jla1257 2 #1 Posted July 8, 2010 I was out scraping the yard today with a new brinly box scraper when my K301 just stopped runnig. It lost power and fizzled out. I let it sit for a little while and to restart it with out much luck. When I tried to restart it it would crank, fully closed choke and 1/4 throttle it would run really fast and then steadly lose power untill it died. All in all, about 45 seconds. Under the hood I did notice some oil on the bottom of the float bowl and the engine oil looked some what thin but was at a good level. Any ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tranders 0 #2 Posted July 8, 2010 Sounds to me like it's running out of fuel. Check to make sure you are getting fuel to the carb. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jla1257 2 #3 Posted July 8, 2010 Yes, that seems to be the obvious problem and I hope it is that simple. The engine is cooled off now so I am going to pull the float bowl and look in there, the fuel filter is new, I guess after that I will check the fuel pump. I am still learning about small engine, so any input is appreciated. Thanks!! (The tank is full) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 18,387 #4 Posted July 8, 2010 the engine oil looked some what thin but was at a good level. Any ideas? Did you smell your oil?? If it is thin there may be gas getting into the crankcase via a failing fuel pump...Might explain your problem Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jla1257 2 #5 Posted July 8, 2010 Now that the oil (SAE 30) is cool (over night) I checked it again. Still extremely thin, so thin in fact that it runs right off the dip stick and it has a blue tint to it. It might have had a slight gasoline smell to it but it was hard to tell. Leave it to me to try to diagnose from the hardest solution first. I had my wife crank the engine while I just watched. Gushing from the fuel inlet into the carb was gas. I pulled the line off and the o-rings were shot. Off to Ace for new one...only time will tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,964 #6 Posted July 8, 2010 An old test we used to do to check for gas in the oil was to take a small amount (teaspoon or less), put it in a metal jar lid or suitable container, and in a safe place, set a lit match to it. If it's all oil, it will not flash, but if it has gasoline in it, it will flash and burn. However, due to the hot weather, you oil may appear to be thin, but may in fact be okay. When an engine dies for no apparent reason, and starts again later, the first thing I check is the vent hole on the gas cap. If it is not venting, you will pull a vacuum in the tank and no gas will flow. Best way to check that is to loosen the cap and see if it starts and keeps running. Tighten the cap and see if it stops. Bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
