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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Leaking fuel. Help needed.

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Hi.

 

I'm not sure if my mower is old enough to qualify for this forum, but hopefully someone has some experience and can help me.

 

I have a 2009 Atco Royale 30E I/C. It had been sitting over the winter, and when I was getting it running for the new season, I noticed a fuel leak.

 

I can't see exactly where it is coming from, but it is running down the fuel line from the tank to the carburettor. As it is quite near to the OHV and exhaust, to reduce the risk of fire, I've drained the tank and the carburettor bowl until it has been fixed.

 

Could anyone advise where I should start with my investigation, or what I should be looking for?

 

Many thanks.

Forums

wristpin Wed, 16/05/2018

Once again an image will be useful but from your description it sounds as though you may have a leaking fuel tap - that’s if there is one!

hillsider Thu, 17/05/2018

As wristpin says an image of the engine would be a great help even the make and model of the engine would give us a clue, it could be as simple as a perished fuel pipe.

Mikeinho Thu, 17/05/2018

Great. Thanks for the tips. I'll post an image soon as I can.

 

I believe the "I/C" refers to the type of Briggs & Stratton engine it has. I'll get the engine number as well. The B&S website describes where they stamp the engine designation, and the machine is very clean, so shouldn't be hard to find.

 

And yes, it does have a fuel tap either on or near the fuel tank, so I'll check this first. It is very possible that's where the leak is coming from. Easy to test. I'll put a little fuel in with the tap closed and see if the leak appears.

 

It's likely I'll need to replace the fuel line anyway, as I first tried to remove it to drain the tank, and it felt like it was welded on their. Absolutely no give in it. Ended up using a syphon to drain the tank from the filler cap opening. If it is not perished now, it will be in a pretty bad state by the time I get round to removing it.

 

Will report back soon. Thanks.

hillsider Thu, 17/05/2018

As you have a Briggs & Stratton engine you should find that there will be a group of three numbers on the engine, there should be a Model number a Type number and a Code number, if you can post all three for us we can hopefully be a bit more accurate with our advice.

Mikeinho Sat, 19/05/2018

Okay, so that's it fixed. Turned out to be a perished fuel line just after the fuel filter.

 

I discovered this by refueling the tank, then opening the tap. And with the air filter removed (for access), as soon as the tap was open, I could see fuel coming from a tiny crack in the fuel line.

 

Removed and replaced with new fuel line and clips. Job done.

 

I would have attached some pics to show engine, issue, and fix. However, the process seems overly complicated. Sorry.

 

The engine is B&S 123437-0170 in case anyone was curious. Thanks for the tips!

 

Moving on to the next fix... transmission belt on a  Honda Ride-On. Think this will take a little longer. Oh deary me.