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I posted on here a few days ago about my mower was running perfect after doing some work to it, I started cutting and it died after a minute or 2. I was able to get it to start again the next day but it did the same thing. I just went out to work on it and noticed I was missing a lot of gas, checked for gas leaks and found none. Checked the oil and it has alot more then its supposed to and of course smells like gas, is there anyway it could be something that's not internal? I have put several hundred dollars into this mower and I would be screwed if it's something major, It's a 25hp briggs engine and a 54"cut troy bilt with 194 hours on it.

Something is keeping the needle valve from sealing against the seat. Need to take carb and clean it, and possible put in repair kit and that should fix it. Alot of people are recommending inline shutoff valves for there mowers which are not a bad idea.

What kind of repair kit, do you mean a total rebuild kit or something else? Also what kind of shut off valve would I need?

Add the $2.00 black and red plastic fuel shut off between the tank and carb ...

Do I just need a carb rebuild kit? How hard is it to rebuild the carb? So guessing with the fuel shut off valve I would turn the fuel off and let the engine die or just turn it the engine off and then turn the fuel off. Thanks

Carb rebuilds are pretty straightforward unless something is seriously wrong with them. I've done 3 and always had success. I wouldn't even call myself a small engine repair guy, I'm a computer technician by trade. All you have to do is get the rubber seat out and replace the needle. Those two pieces seal off any more gas from coming into the carb once the bowl is full. Then replace the gaskets where necessary when you put it back together. I always add an in-line filter and petcock if the engine allows. Even if the filter is overkill, it's like $3.

You can need a rebuild kit . They are about $15.00 and a you tube video is easy to follow . Simple to take apart and put back together . Take pictures if you need to .
The fuel shut off is turn OFF when your ready to park the machine . Turn it off and let the motor run until the gas is burned up in the carb.
Remember to turn your key off .

If it helps - when we get bored at work each of us go out to the scrap tractor or push mower pile , bring them in the shop and put them on our lift tables and see who can get their machine started first .
Sometimes they end up getting completely repaired and sold or we just sell the running motors .
Fixing your machines is not hard .

But you do think it's the carb for sure? Where do you get the rebuild kit for $15 the cheapest I found was $35. thanks

The only way gas can get into the oil is through the carb and the only way that can happen is if the carb is overfilled which happens when you have a faulty needle & seat. If you can't find a cheap kit then see if you can get away with just buying the needle & seat (look at the Briggs parts diagrams, get the numbers and plug them into eBay, probably $5 for both shipped.). If it's never had carb work done, it will likely need a new float bowl gasket.

Thanks for all the help going to go out to the garage and take it apart and probably just get the whole kit to be safe

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

I had the very same problem with my 12.5 HP B&S on my Murray riding mower. It was the air filter that caused my problem. I thought I could mow one more time without changing it, but like you said, after about 10 minutes, it quit running and wouldn't crank again. After checking, I also found low gas and overfull with oil that smelled like gasoline. I changed the oil, put on a new air cleaner and had no more problems. Unless you've already replaced the air cleaner with a new on, it would be worth a try before taking the carb off and tearing it down.

check if the float is filled with gas also

add that fuel shut off when you can . Your system is gravity fed - tiny little carb can't hold back 8 pounds of gasoline for ever .

I had already put a new air cleaner on, I ordered the carb rebuild kit and shut off valve. I took the carb apart and it looked very clean, the needle didn't look damaged or dirty either.