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I have a Murray MTD-11A-02BT706.

Sometimes when I mow, it spits out gas (or even oil mixed with gas) from the Air Filter area. Can someone tell me why this is doing this? What would I need to do to fix it? Or is it a major problem with the engine and do I need to just get a new mower. It is probably at least 2 years old, and no more than 5 years old.

Any help would be appreciated.

Check your oil level, if it's overfull and smells like gas, you have a leaky needle in the carburetor, it limits the amount of fuel that is allowed into the bowl and when it fails, it lets the gas flow right on by...
Main thing right now is just be sure the oil isn't gas diluted and/or overfull m

And your air filter will be soaked with oil. Definitely get that fixed as it will ruin the engine. Don't forget to change the oil.

Thanks. I checked, mower is about 4.5 yrs old. Not sure if it is worth getting the carb fixed or just getting a new mower.

QuiGonJohn said:

Thanks. I checked, mower is about 4.5 yrs old. Not sure if it is worth getting the carb fixed or just getting a new mower.

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A simple carb cleaning costs about 3 bucks. New mower costs........... $$$$

slomo

1saxman said:

And your air filter will be soaked with oil. Definitely get that fixed as it will ruin the engine. Don't forget to change the oil.

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What? Oil in the air filter will ruin an engine? If anything, it will STOP any dirt trying to get by, protecting the engine. Might not breathe as well??

Like Scrubcadet10 said, check oil level. Check to see if YOUR engine requires you to park the dipstick on top of the threads when checking oil level OR screwed all the way in. Makes a big difference in oil level.

Might be a blown head gasket. Start the engine. Remove the oil dipstick. If you see and feel oil or blow-by rushing out heavily, no good.

Get a fuel cut off valve and install it in the fuel line. Shut the fuel OFF after mowing. A nice paper fuel filter wouldn't hurt either. Proper clamps and fuel line sounds about right. 100% real gas and stabilizer year round is a nice touch. Never have carb issues again.

slomo

Forgot to add. Don't forget to remove the starter/blower cover and remove all the grass, oil, dirt and bugs around the cylinder block cooling fins. I feel better now.

slomo

QuiGonJohn said:

Thanks. I checked, mower is about 4.5 yrs old. Not sure if it is worth getting the carb fixed or just getting a new mower.

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I have a 1994 Cub Cadet and a 2001 Kubota. No plans to replace them anytime soon.

If its a pleated paper filter, yes, it will make it run rich and wash oil off the cylinder wall. If its a sponge filter that is normally oiled, the engine will suck the excess oil out of it in a short while.
OP; you have a stuck float. Tap on the carb to loosen it. You should be running a stabilizer/cleaner like Startron which for the most part will prevent this kind of problem.

It may be a stuck float, but the needles can fail... Especially if it's a rubber tipped one.
The needle failed on my courage last fall, I pulled it apart and put came the needle, then put came the rubber point on the needle,.

This model is a push mower, 20". Does not seem to have a fuel filter, definitely no fuel cutoff. It does seem to use quite a bit of oil. I wonder if I can clean the carb using SeaFoam, and see if that helps the needles.

Occasionally it can be some trash in the fuel that gets stuck between the needle and seat.... usually the rubber gets old/wore, gasoline and rubber do not seem to mix.... More so the ETHANOL in the gas.

QuiGonJohn said:

This model is a push mower, 20". Does not seem to have a fuel filter, definitely no fuel cutoff. It does seem to use quite a bit of oil. I wonder if I can clean the carb using SeaFoam, and see if that helps the needles.

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I've never heard a positive anything from anyone using waste-of-money-foam. It will not help you. Only lighten your wallet up a bit.

Get a carb rebuild kit for that engine.
Install a good paper fuel filter to the carb.
Install a fuel cut off valve inline to the carb.
Use real gas and stabilizer year round.
Keep the air filter "hospital" clean.
Change your oil. Run engine and smell oil dipstick for gas smell.
Clean the dirt and oil from the engine block cooling fins.

slomo

I use a Wix 33011 for all small engine filters.

For riders maybe. Pushers need a smaller paper filter. I like to install a shut off inline while I'm there.

slomo

Actually I use it on everything.... Pushers, or riders, fuel pump or gravity.

Check the valve lash.
Some engines decompress on the inlet valve
This will of course cause some of the charge being blown back out the carburettor
If the valves are really badly adjusted then a lot of gas will be blown back out of the carb
Then there are of course the standing waves , commonly called reversion .
Not usually seen at mower speeds.

A mixture that is too lean will also cause blow back out of the carb as will timing that is too far advanced.

Does it blow white or blue smoke when running? When you tilt the mower up for whatever reason always raise the carburetor side. If you raise the muffler side it will cause this problem, then you'll have to put another new air filter on it. If you don't ever do that and it doesn't smoke/burn oil, it could have a bad lower crank seal. Tilt it up (engine off, of course) and look for an oily mess around the shaft.

slomo said:

I've never heard a positive anything from anyone using waste-of-money-foam. It will not help you. Only lighten your wallet up a bit.

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I used SeaFoam on my RV Generator and it did a great job. Took it from barely running and stalling out to running nice and smooth.

Right now it seems to leak gas out the filter area mostly some time after it has been shut off (like when I put it back in the shed). If that help diagnose.

QuiGonJohn said:

I used SeaFoam on my RV Generator and it did a great job. Took it from barely running and stalling out to running nice and smooth.

Right now it seems to leak gas out the filter area mostly some time after it has been shut off (like when I put it back in the shed). If that help diagnose.

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Might want to get that fuel leak repaired asap. Don't risk burning down your mower, shed and house.

slomo

QuiGonJohn said:

I used SeaFoam on my RV Generator and it did a great job. Took it from barely running and stalling out to running nice and smooth.

Right now it seems to leak gas out the filter area mostly some time after it has been shut off (like when I put it back in the shed). If that help diagnose.

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sure sounds like the needle/seat is leaking some... eventually it can fail all together and fill your crankcase up with fuel.. Not good if you dont notice it..
I would also install a inline fuel cutoff, wont be a fix, but will stop it from leaking over... I only use the genuine briggs and stratton fuel shutoffs as the few CCP ones i purchased start springing leaks fairly quickly,