8 hp tiller dripping gas

Oggie · #1 04/21/08, 09:20 AM

I went to pick up a Troy-Built 8 hp tiller that hadn't been used for about a year. The tank was empty. When I filled it and ran the engine, gas dripped from what looked like the bowl area of the carb.

It dripped until the tank was pretty much empty.

Any clues on how to fix it?

MELOC · #2 04/21/08, 09:51 AM

with a cork dear oggie, dear oggie... dear oggie...

lol, sorry ogie, i couldn't help myself.

do you think it could be a gasket? is it wet around a seam, or does it just drip from the bottom of the bowl?

Oggie · #3 04/21/08, 09:56 AM

It comes out in such a stream that I can't really tell where it's coming from.

And the bowl is behind a big air cleaner box.

I haven't had a chance to start taking stuff apart yet.

If it's going to be a complicated mess, I might be better off taking it to someone who knows more than I about small engines.

raymilosh · #4 04/21/08, 11:20 AM

If the fuel is coming out as a stream rather than as a drip, it's probably because the float inside the bowl is no longer floating up and closing up the valve that lets the gas fill the bowl. When the bowl overfills, it spills out of the top and streams down the outside of the bowl. the bowl is supposed to fill with fuel to a certain level, then the float rises up and shuts off the fuel from entering any more.

Usually the reason the float doesn't float is because it got a hole in it and filled up with fuel. the float cna be removed, emptied and repaired or just replaced with a new one. Removing it does not require specialized tools and can be done without removing the carb from the engine.

Another possibility is that the needle valve that shuts off the fuel supply is stuck open and the float can't close it.
Either way, the carb needs to be repaired. If you don't feel comfortable tinkering with it, have someone else do it.
If you decide to do the work, get a book on small engine repair form the library and follow the instructions for removing the float and needle valve. Finding the replacement parts requires finding a tag on the engine, writing down all the model, type, code, horsepower, brand name, etc type information and bringing it to a small engine repair shop. (Bringing in the parts you need to have replaced and comparing them carefully to the new parts insures bringing home the correct parts the first time.)
these parts will not cost more than about $10

You may feel comfortable removing the carb and bringing just that to a shop, instead of bringing the whole tiller or the engine.