Craftsman R1000 surges and runs rich

ncsteve

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I recently bought a no-start R1000 (247.290003). After making some wiring repairs so it would crank, I installed the new carburetor the PO had purchased for it. Now the mower starts and stays running, but it surges/hunts at all speeds and runs rich. I adjusted the float so the inlet needle closes sooner, but it made no difference. The idle air mix screw has no effect. Removing the air filter has no effect. Any ideas other than chasing down a smaller main jet? It has a #98 jet in it now.
 

ncsteve

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Scrubcadet10

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China is probably why it didn't work
 

PTmowerMech

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Re: Craftsman R1000 surges and runs rich--SOLVED

I ended up doing another cleaning of the original carb and found gunk in what MTD calls the Metering Port, which is built into a plastic plug under the idle speed control screw. Put it all back together, and now it runs perfectly! I wonder why that new carb didn't work. . . . . . . . .???

Tolerences on the jets from the aftermarket carbs are generally higher than OEMs. Plus after market parts use general/untrained personnel to build their parts. Quality Control lacks in these manufacturing plants. Testing the jet sizes are probably not real frequent.

I'd keep that carb. If you can find the pilot jet, get you some extremely small drill bits. The kind that come in a kit with something that looks like a small flashlight. Drill out the pilot jet. (Youtube is your friend for the correct size) I have done these. I find the size that just above what the ID is, and go from there. That should cure the problem.
 
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