hi, i stopped to refuel my mower, then when i tried to start the mower smoke and fuel came out the exhaust i left the mower to cool down and realisd the carburetor was full of fuel and was leaking through the air filter also i left it over night and the fuel seemed to disapear when i tried to turn over the engine fuel came sputring out of the exhaust, the carburetor seems fine and seems to be functioning properly and had been until now ......any ideas?

matt balk, September 2008

I have a similar issue but the gas appears to be getting into the crankcase and is actually coming out the breather tube from the crankcase when I turn it over. Both valves are moving, so it doesn't appear to be a stuck valve. Took the needle valve out and cleaned that already. Any tips on what might be the problem?

Dave, June 2013

You have a piece of dirt stuck in the fuel inlet needle valve.

Remove the float bowl and float. Remove the needle (probably attached to the float), and clean the tip. If nothing obvious, allow some fuel to flow through the open inlet passage to flush it out.

That's probably all you need to do. If not, you will have to remove the carb completely and use carb cleaner and compressed air to disloge it.

phil_saunders@bigfoot.com

Phil Saunders, September 2008