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I had a problem last month with my mower, a Craftsman Eager-1, about 5 yrs old. It was difficult to start, ran rough, and would conk out after about 3 minutes. I rebuilt the carb with a proper kit and replaced the air filter and cleaned the muffler area. Now it takes about 30 pulls to get it going. Once it starts it runs strong and even. No sputters, nothing. There's no gas leaking anywhere. The pump bulb is good with no cracks. I went and bought a new plug and gapped it. Still no easy start. Today, based on a tip I read somewhere in these forums, I pulled the plug (wet and gas smell) and put some gas into the cylinder hole and replaced the plug. I had primed and tried to start it about 30 mins before doing this. After replacing the plug I didn't prime it. The mower started after about 5 pulls and ran strong and smooth.

So, what do I check now? Could there be crud in the fuel line (?) after the carb? Is there a fuel pump on these small mowers that needs checking? FWIW, I live in Florida and mow year 'round. No mower down time. Also, all these tests have been with fresh gas and even some Stabil ethanol treatment at different times. I can't afford to take it to a service shop.

Your problem sounds like a weak spark. After five years of mowing year round, this shouldn't be a shock. You're going to have to take your flywheel off, check all of the contacts, these can get rusty. Then re-gap the coil. I generally use a regular index card. Remove the bolts holding the coil in place, after you've cleaned the contacts, put the index card between the coil and the crank trigger. Press the coil against the index card and tighten the mounting bolts.

slingblade said:

Your problem sounds like a weak spark. After five years of mowing year round, this shouldn't be a shock. You're going to have to take your flywheel off, check all of the contacts, these can get rusty. Then re-gap the coil. I generally use a regular index card. Remove the bolts holding the coil in place, after you've cleaned the contacts, put the index card between the coil and the crank trigger. Press the coil against the index card and tighten the mounting bolts.

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That sounds like great advice!! Do you have any links to sites that show how to do this? Maybe to a YouTube video showing how to at least get to the flywheel and take it off properly? I just used a YouTube video to learn how to replace my pullcord as it had broken. I did it in about 20 mins and it works perfectly. Would like the same results with your procedure. Thanks!!!!

I found some good info online to help me with getting to the flywheel and taking it off. The magnets on the flywheel were pretty rusty so I cleaned those. Not sure that matters since they are magnets. I got the flywheel off and immediately saw that the line part of the rubber fuel interface to the engine had a HUGE hole in it! See the pic. This freaked me out with questions of how could the mower have even run after 30 pulls if fuel is coming out of that hole and massive amounts of air are going into the engine and why wasn't there every a fire with the heat from the engine and fuel in that gaping hole area?. It really was a "Wow!" moment. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that's the source of my startup problems. It was a great exercise tho in learning how to take the engine apart at least to that point. If this mower lasts another 5 years perhaps I'll tackle a full overhaul!

trobinson017 said:

I found some good info online to help me with getting to the flywheel and taking it off. The magnets on the flywheel were pretty rusty so I cleaned those. Not sure that matters since they are magnets. I got the flywheel off and immediately saw that the line part of the rubber fuel interface to the engine had a HUGE hole in it! See the pic. This freaked me out with questions of how could the mower have even run after 30 pulls if fuel is coming out of that hole and massive amounts of air are going into the engine and why wasn't there every a fire with the heat from the engine and fuel in that gaping hole area?. It really was a "Wow!" moment. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that's the source of my startup problems. It was a great exercise tho in learning how to take the engine apart at least to that point. If this mower lasts another 5 years perhaps I'll tackle a full overhaul!

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A lot of this stuff will run a long time with a little bit of care and some premium lubrication.:thumbsup:

trobinson017 said:

I found some good info online to help me with getting to the flywheel and taking it off. The magnets on the flywheel were pretty rusty so I cleaned those. Not sure that matters since they are magnets. I got the flywheel off and immediately saw that the line part of the rubber fuel interface to the engine had a HUGE hole in it! See the pic. This freaked me out with questions of how could the mower have even run after 30 pulls if fuel is coming out of that hole and massive amounts of air are going into the engine and why wasn't there every a fire with the heat from the engine and fuel in that gaping hole area?. It really was a "Wow!" moment. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that's the source of my startup problems. It was a great exercise tho in learning how to take the engine apart at least to that point. If this mower lasts another 5 years perhaps I'll tackle a full overhaul!

Click to expand...

One day at work my partner and I walked past a magnetic lighting contactor for the wood mill lights. It was buzzing very loudly. My Journeyman electrician { I was his helper in those days} shut down the power to the magnetic 240 volt contactor and used a wire brush to clean the rust off the magnetic poles of the contactor's electromagnetic coil assembly. Lo & behold, when he turned the power back on it snapped closed, the lights came back on and it was quiet as a church mouse. Something about the rust on the magnetic pole pieces made it noisy and probably weaker magnetically. Ever since, when I see a rusty magnet, I clean it - especially on my mowers...

Now, if I could just learn how to clean and tune my Cub Cadet 1040 Kohler 20 HP motor's carburetor, I'd be be somebody....

-Andy in Washougal, WA

the area between the carb and primer is critical....if the gasket is on wrong...it wont work...you need to check this again....and make sure you have all the parts....make sure the vent is clear or the carb will flood