Also make sure the tiny hole just below the top left air filter base screw hole is clear.

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Do as Scrubcadet10 said.

bluegirl said:

Here's where I'm at. Cleaned up the cylinder head and reinstalled. Replaced the primer bulb & new gasket, but I still don't hear or see any gas movement. I have a new carb to install, but I figured the bulb would be the game changer. Could it be the bulb plate instead?

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Those air filter housings warp from over torque and heat. Some use 2 gaskets to seal that area to make the primer work.

Blow air with an air source into that small hole on the left. Right below the left carb mounting screw hole. Open the gold choke plate. Look for fuel squirting up in the bottom center of the carb throat.

I did blow out the hole, installed 2 gaskets on the primer assembly. It started up and ran fine, but would not start again. When I blew out the hole gas flew all over the place, so I'm guessing it started because of that. It seems I'm no further ahead. I really don't see or hear any fuel moving when I prime. 3 gaskets? LOL

I have been thru the same thing. Found fuel bowl gasket with corrosion from aluminum.
Cleaned bowl, gasket and carb . No problems after that.

bluegirl said:

I did blow out the hole, installed 2 gaskets on the primer assembly. It started up and ran fine, but would not start again. When I blew out the hole gas flew all over the place, so I'm guessing it started because of that. It seems I'm no further ahead. I really don't see or hear any fuel moving when I prime. 3 gaskets? LOL

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Either you have the gaskets on backwards or you got the wrong primer bulb??

So when you blew into the hole and gas flew, did you see it inside the carb go up vertically?

That primer bulb, pushes AIR, into that small hole, which pressurizes the carb bowl, pushing fuel up into the carb throat.

Should see a tiny stream of gas squirt up from the bottom center of carb throat, just inside the carb body.

slomo said:

Either you have the gaskets on backwards or you got the wrong primer bulb??

So when you blew into the hole and gas flew, did you see it inside the carb go up vertically?

That primer bulb, pushes AIR, into that small hole, which pressurizes the carb bowl, pushing fuel up into the carb throat.

Should see a tiny stream of gas squirt up from the bottom center of carb throat, just inside the carb body.

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There is only 1 way to put the gasket on. There is a plastic form exactly the same as the gasket. The primer bulb looks exactly the same as the one I replaced. I didn't look into the carb at that time as gas was going everywhere. I used my air compressor. Will try again a bit more gently to see what happens.

waltn said:

I have been thru the same thing. Found fuel bowl gasket with corrosion from aluminum.
Cleaned bowl, gasket and carb . No problems after that.

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Fuel bowl is clean

If you get a fuel squirt with your air compressor, then the primer bulb is defective. Or u have a gasket issue? Doesn't take a ton of air to squirt just saying. Imagine blowing into that carb hole with your mouth.

Hi all, I bit the bullet and replaced the primer bulb assembly and it fired right up. Couldn't really tell if it was warped, but it must have been just enough to make the seal incomplete. I never did replace the carb.