Difficulty of carbureator troubleshoot/repair

[mikegbuff]

Guys, been reading through the threads about carb issues. My needle valve on a 6.5 HP Briggs was hanging open. I tap on the bowl a bit as have had success in the past with this unsticking the valve. Now it seems to be stuck closed. This is a 3 year old pressure washer than has less than 20 hours on it. I always put Stabil in the fuel before storage and run the motor a bit (usually stored 3 months at a time). I have no experience with taking apart carbs. I understand the concept of the needle valve/seat/float based on what I've found through searching here. My question is...for a newbie to this, is there a chance I can take it apart and clean it or am I wasting my time and should I just take it in for repairs? I have heard people say there is a rubber seal or something that is hard to get back in place when you put the bowl back on.

Thanks.

[topsites]

Here's the way I look at it...
At $50 to $80 for a brand new carb it's not worth taking it to a shop,
especially if I already got it off, but now I got nothing left to lose.

Time to reverse engineer it, that is, pull it apart to find out what makes it tick,
with at least the intention of putting it all back together, and inspect everything
and study it some and clean up every piece real good and all of that, like a little project.

Shouldn't take much more than an hour or two, who knows, I might even find the problem.

I've done it, both with success and failure, usually I won't re-install the old one unless I have some
confidence that what I did might have fixed it, but when it fails I just buy another carb.
Probably would have had to buy one anyhow, worst case scenario I might have learned something.

[Jason Pallas]

It's not that hard at all. Just pay lots of attention on how it comes apart - so that you can put it pack together. ONE CAUTION - when you remove the pin to release the float so that you can get to the float needle valve BE CAREFUL. There's usually a little spring or clip there and it can get lost really easy. Also, keep an eye on the needle valve. It's small and can get lost easily too.

[accurate machinery]

With only 20 hours on your carburetor it should still be like new, definitely fixable. I like fixing small carburetors, after the carburetors of the automotive world these things are a joy. I like to make a clean work area then lay out a paper towel to disassemble the carburetor on. I will layout the parts individually to clean and inspect them. You mentioned the needle valve, I have found more and more sticky needle valves, I am told because of the gasoline in use today. Once you pull the float bowl off, pull the pin out that the float pivots on and the needle will either come out attached to the float or it will sit there waiting for you to pull it out, if you turn the carb over it might fall out. Use carb cleaner to remove all the residue and dirt from the float bowl, float needle and seat. I always wear safety glasses, carb cleaner burns like crazy in your eyes and it will ricochet all over the place. Watch your gaskets, especially on your manifold where the carb mounts to the engine, you don't want an air leak, the engine will run lean and never run right with a blown gasket seal. Some would say never put it together with out new gaskets but it can be done, especially in a pinch, and still run fine. Be careful tightening nuts, bolts, screws and adjusting needles because carburetors are just light metal and are easily stripped or distorted. If it isn't going together easily like puzzle pieces then recheck your work something is out of place.
I added a couple pictures of another carburetor, not from a Briggs. Good luck!