First, I'm not a mechanic - just a fairly handy homeowner. I hoping someone here might be able to help.
I'm trying to fix my Husqvarna YTH24V48 riding lawn mower with a 44r877 Briggs and Stratton engine. The carb kit, oem part number 593392, works with the B&S "Chok-a-matic" system (which I really like). This carb has a light weight spring and a place to connect a choke return spring. I purchased an "equivalent" carb kit, which works, but every kit I can find seems to work only for a manual choke - it's missing that place to connect the choke return spring and the spring inside is much tighter. It's clearly not equivalent.
The original kit isn't manufactured any more. Does anyone know how I might be able to get the original carb kit (even if it's used)? Or maybe someone has advice guidance for a non-mechanic like myself to convert this mower to a manual choke?
Right now, I have to reach under the air intake and hold the choke with a finger to start the engine every time. It kinda works for me, but it's tough to try explaining that to anyone else who wants to use it, and it's a little dangerous for someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
History:
The mower worked fabulously for quite a few years. Then, we inadvertently bought bad gas with a significant amount of water in it. We flushed out the tank, fuel lines, and replaced the fuel pump and filters. It still did not run right - speeding up and slowing down significantly and losing power. Tried cleaning out the carb to no avail. Eventually, we just replaced the carb with an "equivalent" model and voila, it runs nicely again. However, the replacement carb is for a manual choke and this mower has a chok-a-matic, which no longer works. I tried to disassemble the original carb kit, which was more difficult than I expected, and I may have damaged it in the process.