Poulan ( with briggs engine ) loss of power...

[jben04]

Hoping someone can help...
I have a Poulan Pro lawnmower (model number :961140016)
with a Briggs & stratton 550 series engine,model :10T802 1253 B1

Ok ,when im cutting grass the engine looses power,the grass isnt long at all,and when the power goes ,i get white smoke coming out.

This morning i took apart the carb,cleaned it plus the spark plug is new and the air filter is clean.
Still the same problem, Could it be the diaphragm needs to be replaced ( it was replaced last year when i got a new carb ,and replaced the governor spring), or could the carb be bad already ?
Any and all help would be appreciated,thanks

 

[motoman]

White smoke is usually oil. Check compression. ?Worn bore/rings?

 

[jben04]

I can check these by removing the cylinder head??. never taken apart a lawnmower

 

[jben04]

Did some more research after cutting the grass yesterday...

- My spark plug was oily,i had to give it a clean to get the mower to start up again,
- There was hardly any oil in the engine ,even though i replaced the oil in the last week or 2
- Engine ran ok until it it met resistance ( patch of grass),and then the mower dropped in power the came back up, and it started putting out white smoke from the muffler.

It does sound like the rings could be gone.. would it be wise for me to strip the mower down and try to fix this myself ,or would it be advisable to take it to a shop .. OR if this is the actual problem,would it be cheaper and better to just buy a new mower?

 

[motoman]

jben, I hope others familiar with your engine will respond. I only have an Intek 24 which I work on, but I am a tinkerer type. If you have not worked on auto, bike or other engines you probably should not try to fix your engine unless you have the time and want to pursue this as a hobby. Parts can be difficult and expensive to buy. A lot of people buy engine replacements and recently one member showed us how cheap the Harbor Freight (chinese source ) engines are (1/3 the cost). BUT THIS PERSON IS VERY KNOWLEDGABLE AND HAD TO ADAPT IT. The smaller lawn mower engines ARE light and easier to work on, but you can overbuy and misdiagnose parts which can make you wish you scrapped and bought another.

 

[jben04]

Only thing i have worked on really is computers lol,
If i did go ahead and stripped the engine,the parts along would probably end up to be about 100,,,and that's if i manage to get the thing back together working.
Taking it to a shop id imagine would be more due to labor.

Taking all that into consideration,,,i can go down to lowes and hand over $250 and pick up a Troy-Bilt TB130 21-in mower..:smile:
or for approx 250 is there any other recommendations?