If your mower won’t start or run right, it’s possible your carburetor needs cleaning. It’s a pretty easy process, but here’s the scoop on getting the job done right.
Before You Disassemble
If you go pulling the carburetor off without cleaning the outside, there’s a good chance exterior debris might fall in. So, give the bowl and carburetor a good exterior cleaning to avoid this.
Get a rag and soak it with carburetor cleaner. Scrub the bowl and the outside of the carburetor well enough to remove the buildup. If you don’t have carb cleaner you can use a wire brush to remove the heavy stuff and then wipe it clean with a rag.
Removing the Carb for Cleaning
Start by removing the bowl. There’s a bolt on the bottom of the bowl that you need to remove to get the bowl off. Get a box wrench or socket and remove this bolt.
This doubles as the main jet to your lawn mower’s carburetor. There’s a small hole in the jet. Get a small piece of wire and thread it through the hole to ensure there is nothing stopping the hole up.
Next, take the bowl and scrape the old gasket off. Then wipe out the bowl to get all the debris out of it. Be a little careful with it. Most are made of aluminum and are easily dented.
Once you have the bowl cleaned and the old gasket removed, you’re ready to remove the carburetor itself. The carb is usually mounted with two bolts and is fairly easy to remove.
With the carburetor in your hand. Spray it down with some carburetor cleaner. The easiest way to remove the build up is to blow it off with some pressurized air. If you have an air compressor and a nozzle, blow the debris off. Just make sure you’re aiming the nozzle away from yourself.
Reassemble the Carburetor
When you put the carburetor back together, you’ll need to replace all the gaskets to ensure they don’t leak. The easiest way to do this is to buy a rebuild kit. The rebuild kit will have all the necessary items for putting your carburetor back together tight as a drum and leak free.
Reassembly is generally as easy as reversing the disassembly, but make sure you check the bowl. Most bowls have a shallow end and a deep end. Align the bowl so the shallow end faces the mower before tightening the bolt back in place.
Celebrate a Clean Lawn Mower Carburetor
Your lawn mower’s carburetor is now clean. You can fire up your mower and it should run like the day you bought it. If not… well, at least you know your carb is clean.