John Deere La108 only runs with air intake blocked

[bertsmobile1]

Guilty as charged.
I believe they go into a different tempral plane , along with all the vanishing left socks.
I have never actually found one laying about any where in the shop but have popped a few out when I forget & hit the carb with high pressure nozzle.

 

[al new life]

I received the new main jet today, and I installed it, the mower started, but, it smoked like a smoke stack and sputtered A LOT
I was told that there is probably gasoline in the crankcase, and that the oil and filter should be changed

Is it possible to install the main jet in upside down ? or will it only work if it is installed properly ?

I ran the mower for less than a minute, after I shut it off I pulled the spark plug and it was pretty wet from residual gas I assume

any advice out there ?

I am leaving town in the morning and will not have opportunity to tackle it again until Monday sometime

thanks Al

 

[bertsmobile1]

Having run the mower without a main jet it would have been pissing fuel into your engine so It might be a bit flooded for a while.
You have not told us which engine you have apart from being a Briggs and more important which carb.
You can put the main in upside down on a lot of carbs and in particular the Nikki fitted to Inteks where the main sits in the bottom of the plastic tube.
but upside down should work just the same provided it blocks off the fuel intake and restricts the maximum flow.
You may have fuel all through the engine + in the oil so if the oil smells funny, change it wih some cheap supermarket oil run the mower for 10 minutes or so then change the oil again.
If the main is not in the cut off solenoid can not work so if the float is not working properly then fuel will fill up the crank.

 

[al new life]

I have a Briggs & Stratton INTEK 18.5 OHV with a Nikki carb
I installed the main jet and I also installed some cheap supermarket oil and ran it for 10 minutes
all the symptoms from gas in the engine cylinder and in crankcase seem to have gone away
Now I have a new symptom,
I can only start the engine if I keep my hand on the carb and have the engine running at full throttle
Once i release it the carb it will start to sputter and a black smoke will come out of the exhaust and then the engine dies (it will not idle)
Seems like I am very close to finishing this project but it also seems like I am missing something in the way of a small detail

Any advice or tips ? do I need to repeat any steps ? carb still dirty ?

thanks

 

[al new life]

forgot to mention the model number of the B & S is 31P777, Type 0367 E1, Code 0503227D

 

[al new life]

I realized that what I have my hand on is the choke not the accelerator, that is how I am able to keep the engine running
but when I remove my hand the engine quickly dies

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Carb is still dirty with a little hole still plugged with foreign material. A hole completely plugged won't look like a hole of course so try to find a schematic / picture that shows all the possible passages that could be the problem.

 

[al new life]

Success, Success, Success,
I had the spring on the choke installed so that the choke flapper was closed that is why I had to keep my hand on it,
once I reversed the spring tension to force the flapper into the open position,
my engine started and purred and purred and purred, and has not sounded or run so smooth in years ! yeeeeaaaahhhhh

thank you everyone who kept me pointed in the right direction, I had a lot of fun, and am now ready to tackle a very small roto tiller

yeeeeaaaahhhhh !!!!

y'all have fun now


thanks thanks thanks

 

[bertsmobile1]

Good to hear, Congratulations for persevering.
Now go mow with pride in the knowledge you have done it yourself.

We should do a T-shirt
"I fixed it - runs sweet "
or some thing like that.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Success, Success, Success,
I had the spring on the choke installed so that the choke flapper was closed that is why I had to keep my hand on it,
once I reversed the spring tension to force the flapper into the open position,
my engine started and purred and purred and purred, and has not sounded or run so smooth in years ! yeeeeaaaahhhhh

thank you everyone who kept me pointed in the right direction, I had a lot of fun, and am now ready to tackle a very small roto tiller

yeeeeaaaahhhhh !!!!

y'all have fun now


thanks thanks thanks

Why some things just don't add up is beyond me. Choke flapper closed and you still had to block air. Strange