After a long break, there is a huge chance that your lawn mower doesn’t work properly. This might happen for several reasons, a clogged or jammed carburetor is one of those. If you want to save some bucks on this situation, cleaning it by yourself is a good option.
If you’re thinking about doing this and looking for how to clean a lawn mower carburetor, worry no more. Here I’m with a step-by-step guide to help you with cleaning it. This easy-to-follow guide will help you to do the job perfectly. All you have to do is know the steps properly and follow those. Also, being careful is a part of the job.
Signs of a Dirty Carburetor
Some signs tell you that the carburetor of your lawn mower is dirty. If the engine doesn’t start properly, there is a chance that there is dirt in the carburetor. Another sign of a dirty carburetor is a rough running engine when you’re mowing. Also, black smoke from the muffler, increased fuel consumption, stalling engine, etc. tell that the carburetor needs to be cleaned.
How To Clean Lawn Mower Carburetor
Step 1- Make Sure that Carburetor is the Culprit
Some signs saying the carburetor needs to be cleaned might show up for several other reasons too. So, before jumping to a conclusion, check the mower and make sure that the dirty carburetor is the actual problem.
Make sure that the mower has enough fuel in it. Also, the ignition control should stay in the right position. Check the connection of the spark plug. Make sure that there is no dirt around it. Check the air filter too for dirt.
If everything from these parts is okay, there is a strong chance that the carburetor is the problem. So, you can go for it now.
Step 2- Ensure Your Safety
Safety is a must when you’re doing anything. In this case, ensuring a safe environment is more important than arranging safety equipment.
The old oil from the carburetor is highly toxic and causes serious harm to your body. To avoid risks, you should consider working with it in an open place. If you’re doing it inside your garage, ensure proper ventilation before starting. Keep the windows and door open. Arrange a fan if possible.
If you can’t ensure proper ventilation in the garage, bring the mower out on the lawn and start working. Remember, safety should be your priority.
Step 3- Remove the Outer Shell and Air Filter
The common position of the carburetor is inside a shell and under the air filter. So, you should get rid of those at first.
Depending on the model, the process of removing the outer shell varies. In most models, those are attached to the main body with the help of screws or clips. Find out the screws or clips and get rid of those. Make sure that you’re keeping those somewhere safe. You’ll need the screws and clips later.
Carefully remove the outer shell. Then pick up the air filter and keep it somewhere safe.
Step 4- Remove the Carburetor
Typically, a carburetor is set on the mower with the help of some bolts. Find out and remove those bolts to free the carburetor from the rest of the machine. Also, the fuel line should be eased out.
While doing this, be prepared for an oil spill. It is best to have a piece of rag so that you can catch the oil. Otherwise, spilled oil would make the place dirty.
If an oil spill doesn’t happen, there must be another problem. It happens when the oil line gets clogged. You should fix this problem too. You can do it later after cleaning the carburetor.
Step 5- Get the Bowl
Now it is time to put your attention on the bowl. Before that, I suggest going through a basic cleaning. Rub a piece of cloth on the outer surface of the carburetor to get rid of loose debris.
Typically, the bowl is attached with the help of a jetted-hole nut. Unscrew it carefully and focus on it. If it is dirty, clean it properly. Check whether there is dirt or debris accumulation in the hole or not. If any, remove those using something like a paper clip. This is mandatory because a blocked or jammed hole is one of the main reasons behind the carburetor issue.
Changing the gasket is possible. Then clean the nut properly by spraying some carburetor cleaner on it.
Clean the bowl properly, it must be dirty. In case it is damaged, consider replacing it with a new one.
Step 6- Replace the Needle
After the bowl, the needles should get the attention now.
A pin helps the float stay attached to the carburetor. All you need to do is remove the pin. Then replace the needle.
The needle sits on a gasket. Check that too. If you find it too old, consider replacing it.
Step 7- Spray Cleaning Fluid
You’ve disconnected the things you need to. Now you should clean the carburetor properly. For this, at first, spray cleaning liquid all over the carburetor. Don’t miss a single part.
Then focus on the holes. There are some small holes which you can’t reach normally. Don’t leave those unclean. Use a paper clip, pin, piece of wire, or anything thin like these to access the holes. Make sure that those holes are free of debris.
After making sure that the whole carburetor is clean, let it dry.
Step 8- Change the Main Gasket
The main gasket is the one that sits between the bowl and carburetor. Changing it is a good decision. Simply get rid of it and put a new one in its place.
We suggest changing the main gasket because too old gasket can’t work like before. As a result, the performance of the carburetor decreases a lot.
If you think the gasket is in good condition, you can leave it there.
Step 9- Reassemble and Reattach
After step 8, you’re done with cleaning the carburetor. Now it is time to assemble everything just like before. Add the bowl to the carburetor, put it back in its place, attach the air filter, and put the outer shell in its place.
Then, connect the oil line and try starting the engine. If you’ve cleaned it properly, the issues you were facing should have vanished.
Some Tips for Cleaning Lawn Mower Carburetor
Now you know the step-by-step process of cleaning the carburetor of your lawn mower. What about knowing some tips that can make the process hassle-free?
- While removing the parts, take your mobile phone and capture some pictures of how those are attached. Doing this would help you at the time of replacing and reattaching those.
- Have multiple pieces of clothes with you. If you do this, you won’t have to clean several parts with a dirty piece of cloth.
- Find out a suitable place to put your tools. If you spread those on the grass, you might not find those easily when you need those.
- Use comfortable hand gloves if you want to stay safe from dirt and oil.
- Store the nuts and bolts carefully so that you can find those easily at the time of reassembling.
I guess this piece of article is going to help you in cleaning the lawn mower carburetor. If you have any confusion, read the instructions again carefully.
If you don’t want to face the difficulty of doing this, leave the job to us. Our professional service will do this for you in exchange for a reasonable service charge.
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