Lawnboy 10422 Won't Keep Running - Seems To Be The Carburetor

[I Hate Mowing]

I have a Lawnboy Model 10422 Gold Series mower, 2-cycle, serial #7095035. I've hardly used it at all the last couple of years, but when I do use it, it needs a shot of starter fluid to get going. Once it's started, it's always ran fine, but would not start without the fluid.

I didn't use it at all last season; just left it out in the shed. I stored it with Startron fuel stabilizer in the gas tank. Still, the gas in the tank was almost 2 years old, so last week I drained the tank, flushed it out, and flushed out the fuel line. Put in fresh gas with oil, cleaned the air filter, put in a new spark plug, and tried to start it up.

I can get it to start briefly with the starting fluid, but it only runs a few seconds, then dies. The plug is fine, getting plenty of spark. The fuel line is clear all the way to the carburetor, but the flow into the carb is apparently blocked. I tried blowing into the carburetor through the fuel line, and the intake is completely plugged.

So at this point, I'm assuming the carburetor is gummed up. The problem is, this mower is at our rental property, and almost all my tools are at our other house, 130 miles away. I don't think I have the tools with me to even remove the carb. Is this something I might be able to fix by spraying the exposed parts of the carburetor (including into the fuel intake) with carb cleaner? Would I be doing any damage by trying? I figured if I can just clear it out enough to get it running, I could put some Seafoam into the tank and see if that cleans it out a bit more. Otherwise I think I'm going to have to drive it all the way back to our other house, or take it to a small engine shop here in this town and come back up for it next week. I know it all sounds like a pretty silly situation to have gotten into, but here I am, and it is what it is.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Feel free to crack as many jokes as you like; I would, and I don't mind.

 

[Fish]

No,
to fix it will require you to remove the carb, dis-assemble it, and clean it. It should only require a couple of different screwdrivers.

https://www.partstree.com/parts/law...-1997-sn-7900001-7999999/carburetor-assembly/

 

[tom3]

Sometimes you can tap on the side of the carb while blowing into the fuel line and it will jar the float enough to let the needle break loose. If a metal carb it's worth a try. Seems like some of these mowers has an inlet screen in the carb hose connection, might look and see if it does and is clear if so.