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I bought this mower from one owner with 235 hours. Ran great for about 10 hours There was excess oil dripping from the crankcase hose to the carb. Oil level was correct. Sputtered on and off and then stopped. Would not start. This was 11/17.
4/18: I Emptied gas tank and put fresh fuel in. Put new carb on. New fuel pump.Battery new. Good spark on plug. If I shoot a shot of Starter Fluid in she runs a few seconds and then stops. She does the same thing with the new parts as with the old. The engine cranks very strong. The fuel filter has a little gas in so I assume gas is pumping into the carb? I put seafoam in all my gas when I purchase it. Is it possible the ignition module needs replaced? Would she run on Starter Fluid if the ignition was bad? She is the 18.5 HP model. Thank you for any advice. Pochie

What is the model number of the engine. We don't know if this is a Kohler, Briggs, Kawasaki, Honda, MTD engine, so we need you to explain what you have so we can give correct answers to your questions.

I will get the information back on today.

ILENGINE said:

What is the model number of the engine. We don't know if this is a Kohler, Briggs, Kawasaki, Honda, MTD engine, so we need you to explain what you have so we can give correct answers to your questions.

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2OO4 DYT 4000 CRAFTSMAN SINGLE CYLINEER 18.5 HP
MOWER MODEL: 917.273638
ENGINE: 31P777 BRIGGS & STRATTON INTEK PLUS
TYPE: 0348E1
CODE: 04 0627E

I got her running. I blew in the gas line until bubbles came out, then sucked to start the gas coming out. The only other thing I could think of was that the fuel pump hoses were on the wrong places. In cranking the engine there was much suction on the hose leading to the engine top (PCV). So, I switched hoses and that was the problem. Now there should not be virtually any oil leaking from the hose...as when I got it. So, it was hooked up wrong when I acquired the mower.
Now I have to adjust the idle and mixture on the new carb. What a nice feeling to have her running correctly. My grass is mostly 16"+ tall as I haven't been able to cut since it was so wet. Have a nice day.:smile:

My self-acclaimed success was not to be had. She started right up but I could not bring the speed down with either the idle screw or mixture. After fooling with her a few times I noticed gas leaking out of the copper screen on the fuel filter and vapors when I turned her off. I then figured I was incorrect in my hose changes and switched them back. Now, just like originally, she would not start at all and after cranking a few times noticed the oil dripping from the PCV hose again...like when I started this fix. I am now frustrated and although there are good parts on her...wheels, tires, hood, deck..etc. I do not want to fool with her so will offer her cheaply to some mechanic that can revive her for some more mowing time. Thanks to all who listened to my ordeal.

The Fuel pump has 3 connectors, one on opposite sides and one on the end,
The one on the end goes to the engine the one under it goes to the fuel tank the lonely one all by itself goes to the carb.
You test it by putting the carb end in a jar & cranking the engine.
IF you get a strong flow it is set up right.
IF you get a poor flow, remove the tube that goes to the fuel tank and blow back up the line.
If there is any resistance, you have a blockage in the fuel line or debris in the tank blocking the outlet.

oil dipping from the breather tube is generally a sign of either too much oil in the sump or a blown head gasket..

As the engine is running for a brief period then the ignition modules go way down on the suspect list.
Get a can of carb cleaner.
Pull the air filter off, give the mower a SHORT shot of cleaner and hit the starter.
If it fires up then continue with the SHORT shots of cleaner for a minute or so.
If you can keep it running like this then you have a fuel delivery problem.

As soon as it stops pull the dip stick.
If smoke comes out then you also have a blown head gasket.

Let us know how you get on.

Hi. I believe you are correct with a blown head gasket. When I had it running it smoked most all the time today and yestreday. Filled the whole garage. Is that much of a task for me to try myself? My friend also s a id something re valves. I appreciate your advice. I don't mind dismanteling the top of the engine if that is where the gasket would be located.

If you had a leakdown tester you could put engine on tdc compression stroke and hold flywheel so it won't move and apply air and listen to where you hear the air leaking from.

Pochie said:

Hi. I believe you are correct with a blown head gasket. When I had it running it smoked most all the time today and yestreday. Filled the whole garage. Is that much of a task for me to try myself? My friend also s a id something re valves. I appreciate your advice. I don't mind dismanteling the top of the engine if that is where the gasket would be located.

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The charge out rate is 2 hours so it is not a difficult job.
Most of the time is spent removing the silicon from the rocker cover if it is a late engine.

You will need a head gasket & a rocker cover gasket, about $ 20.

A picture is worth a 1000 words so flick over to You Tube and watch a few videos.
Taryl fixes all or donnyboy73 are recommended viewing as there is a lot of over produced crap out there
Taryl is fun and donny is deadpan but they are both shop owners who know their stuff.

When you have done the head you will need to do the valve lash and change the oil.

Going to ba a bit messy.
make sure you fit the gasket to the rocker cover as it makes it easy to do valve adjustments in the future.
I always grease the rocker cover gasket ( engine side ) with high temp axel grease and a sealant ( hylomar ) on the other side so it always strips off easy in the future.
head gasket goes on dry.

And be careful with the tension of the bolts some times they are in Ft.lbs ( 20-25 ) other times in inch.lbs ( 200 - 300 )
Tou can easily apply 40+ ft.lbs with a short spannar by which time you have ripped out the threads.

Wow! All that, I believe it out of my mechanical ability. I will visit a shop near me and see what their price is. In looking at her I would still put $300 to make her well. She fits V me nice and cuts well. Thank you for the information.

Pochie said:

Wow! All that, I believe it out of my mechanical ability. I will visit a shop near me and see what their price is. In looking at her I would still put $300 to make her well. She fits V me nice and cuts well. Thank you for the information.

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Watch the videos first, it is not a difficult job.

I watched taxyl's video..I can replace the gasket. Should I drain the oil first?Since the engine only has 270 hours on and runs well,would I need to have the valve job done at a shop? Will the carb then work correctly due to the change in compression? I put a new carb on and couldn't adjust it while it was running at almost full power with all that smoke. I really appreciate your guidance.

Leave the oil in there because there is a good chance you end up with gunk in there after cleaning the head & block.
Run the mower for 10 minutes or so then change the oil and the filter if it has one.

Heads rarely need work but take a picture of it & post for opinion ( no shortage of them around here ).
And yes there is no way to tune an engine with a leaking head gasket.
Also treat the engine to a nice new spark plug.

Thank you. Will get back when I tackle it.

I put the new gasket on and the head bolted in at 18.4 ft. lbs. I put a little grease on the engine side of the gasket. Now, I am still confused re setting the valves. On this Itek 18.5 hp engine...
Is the top valve the INTAKE and the bottom valve the EXHAUST? Looking fromt the front of the engine my carb is on the right side and the exhaust pipe on the left.
Also, in adjusting the valves. Can I adjust both when on TDC? I have read two methods...One is the TDC when both valves are closed....valve springs fully extended?
and the other method is when one valve is closed and the other open....now, my confusion:
when one valve spring is fully extended out...is that valve opened or closed?
THEN, the other valve spring...pushed in farther would be the opposite?
Thank you. I am hoping to do this tomorrow.

Valve closed means rocker slack
Valve open means rocker pressing on the valve.

Don't forget the little caps on the end of the valves.
As for how you set the engine for adjustment it is a matter of choice.
A cam is a circle with a pimple on it .
You need the followers to be on the circle and not the pimple when you adjust them

Different cams have the pimple further around the circle , they are called lifting ramps & closing ramps.

The fully open / fully closed method is used by a lot of mechanics cause it works on any engine regardless of the length of the ramps.
Thus they don't have to remember 200 different engine positions.

Long closing ramps were very popular to make the engines quiet as they gently close the door rather than allowing it to slam shut.
Long ramps also make life easier on the engine.
However the EPA like slamming shut to avoid unburned fuel passing through the engine.

I will set valve lash with both valves closed (TDC) and then check clearance when one is open and the other closed. Is the intake on the top valve and exhaust bottom?

The easiest way to do it is the way Taryl did it with one closed one open.... No confusion that way on TDC.... Then you rotate the flywheel for the next valve...

Go ahead and do both at 4 thousands.......... I do it all the time that way in my shop........

I did it one at a time. Set the intake at .003 and exhaust at .006. It ALMOST started but just a mite (not really running) and backfired all the while cranking. I checked the clearances again and they didn't change.
I know Taryl has a video on backfiring so I'm going to watch that now. I got it back together fine and it was pretty easy as you said but now I'll have to check further. The intake is on the bottom and the exhaust is the top valve.

I now set both valves at .005. Still the same....cranks but doesn't start and lots of backfires.

I didn't look back at the previous posts, but did you check for bent rods ?? Did you check the valve guides ?? Did you check the valves in case they need to be lapped ???

Either one of them can cause that backfiring...........

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

I paid NAPA to do a valve job for $95. They found a destroyed guide and replaced it. The head came back looking like new. My pushrods are straight and not bent at all. I would assume they lapped the valves.

Then check the push rod travel and see if they are both the same....... Cam might be wore out.....

That's about the only thing left to check ................

OK there is some thing basically wrong here.
So back to basics.
First double check that the timing key in the flywheel is still intact.
Next check that the pushrods are on the right followers by removing the plug rotating the engine till a valve is open then blowing compressed air , WD 40 from a pressure can etc into the plug hole ans see where it comes out.

I am going to call a guy who works on mowers and describe the problem and see if he can assist and how much it might cost. I don't mind putting another $100 or so in her if she runs well .Then as much as I don't want to purchase a new mower, that might be my only option. My grass in places is now about 18" high. Thank you for all your help.

I have no idea why I can't see the new post's in here ????? Since I posted about the push rods I went out and did 2 mobile service jobs.....

I came in my shop 2 times for parts and then came back in again to check for an update.........

One of them I made a video on it and posted it on this forum..........

Oh well .................