GardenKit

pics of the plugs and idle speed screws on the WY carb Rich.

Ok, just for you. But later as the pics are on the home computer.

Naah.....

Dont be too hard on them for that (in principle). The first thing I do is ditch the fuel, you never know what crap is in there. But, £3.60 buys over 2 litres of fuel. A 36 holds what, about 500ml tops? All very well to cover costs, but that is IMO just asking to wind a customer up. Unless of course they are using Aspen, as I do, even then its still way over the top. I do not charge for fuel, even though using Aspen. Its included in my hourly rate.

To be fair to the dealer, if your mate told them " someone who knows about these things says..." then they would have turned a deaf ear, preferring to make their own dagnosis. That attitude is natural, and fine, as long as they do diagnose the problem and fix it correctly. If however they dont get it right, and not everyone gets it right every time, then they must be given the chance to have another go at it. If the things they have already done can be justified and proved neccessary then that bill could be deemed fair. As to whether they would then charge more to "revisit" the problem is up to them and your mate to decide, but most fair minded dealers would love the chance to get a second shot and not charge to either fix it if not too expensive, or explain why it is beyond economic repair. For my part, if I have sent it back as fixed, then I feel obliged to sort it out. If I was in any doubt I would not send it back as fixed, but price up the proper repair. If the customer decided not to go ahead he would have to pay for my time spent in reaching that diagnosis.

Of course, Rich. You will have the rotery barrel type Walbro carb. WY or WYL. Some ( very few) do have a high jet adjuster, but most only have an idle adjuster which can be difficult to spot initially. Some are ajustable by prising out a tiny plastic plug in the centre of the plastic barrel. Adjust with a jewellers screwdriver. Others dont have the plug, but are sealed with a plastic core pushed deep into the hole. Screw a small, sharp, self tapper about 2 mm into this plug and pull it out with some pliers, this will expose the adjuster screw as in the first example. ( I have a ST screw weled to an old screwdriver for removing the core) Some are sealed and not adjustable. Adjustment of this alone may well cure your problem. And, yes the Z & W guages are still readily available.

And congrats on your mower, its nice to get a bit of praise from a customer.

I quite agree Rich, but I think that at times we bombard the OP,s with so much info that we can scare the hell out of them. Most problems can be fixed without recourse to expensive test kit and procedures, just by following logical steps. The old KISS principle. ( keep it simple stupid) does work.

OK, first the Kawasaki that dies on tickover. Classic example of poor compression, or an inlet air leak somewhere between the carb and the pot. Any such leak can be dissproportionaly large at low revs. In other words can be tuned out on the H screw but not at low speed on the idle jet. The 280 could be similar. I would check this before going further. With regards to the height settings, they do vary from carb to carb, although most we encounter will be the zama c1q or walbro wt. Rather than try for general guidelines just get the zamx'Z' guage and the walbro 'W'. They are cheap and worth their weight in gold. Let me know if you have any trouble sorcing them.

Glad we were able to help, Ben. Most of these problems are very simple, we sometimes go over the top a bit in trying to find a cure.

The bit about mud is still valid then! Rescueing girls in bikinis from the mud, ...hmmmm... Dirty work, but someone has to do it.

3/4 H with limit cap on 1 L

That is one reason I try not to do housework guys. Anyway, just about to leave for home having completed 3 more from the queue and getting well into the fourth. 'Twas a productive day.

brilliant

Ahhh, domestic bliss.

Established Middle Class apparently, so WTF am I working on a Sunday?

Time for another cup of tea, sandwich and post. Thats the 3 JD mowers done. All straightforward until I filled the tank on the R47VE with Aspen. It leaked. It is always worth filling the tanks completely on a service as these tanks (Briggs Quantum) are prone to leaking on the seam near the top. So a new tank fitted, and all is well.

It will surely be a float problem Stubby. Could be height, but more likely to be a contaminated or damaged float needle valve and/or seat.

Hahaha, Still feel a bit rough Rich, but got to keep going. No interuptions on sundays, so I dont need to be pleasant to anyone:biggrin: First of the 3 JD,s done... on a role:thumbup: Got to go.. no time to chat

Yes Steve, its had a lot of use, but is well looked after. The first mower of the day now done, and paint drying whilst I drink tea and post. This Hayter Harrier serviced OK, but the final test revealed the roller differential not working. I see this a lot following a wet summer. The wet and mud penetrate the freewheel hubs (same as bicycle frewheels) and they rust up. Roller out, stripped, and new frewheels fitted. Onto the next ones, 3 JD mowers from the same (domestic!) customer.

Common problem I am afraid. As Ray says, new cap. I guess the plastic reforms under pressure, slightly altering the pitch.

First job finished this morning before starting a long line of lawnmowers was a trusty MS200T with the classic sympton of reving high in the cut. A quick peep under the airbox with a bright torch revealed the expected split at the bottom of the inlet manifold. A new manifold fitted and a quick retune and all was fine, except that the idle speed was difficult to obtain (2800) without the chain dragging slightly and the classic 'ting,ting' sound. The springs are the normal offenders, but this one has had several sets of springs and they were still good. The time was now right for a new clutch due to the wear on the spring holes (see the keyhole shapes)

North Somerset waters are some of the worst. Strong tides and eddies, very large tidal range, Oh, and loads of mud! Scares the hell out of me, Good on you, openboater.

I always had my steak well done. I have no idea why. And it was always sirloin, again no idea why. Then, in the early nineties, on a trip too Brittany, I was introduced to RAW fillet steak, marinated in some magic recipe, and it completely changed my steak habits. Now its only ever fillet and always very rare. I am fortunate to be colour blind, but family members are not and cringe at my plate of red juice. Yum Yum. The stories of a Vampire in these parts may be true...........

or maybe next to a Nunnery?, thats why he does not want anyone to see him getting wood.