Mower Not Starting / Fuel Dripping from Muffler

[GreyhoundGuy]

Good morning, all. Hoping you can help me out. I've got a John Deere LA105 mower with a B&S 19.5hp engine. I'm not sure of a specific engine model, but it says it's part of the ABSXS.5002VP engine family. It has VERY low hours, around 26 total.

Last weekend, I went to startup the mower. It turned over and fired up without a problem, but was puffing a bit of smoke. This isn't completely uncommon, but it continued longer than normal, and then the engine died out. I thought I gave it to much choke and ran it rich and flooded the engine, but now it will turn over but won't start.

The battery is good. Full tank full of 93 octane gas. Oil level is good. The air filter is clean. I took off the hose from the fuel pump and started it up, and the pump is moving fuel through the hose, so the pump is good.

One odd thing is that I saw fuel dripping from the muffler in the front undercarriage of the mower. There was a small puddle on the floor of the shed after trying to start it up. This definitely isn't normal, but not sure what could be going on.

Any ideas or things I should check moving forward. I'm not great on engine repair, but I'm viewing this as an opportunity to learn.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Scrubcadet10]

The Engine model # should be stamped on the OHV valve cover.
Pull your crankcase oil dipstick out and smell of it, be sure it doesn't smell like gasoline, or if the oils feels thin.
off the top of my head Most likely the float needle in the carb is bad and not regulating fuel flow into the carburetor.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Your float needle is not shutting off the fuel which is overflowing into the engine
You will find cleaning instructions here outdoor power Equipment site

 

[GreyhoundGuy]

Thanks for the quick replies. There's no smell of fuel in the oil, so I think we're good there. (I had a fuel pump in our boat this summer and ended up with fuel in our oil, so I know what you're talking about.)

I'll start working on the float needle. Thanks for the link, @bertsmobile1.

 

[GreyhoundGuy]

Just wanted to post an update. I went out yesterday and tried to start the mower again. No choke. Just a low idle position before starting.

It started up perfectly, no hesitation, no puffs of smoke, no fuel from the muffler.

I'm still going to take a look at the float needed, as I've done basically no work on this mower (other than a new battery), so that'll be a great winter project to get it ready for Spring.

Thanks for the help, y'all. Much appreciated!!