I got an e-mail inviting me to post here as I hadn't posted yet, so here's the story:
As a dutiful new member, I went to the FAQ section to see if my issue had occurred with others, and to hopefully find a quick solution. My White Outdoor lawn tractor (16.5 HP) wouldn't idle, and the RPM was rising and falling, really annoying. I had already checked the fuel lines, cleaned the air filter and plugs, all the easy stuff.
The FAQ thread indicated that this problem was usually water or grit in the fuel, which usually ended up in the carburetor bowl. I went to check the bowl, only to find that the traditional bowl area below the carb was where my intake manifold was attached. Upon closer inspection, the intake was broken, and one of the three bolts holding it on was completely separated from the rest of the flange. This of course allowed the fuel-air mixture to vent into the engine bay, and was my idle problem.
The second problem was that the part was discontinued, and used manifolds were selling at $110!
JB Weld to the rescue! 24 hours later the mower is running fine.
I hope this helps someone else.
#2
Briana
Thank you for posting. I moved your thread to the Small Engine and Mower Repair forum because it will be more helpful to those dealing with similar repair issues in that forum.
Thank you Briana! I am not able to change the thread title (or can't figure out how to do it!), if you could do so with something more descriptive of my issue then it may help others with the same problem.
