It will turn over, but it won't fire.

[mgwin]

Bought an O from a guy several years back. He said it would turn over but it wouldn't fire. Been sitting for years under a tarp.
Decided to go through the carb, in order to begin trying to get it running again.
Well, today was the day. Worked on freeing up the choke and butterfly valve. Then went to take off the bowl and have a look. WOW!!!! DANG!!!! Never seen one like this!!! All the black stuff is hardened. Any idea what would have done that? Did they use two cycle gas?

 

[bwstevens]

It's just the gum left from a full tank of gas.

 

[dschwandt]

And you wondered why it would not run!!!

 

[gary noblit]

If you had ever seen a sucker rod pulled from an oil well...that's about what it looks like in its original state...pretty severe I must admit...the lesson is...never try to start an engine unless you know the carb is clean..the crud gets sucked into the jets and it is a serious issue to clean...if possible...

 

[mfrade]

It looks like it must stink really bad too!

 

[mgwin]

David,
I had no doubt as to why it would not fire after looking in the gas tank! That enabled me to get his asking price way down.
Surprisingly, the black stuff just flakes off with a little scraping. It still does have a stink about it, but not bad since it has sat like that for years.

The first thing I always do when I get another tractor is, take the carb off and go through it. No use in doing anything else until the carb is clean. Even if the carb looks new, I still take it apart and check it out.

 

[wh cc guy]

That's a good thing to do you, never know what you may find inside.

 

[cubs4lifeofme]

Good thing you had gloves on...Good way to loose a few digits.