Craftsman tillerfailure to reach full power.

[Jim in Virginia]

I have a Craftman 26 front tiller with Briggs &Stratton 5HP I/C engine which has served me well for several years. However it now fails to reach full power. After starting it would conk out when moving from 鼎hoke back to è¿*un? I cleaned the carbureator which is on top of the gas tank including the base of the intake stem and there was an improvement. It would not conk out if set to è¿*un but it still will not get to full power. It accelerates ok when throttle is manipulated by hand but will not stay at full power. Any help?

 

[Rivets]

Have you tried changing the throttle spring? It may have streched and will not open the throttle far enough anymore.

 

[DaveTN]

Try turning the mixture screw counter-clockwise about 1/8 turn, see if it helps. If it will throttle up and run at fast idle and not rev up and down, it's fine. If it hesitates and stumbles on accelerating it, then turn another 1/8 turn and that should be all that is needed. Sounds to me like it's not getting enough gas. Possibly, but unlikely the governor could be out of adjustment. Unless someone has been working on the governor arm/shaft/linkage, then it should be ok. I've seen governors out of adjustment and the engines won't pull right in a load situation.

 

[reddragon]

you may have a plugged main jet....have you gotten that deep into it?

 

[DaveTN]

The mechanic who said to clean the main jet if you got into it that far triggered an idea. On the mixture screw, turn it clockwise from where it is now and count the turns until it bottoms. Remember these turns, should be something like 1 1/2, or 2, or 2 1/4 etc. Then take the screw ALL the way OUT. Get some carb cleaner with a squirt tube on it and put it down into the hole and hold it fairly snug and give it a good squirt or two. Keep your eyes out of the way as it may squirt some back at you! Then put the mixture screw back in, ALL the way in. Then count out the number of turns coming OUT that you made originally going IN. Start it and see what it does.