I have a Toro Personal Pace mower, model 20017. It has a Tecumseh engine (model: LV195EA, 362003B). I have had it for 15 or 16 years. It has not had a lot of use. It is used only occasionally to mow a small area or trim around beds or trees. Recently, it had become difficult to start and would sometimes miss when I would push down on handle (lifting the front edge up) in a turn. It began to surge as well. I cleaned the jet that holds the bowl in place but it did not help. I replaced the carburetor with an aftermarket brand because it was cheaper than a carb rebuild kit and included extra primer bulbs, a spark plug and an air filter. This carburetor was the correct one for my mower and it got very good reviews. The engine performed exactly the same after replacing the carburetor. The original plug worked fine but it had a little white ash built up on it making me think that the engine might be running lean. Replacing the plug and the air filter had no effect. I checked and reset the governor adjustment with no effect. The two links going to the governor lever are in the proper holes. I cleaned around where the governor shaft exits the block and the whole mechanism moves freely but this did not help. The link that goes to the throttle on the carburetor is in the correct hole. I have checked the fuel line and it is not blocked or leaking. The gas cap is venting properly. It surges even with the gas cap off. I have bent the bracket that holds the governor spring both ways and it increases or decreases the RPM but the surging continues. I can somewhat "tamp down" the surging by screwing the idle adjust screw in until the RPMs just start to pick up but their is still an uneven idle and intermittent surging. The surging begins about 3-5 seconds after the engine starts. This is the case with a cold start (after priming) or after it is warmed up and not primed first. The surging sometimes gets a little bit better after I run the mower for a few minutes, but not always. I took off the new carburetor and checked/cleaned it. I adjusted the float clearance because it was more than 11/64 inch. This made no difference. The intake manifold has no cracks and all the gaskets are good. The head gasket appears good. I have run out of things to try and would appreciate any suggestions on how to fix this. Could the part of the governor that is inside the block be bad?
Thanks,
Paul
Thanks,
Paul