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Hi all! This is a mower that I ran out of oil last year and with the help of this forum I was able to disassemble the engine and rebuild everything. Of course, I had all winter and now the grass is starting to grow and the mower isn't right yet.

Background: Replaced failed connecting rod and reassembled mower. Last weekend I started it up and it ran FAST, like scary fast. The engine speed did respond to throttle up and down. I bought a cheap tachometer to see what I was dealing with and tried to adjust everything to max 3100 rpm. It was running flat out at around 6000 rpm, but I didn't allow it to do that for more than a few seconds at a time. I was able to get the mower to run at the right rpm but only with the throttle cut back. I mowed a small section of lawn just to be sure everything else was working. After that, long story short, some of the wires at the starter vibrated loose and the mower wouldn't start again. Without checking the wires on the other side of the mower, I pulled that cord at least 20 times. (The electric starter isn't working as the battery is not charged up). Fuel started leaking out of the air filter and even the exhaust, and the pull cord froze up. Vapor lock? I removed the spark plug to let everything dry out overnight and that brings me to today.

Problem: I secured the wiring at the starter and tried again. Pull after pull and nothing. I removed the spark plug and got a nice spark, along with a small fire in the cylinder. I tried 10 or 15 times to start but again nothing even with the spark. As of now if I open the fuel valve I get fuel leaking out of the carb intake and through the air filter. I did not rebuild the carb when I redid the engine, hoping the carb would be OK. So the other day the mower ran fine, except the high revving and no noticeable leaks, and now the carb leaks fuel like crazy and it won't fire up.

Any suggestions? Also, is it unusual for the engine to rev so high after a rebuild? I didn't mess with the governor at all. There's only one way to put the engine back together so I have to think the governor gears are meshed right. Anyway, I can't even get it started today so that is the first priority. Does any of this point to a carburetor issue?

maybe take it to a shop or buy a new mower. It sounds like you are in over your head. No disrespect meant. The running too fast was likely caused by the governor being hooked up incorrectly, or being jammed. Fuel going everywhere indicates a stuck float or needle etc.. Go back to all the photos you took before you took it apart and see if the governor is hooked up wrong. As to the carb, it may have been moved in a way that jammed the float, I don't know - or maybe a hose is in the wrong spot etc..

sgkent said:

maybe take it to a shop or buy a new mower. It sounds like you are in over your head. No disrespect meant. The running too fast was likely caused by the governor being hooked up incorrectly, or being jammed. Fuel going everywhere indicates a stuck float or needle etc.. Go back to all the photos you took before you took it apart and see if the governor is hooked up wrong. As to the carb, it may have been moved in a way that jammed the float, I don't know - or maybe a hose is in the wrong spot etc..

Click to expand...

Thanks, I think... As I said I never touched the governor. The governor arm is in the vertical position at max throttle as it was before I took it apart so I figure I'm ok there. I was just a little nervous about the governor gear meshing with the gear on the crankshaft simply because I cannot see it when closing up the engine case. I don't know how I could get the engine closed back up without those gears being in the right spot, so I was assuming the high revs wasn't related to that.

Sounds like I might have to take the carb apart and see if something is stuck. Remember, the mower ran fine, just with the rpm's needing adjustment, yesterday and today it won't start. Hopefully the carb won't leak after I put it back together.

Update -- I opened up the carb and moved the float a bit. There was a small amount of residue in the reservoir. Closed it back up and no more leak. Mower runs again! I'm still trying to get the rpm lined out but that should be manageable. I'm sure it will become my next post lol

Thanks again for the guidance.

Now that that's fixed, next problem. Please watch short video. Thanks.

I had to tie off the governor arm with a tie wrap in order to get the mower to run at the proper rpm. I was able to mow the whole yard that way but obviously that isn't sustainable. I tried adjusting the governor by turning the pin counterclockwise. It would only turn a very small amount and when I did that I had trouble getting the engine to throttle down. It seemed stuck on a high idle so I put it back to full clockwise on the governor pin or whatever the part is called that comes out of the engine.

Anybody have an idea why the governor arm won't move when I throttle down and loosen tension on the throttle spring?