4 HP briggs and stratton

[tenlizard]

I won a 4hp briggs and stratton on ebay and it arrived today. The seller said the engine ran yet it has a sparkplug chord that is cut. how is this possible? i tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. i contacted the seller and asked for help.

 

[Russ2251]

If plug wire was cut completely through, it can't possibly run.
If insulation was only cut, then it should run as long as it isn't near a ground.
"Ran" is past tense. Maybe it really did.

 

[tenlizard]

on the engine there is a tag that says runs that he put on there and can anyone find a new plug thing to put on it so i can get it to run because i couldn't find any online. ebay would be the best place to find it. also, it's the head of the lead that's cut off

 

[oscaryu1]

You mean the boot? I've had a engine (2HP) run, just duct taped the wires to the plug.

 

[tenlizard]

yes the boot. i just duct taped it and put in a new spark plug after putting gas inside of the spark plug hole. it smoked. however, it's the carburator it's not delivering gas. also after i figured that out, i tried to pull it again and the flywheel jammed, i tried to make it go backwards but the flywheel wouldn't budge. what can i do now to get the flywheel to budge? and how can i prevent it from jamming again? i would like to also get stuff to clean out my carburator and possibly clean out my fuel line. how can i do that? what stuff would you recommend me to clean out my carburator?

 

[Russ2251]

Check coil to see if it hasn't dropped onto and therefore stopped flywheel.
Perhaps a stuck valve?
Is there enough oil?

 

[tenlizard]

the coil hasn't dropped onto the flywhel
i looked at the oil, but don't know how to measure it because it has no dipping stick it's an old engine this is a link to it

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=160293916468

 

[Russ2251]

Oil should be level with top of fill hole when engine is on level surface.

 

[tenlizard]

ok i'll try that real quick

 

[Russ2251]

One of the 'rules' of selling engines on Ebay is that they must be emptied of any liquids, meaning oil and fuel, before shipping.

 

[tenlizard]

ok oil is good and i unjammed the flywheel using all my strength and the recoil works again, now how do you clean the carburator?

 

[tenlizard]

One of the 'rules' of selling engines on Ebay is that they must be emptied of any liquids, meaning oil and fuel, before shipping.

i know, but he accidentally shipped it with oil in it

 

[kibble]

You can get some carb cleaner spray, but it'd probably be best to take it apart and clean everything, never know what kind of nastiness is in there.

 

[tenlizard]

would wd40 work on cleaning the carburetor? and how can i clean it without making a mess because gas is in the tank that i put in there

 

[Russ2251]

Make sure it is externally pristine before disassembling. Don't want anything falling in there that wasn't there before.

 

[kibble]

No, you should avoid using that, you want to get the carb clean without leaving residue. You should empty the gas first.

 

[Russ2251]

would wd40 work on cleaning the carburetor? and how can i clean it without making a mess because gas is in the tank that i put in there

Kerosene would be better and cheaper.

 

[tenlizard]

can someone recommend me the name of the carb cleaner that's good?

 

[kibble]

Anything you can get at a car store should be ok. They're all pretty similar. Can't think of a particular brand or name off the top of my head.

 

[Russ2251]

I don't use anything other than kero.