Carb Rebuild for Preventative Maintenance

[SimpleAlex]

Hi All,

I'm trying to do as much preventative maintenance as possible on the 7116 I just picked up to get a good baseline.

Is there any point in rebuilding the carb if there doesn't seem to be any problems with it?

From an engine perspective, the only things I see are the occasional backfire when dropping the throttle quickly and a bit of a hesitation when raising the throttle up.

Thanks!

[fishnwiz]

If it were me, I would run a little seafoam in the gas for a tank or two and maybe recheck the plugs for gap setting and carbon buildup and leave it. You may be able to adjust the carb a touch to eliminate the backfire. Some guys use a fuel shutoff and just turn the gas off and let the engine run down the gas in the carb after each use. Best thing to remember is if you are going to put the tractor up for the winter months, run the gas out of the engine and do NOT mess with any stabil type product.

[MPH]

I started running seafoam in ALL my tractor gas at least 5 years ago. Haven't touch a carb since. The summer tractors I park in the leanto in the fall, pull the battery and forget about them til spring, so far, never a problem with "old" gas.

[SimpleAlex]

Cool. I did pick up some Seafoam the other day to add to the next tank.

I noticed there's no fuel filter on this machine either. The Briggs manual shows one, but the Simplicity manual doesn't show or reference one.

Should there be one on the fuel line somewhere?

Also.. the Briggs manual mentions pulling the head off every 400 hours and cleaning carbon deposits. Is that necessary/recommended?

Thanks!

[Brettw]

I would not rebuild with a working carb. Adjust a bit, Seafoam as stated above, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[donmoore1904]

quote:Originally posted by SimpleAlex

Cool. I did pick up some Seafoam the other day to add to the next tank.I noticed there's no fuel filter on this machine either. The Briggs manual shows one, but the Simplicity manual doesn't show or reference one.Should there be one on the fuel line somewhere?Also.. the Briggs manual mentions pulling the head off every 400 hours and cleaning carbon deposits. Is that necessary/recommended?Thanks!

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id="quote">

id="quote">Personally I would not rebuild a working carb, but I don't like working on them in the first place. Mine does not act perfectly either. I am going to try the Seafoam everyone is chatting about to see if one or two occasional annoying characteristics go away. I go by the Briggs manual, so I would say a fuel filter and checking the head every 400 hrs would be a good idea. The first time I had my head off, there was a lot of carbon built up. The second time, hardly any at all. I have the metal head gasket, and have never replaced it I believe a newer style needs to be replaced each time.As someone else mentioned, a lot of people use an inline fuel shutoff - I added one because I needed to as the carb leaked. NAPA has plastic ones that are pretty cheap and work great.

[RayS]

The filter is in the tank on the elbow that the gas line is hooked to. If it isn`t giving you problems, I wouldn`t mess with it.

[SimpleAlex]

Interesting. Is the filter replaceable? I don't see it called out in any of the parts diagrams.

[fishnwiz]

The filter is a small metal mesh tube mounted on the outlet elbow inside the tank. I myself pull the tank mounted filter if and when I remove the tank for cleaning and then add both a fuel shut off valve and small inline filter to the fuel supply line to the carb.If in fact you do have an issue in the future with dirt, grass ect. in your gas tank or fuel, it's easy to just shut off the valve and pull the filter and blow out the debris in the filter (Or replace it) without having to pull the tank to get at the filter.

[SimpleAlex]

Hi All,

I wanted to revisit removing the head and cleaning carbon deposits if I could.

I've never done anything like this before, and the unknowns make me really nervous.

Is it really as simple as popping the 9(?) head bolts, nylon brushing / wiping all the carbon off, putting the head back in place and tightening the bolts?

I'd love to do this (without ruining a great-running engine) before the summer mowing season starts.

Thanks in advance.

[Talntedmrgreen]

Yes...its as easy as that. You can reuse the metal gaskets if in good shape. Common sense regarding knocking crud into an open valve etc is about all you need.

[HubbardRA]

I have never de-carboned a head unless I removed the head for some other reason. If you keep your carb adjusted properly and do not run the engine overly long on choke, you should not have a significant carbon build-up. I have never had carbon build-up to cause a problem on any engines I have owned.

[Kent]

With today's unleaded gas, carbon buildup is mostly a thing of the past, if the carb is adjusted anywhere close to where it should be...

If it is running rich enough to foul plugs, you'll be getting buildup, but otherwise not significant...

[donmoore1904]

quote:Originally posted by Kent

With today's unleaded gas, carbon buildup is mostly a thing of the past, if the carb is adjusted anywhere close to where it should be...If it is running rich enough to foul plugs, you'll be getting buildup, but otherwise not significant...

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id="quote">This would be consistent with what I observed with my 7010. I have had the head off 3 times. The first time was after I got it. There was a fair amount of buildup. Since then, I have had it running both correctly and a bit rich. There really hasn't been any buildup in 10 years of use. Sounds like a decent explanation.

[SimpleAlex]

Good information.

I'll report back with some pictures when I pull the head.

[skunkhome]

So you have a Briggs engine? A very wise man once said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Put in the inline filter, use the SeaFoam, use fuel stabilizer in off season and don't touch that carb unless you have to. The flo-jet carbs is notorious for dripping when the engine is shut off. If yours does that don't worry about it...just cut the gas off with the inline shutoff valve. It's a good practice regardless.

[SimpleAlex]

Got in touch with the PO, and it turns out he did a complete rebuild of the engine a couple years ago. No need to pull anything, it appears!

[RayS]

Seafoam has a fuel stabilizer in it and CRC makes a motor treatment with a fuel stabilizer in it as well for half the money as Seafoam.

[MrSteele]

I have a simple solution for most of the above comments regarding anything added to fuel. I run high test (93 octane) in all my small engines, 2 or 4 cycle. Now, with the ethanol in gas, I also run non-ethanol, still high octane. I have chainsaws with the mix of high octane that sit for a couple of years with gas in the tank and carb, that start up and run as good as they were running when I shut them off. The Landlord sits 2-3 months sometime. Open the inline valve, choke, hit the start button. Never a fuel issue, carbs and combustion chambers stay clean