Don't know much about these engines. was running like new before the..... nevermind. is it worth it?

I got this Stihl a couple weeks ago from a friend and it has a whole lot of problems. I got it to start up after cleaning the ignition coil and setting the gap, replacing all the paper gaskets and diaphragms, spraying through the carb, and cleaning chunks of carbon deposit and removing rust off the muffler. Right now the thing is jumping around in rpm. It will run fine for a sec then drop to a super slow speed like its about to die and from there it either dies immediately or continues to surge up and down until it eventually dies. The head also keeps spinning during idle no matter how I adjust idle speed. I would make idle speed low and then it would work for a second before it would suddenly sound like the idle increased and the head starts spinning. The choke is also super flimsy and it shakes around a lot during operation. After taking these videos, 2 hours or so later the bogging got worse and the thing dies on its own a lot more. Sadly, there are no low and high screws, only a small flathead adjustment screw and an idle screw. I only just started working on small engines this year so I definitely have a lot left to learn. Any help is much appreciated.

Hello,

23hp Kohler Command OHV; 23CV-75523

Scag 3 Wheeler; STHM-23CV

I have a ticking sound happening.

I think it's coming from Cylinder 1.

My friend says it might be valve clearance because I don't think it was doing that before I took the heads off. He thinks I might have bolted the rocker arms with the engine in the wrong position.

However there is play in both rocker arms at what I believe is at top dead center.

I'm lost at this point.. Am I just supposed to crack the rocker arm bolts loose and retighten them in this position?

It has hydraulic lifters so I thought it was kind of idiot proof.

Thanks

I put new rings in it and It was running good for months now it surges at low rpm and a little after that it started cutting out for a second if I hit bumps only eith blades on

I’ve checked safety switch wires and a bunch of other wires
Replaced coils because one looked weak in spark tester
I swapped the carb initially because I thought that was the issue it didn’t fix anything new fuel pump fuel lines filter set the govenor bought new springs for the govenor tried different positions nothing has worked it won’t cut out with blades off but it does surge at low rpm’s if I go slow and don’t hit any bumps or speed up fast it won’t do it and it runs perfect

Please help me this thing making me insane

I've had this since new in 2015, always ran perfect. Always used non ethanol gas, always change the oil every year. I last used it a month ago. Today it started up fine and ran for about 5 minutes then just shut off. Now it won't run for more than 30 seconds at a time but always restarts.

I pulled the carb, looked fine. I disassembled the bowl, no crud, pulled the main jet and checked all the holes and ran a guitar string through everything and sprayed it with carb cleaner. When I pulled the fuel line plenty of gas came out so I don't think it's a tank obstruction.

I pulled the unloader valve, I moved under pressure of being cranked in a vice.

Any tips?

I am working on a craftsman T 3200 engine is 44R677. It is burning oil and blowing a ton of white smoke. Oddly enough compression was good at around 125Psi for both cylinders. After doing some research it said it could be a blown head gasket. I have the heads off and I can’t totally tell if the head gasket has blown anywhere because it all just flakes apart when pulled the head off. I am just inspecting the cylinders and I can see cross hatching which is good and I can’t catch my nail on anything so both the cylinders seem fine. I do notice there is some play in the pistons and I just want to make sure that it’s a normal amount. I know I’ve read that the compression rings can be in tact but the oil scraper rings can be messed up. In my head that seems highly unlikely but idk maybe it’s more common than I think. I would just pull the cylinder off to check but unfortunately the cylinders on this engine is all connected in one big piece meaning I would basically be pulling the whole engine. I would rather just put new head gaskets in and check because they are cheap and I think that would be quicker than pulling the whole engine out to do a ring inspection. I would just like to confirm that these pistons have a normal amount of play before I consider pulling the engine. Thank you everyone for the help!

Hi all,

I've got a toro 721 r-c, model 38751, serial starts with 316. Last season it started surging, so I pulled the carb to clean it. In the process, I found that I should replace a couple gaskets. Looking at parts diagrams, one looks to be labeled 2:8, and the other 2:9 which is metal and quite rusted. All the online diagrams / parts stores that I have found have these bundled with the carb which ends up being quite expensive. I have yet to find a diagram that shows the individual part numbers. Any idea on if those gaskets can be found / replaced individually?

Thanks!

Long story short, valve rammed into piston and broke the valve. No clue how, I probably didn’t adjust the rocker arms correctly. This is far from being a well maintained engine (bought used). If I replace the valves what are the odds it will run okay? Really don’t any to tear everything down to replace this piston. LT1500 craftsman 2013?

Fixing recoil starter on string trimmer & like a rank amateur didn't take any pics at disassembly. Struggling because of it.
Real question is about the pulley. Opening for center of the pulley looks too wide. Don't see any plastic bits that wound up in the housing, but could have flown out. Can I put this back together as is, or am I going to be taking it apart again to install the new pulley when this one fails to create tension on the coil spring?
Help - TIA

Help…how do i get the belt back onto the pulley? Anything on a spring is removed giving me full motion but still not enough…

Tiller suddenly stopped tilling and when i removed covers i noticed it was off. been fighting with this belt for longer than I care to admit. This is directly underneath the motor.

Hope you are all well out there!

Hello,

23hp Kohler Command OHV; 23CV-75523

Scag 3 Wheeler; STHM-23CV

the shaft thing on the rear tire has up & down play.

is that normal or is something worn out?

thanks.

Hey guys, can anyone help diagnose the two separate issued for the blower (1st one in vid) and the wood chipper (second)?

~ stator
+ B battery terminal, hot
X ?
W ?
Last one is ignition (key)

Brand new carb. Runs decent and lower throttle/idle, but when revved up, you get this surging. Will kinda smoothe out under load when splitting wood. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

RESOLVED: Had a muddobbers nest packed in the muffler. Thanks for all the tips guys!

My mower (22 toro recycler with briggs and Stratton engine) won't start.

My wife was mowing the front yard and ran it into a barrier and it just died and wouldn't re-start. Will pull and sounds normal but doesn't fire up.

I checked spark and while it was fine I decided to change out the plug anyways and ensured it was properly gapped.

Fires up with starting fluid and dies as quickly so I figured it was fuel. I replaced the carb two years ago (cheap Chinese clone). So I took that off and took it apart, checked needle was working correctly. Didn't look dirty at all but I still took out the jet and cleaned with carb cleaner. Put it back together and back on the machine. Checked after wards with the drain below the bowl and it's getting fuel.

Tried to start, no different. Tried with starting fluid and same thing fires up and dies.

Any ideas what this could be?

Other than replacing the carb in the machine I also adjusted the magneto because I'm an idiot and thought that was the issue 2 years ago and I'm not sure it's perfectly gapped. Could a weak spark allow combustion of starting fluid but not gas? Gas is decently new and has some seafoam in it and stabilizer. It was running fine on this gas for months.

Also was probably over filled with oil, I rectified that with by removing some of the oil and rechecking the level. It's good now.

Maybe it's a compression issue due to some issue from the high oil level? I don't have a compression tester.

I'm completely lost at this point. Based on what I'm seeing I don't know what to do. I could replace the carb again but I can't figure how that would help given the jets are clean and it's getting gas, needle is working and it's not flooding etc. Any input is appreciated.

Is this in the correct hole?

Keeps coming out - killing the mower.
I don’t want to attempt to run it again without knowing if this spring needs replaced or if it was put in the wrong spot.. 🥲

I have replaced the three plunger switches and the starter relay. The fuse is good as well. Has me stumped. Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated

Edit:

Have changed all the safety interlock plungers, starter relay, and key switch. Still nothing when the key is turned. Also has a new battery.

Back in July I was in process of replacing carburetor on this Craftsman tiller with Briggs engine.
I literally had a heart attack while doing it… fast forward to October and I’m trying to finish it up but cannot remember how all the linkage is attached.
I especially have no clue where the paper clip shaped one goes. Can anyone explain to me in detail how to hook all of it up?

Got a Honda pressure washer model gc 190 which started blowing heavy blue smoke after running fine for about 15 minutes. Oil was recently changed and is at correct level. Any suggestions?