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Hi, this is my first post, please be gentle.

TL;DR- leaf blower (ryobi bp42) bogging down and now won’t start at all. I’ve checked the air and fuel filters, fuel lines and replaced the spark plug. I want to learn how to fix small engines, help please.

I purchased a used leaf blower a few seasons ago and it has served me well. In anticipation for the season I pulled it out of the shed started it up and it ran for a bit before getting bogged down and stalling out at full power. After a bit of YouTube, and tinkering I decided to spend the $10 on a set of carb adjustment tools, when I got them I went to start up the blower to see if adjusting the carburetor would fix my problem and it wouldn’t start up at all. So far I have:
Checked the fuel lines and filter
Replaced the dirty air filter
Replaced the spark plug
I’ve enjoyed the tinkering so despite not having any experience fixing anything like this before I’ve decided to see it through. I’m hoping that between YouTube and a forum like this I can learn to fix my leaf blower and eventually my lawnmower, trimmer, etc. Any advice for fixing my leaf blower or recommendations for learning how to fix small engines in general is appreciated.
thank y’all

assuming that the fuel is new, and there are no wasp or bug nests in the exhaust, replace the carb with one that is oem if you can. Those carbs are notorious for doing that after 2 or 3 seasons. Every piece of equipment I have with that style carb needs one every couple seasons. You can extend that if you drain the fuel and run it dry each time you put it away for the day. The thin gasket has a couple flaps on it that act as fuel pump valves and they warp. I have not seen a source for just the small gasket itself and quality rebuild kits are as much as a new carb.

sgkent said:

assuming that the fuel is new, and there are no wasp or bug nests in the exhaust, replace the carb with one that is oem if you can. Those carbs are notorious for doing that after 2 or 3 seasons. Every piece of equipment I have with that style carb needs one every couple seasons. You can extend that if you drain the fuel and run it dry each time you put it away for the day. The thin gasket has a couple flaps on it that act as fuel pump valves and they warp. I have not seen a source for just the small gasket itself and quality rebuild kits are as much as a new carb.

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First, thanks for the quick reply

I have not checked the exhaust but will do that next. What is “oem”?

Original Equipment Manufacturer. Meaning if you own a Ford, buy a part made and or sold by Ford, not some clone. If it came with a Walbro carb, look for an original Walbro carb for it, if it is Zama then look for an original Zama carb and not a cheap knockoff copy.

sgkent said:

Original Equipment Manufacturer. Meaning if you own a Ford, buy a part made and or sold by Ford, not some clone. If it came with a Walbro carb, look for an original Walbro carb for it, if it is Zama then look for an original Zama carb and not a cheap knockoff copy.

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Thanks, I didn’t realize that would make a difference

Check the spark plug both for a spark and what it looks like
If the carb is working properly then it should be wet after a dozen no fire pulls
Tip the fuel out and put in some nice fresh fuel then pump the purge bulb 50 or so times to flush the old fuel out
LEt us know how it goes

bertsmobile1 said:

Check the spark plug both for a spark and what it looks like
If the carb is working properly then it should be wet after a dozen no fire pulls
Tip the fuel out and put in some nice fresh fuel then pump the purge bulb 50 or so times to flush the old fuel out
LEt us know how it goes

Click to expand...

Thanks, I can try that today and let y’all know.
Quick question, what’s a good starting point for the carb adjusting screws. I’ve fiddles with them so much I have no idea where they should be at. I have them a full turn counterclockwise from all the way tight. Should I open them up a bit more to start?

Check the spark plug both for a spark and what it looks like

bertsmobile1 said:

If the carb is working properly then it should be wet after a dozen no fire pulls
Tip the fuel out and put in some nice fresh fuel then pump the purge bulb 50 or so times to flush the old fuel out
LEt us know how it goes

Click to expand...

The spark plug WAS wet, about to check YouTube to see how to check for spark

No spark, I’m 90% sure I’m checking it right. Pulled it out, plugged it pack into the boot, held it against the engine to ground it and spun it up with my drill.

from my YouTube searches it looks like the ignition coil needs to be replaced. The gap is still tight between the coil and flywheel, about the width of a business card. I still don’t get a spark after interrupting the circuit so it’s not a wiring thing (I don’t think). A new part is ~$25 so I’m gonna wait a day or two to see if any of y’all have any other tricks or advice before I pull the trigger.

Remove the kill wire from the coil and try. IF still no spark then replace the coil.

As the BP42 there is at least three versions of this blower and the RY model number is needed for parts look-up. Either you have standard type cube or a rotary barrel version.

StarTech said:

Remove the kill wire from the coil and try. IF still no spark then replace the coil.

As the BP42 there is at least three versions of this blower and the RY model number is needed for parts look-up. Either you have standard type cube or a rotary barrel version.

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Just making sure, the kill wire is the black one that slips on and off easily right?

Well it is not the one that will bite you when it is working.

Little trick here is most battery drill do not spin fast enough to get a spark
So use a mains power drill on its highest speed and do it in the dark

bertsmobile1 said:

Little trick here is most battery drill do not spin fast enough to get a spark
So use a mains power drill on its highest speed and do it in the dark

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Wow, really?! I need to do the last few things I tried all over again. All I have are cordless drills.

Most new engines idle at 2000+ rpm and run around 10,000 rpm
The magnetos are designed to provide the best strongest spark at full speed and just enough of a spark at cranking speeds to start.
Cranking is a lot faster than most people would believe
And no, without battery power you can not have our cake & eat it
either the spark will be good at full speed or good at idle can't do both without complicated electronics that in practice have all failed so been abandoned ,
I have pronounced brand new coils dead in the box only t find out latter they were just not getting enough RPM so now I use the bench drill set as close as possible to idle speeds

@bertsmobile1
@StarTech
So I’ve replaced the ignition coil and I have spark but it’s still not turning over

Turning over = revolve
Start= goes bang
Won't catch = fires but will t keep on running
Please be a little careful with your diction because the words s all we have to work with .
So now try a SMALL SHRT shot of starting fluid / carb cleaner ( is better ) / fuel down the plug hole with a warmed plug
It should go bang once or twice
If it does then do the same down the carb throat
Lett us know what happens

bertsmobile1 said:

Turning over = revolve
Start= goes bang
Won't catch = fires but will t keep on running
Please be a little careful with your diction because the words s all we have to work with .
So now try a SMALL SHRT shot of starting fluid / carb cleaner ( is better ) / fuel down the plug hole with a warmed plug
It should go bang once or twice
If it does then do the same down the carb throat
Lett us know what happens

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Ok, thanks, so it’s not starting. So a couple questions: where’s the carb throat ( I’m assuming that’s the hole the air passes through), and how do I warm the plug? Fuel is definitely getting to the plug if I haven’t mentioned that already.

put a half teaspoon of gasoline on the air filter or in the carb throat with the air filter off and see if it runs for a second.

I see we are dealing someone that don't knows what a carburetor is. I am out.

StarTech said:

I see we are dealing someone that don't knows what a carburetor is. I am out.

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Thanks anyway dude

Throat is as you worked out the hole in the middle the air passes through
Warm the plug in your oven, toaster, with a hot air gun , sitting in front of a radiator , just so long as it is too hot to hold in a bare hand
This prevents fuel condensing on the plug & shorting it out .

bertsmobile1 said:

Throat is as you worked out the hole in the middle the air passes through
Warm the plug in your oven, toaster, with a hot air gun , sitting in front of a radiator , just so long as it is too hot to hold in a bare hand
This prevents fuel condensing on the plug & shorting it out .

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Ok thx, I’ll try that tomorrow and let you know

So it still didn’t start. Fuel seems to be leaking from somewhere though, and it really pools up when I try to get it started. I double checked the fuel lines and those are good. I kinda want to just start taking everything else apart to clean it up and see if I can find any obvious cracks or bad gaskets or whatever. Not even sure what to look for though.

If you have a spark and you have checked that the timing key in the flywheel is intact so the spark is at the right time and it will not fire using a hot plug & a small amount of volatile sprayed into the engine then it is deceased .
Rip it apart for the fun of it
Either the sals are gone , the bore is scores, the piston is holed, rings are stuck/worn out or bore is ovalled .
In any case all of there are terminal with Ryobi products because of lack of spare parts

are you trying to fix this still or just playing with it?

sgkent said:

are you trying to fix this still or just playing with it?

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Unfortunately, probably playin with it now. Limited time that I have chasing around 3 kids n working overtime. I would really like to learn about small engines since they’re gonna be a thing forever

EV is the new thing. Maybe use the old one as a door stop or sell it on CL for whatever you can get for it.

Try taking the plate off the top of the carburetor where the idle adjustment is located. Check
the fuel filter screen and if dirty spray it out but not too hard to knock the screen out as it just
sits pressed in there. Take out the diaphragm and clean it and spray out the holes you find as
well. Reassemble and try it again. Might have to adjust the "L" and "H" side. I screw both all
the way down until they bottom out, then back out the screws about 2 or 2 1/2 turns and try it.
You can adjust the "L" in or out enough till it both idles and throttles up like revving up a motor
cycle. The "H" High Side you make the adjustment about 1/2 throttle until it hits its max RPM.
May have to go back to the "L" (Low) side and tweak it a bit after doing the High Side.