How to Clean a Troy Bilt Lawnmower Carburetor, step by step

You’re fully ready for a regular mowing session for your garden. But when you start your trusty Troy Bilt lawnmower, you notice that it is malfunctioning. The engine does not start or does not produce enough power. One of the most common causes of problems with the engine is a faulty carburetor that may need to be serviced. This blog will give you all the details to fix this problem for both beginners and more experienced users.

How to clean a Troy Bilt riding a lawn carburetor, step by step:

  • Step 1: Detach the battery cables and remove the air filter assembly under the hood to reach the carburetor.
  • Step 2: Disconnect the fuel lines and loosen the studs to remove the carburetor.
  • Step 3: Service the carburetor jets, bowls and float with a carb cleaner spray.
  • Step 4: Reinstall the carburetor and inspect the engine for performance.

Carburetors are engine parts that combine air and fuel to supply it to the engine for combustion. Due to poor fuel consistency and seldom cleaning, carburetor jets are blocked by debris and fuel deposits. As a result, the engine has degraded performance. In riding lawnmowers, maintenance is a little difficult due to the presence of more parts/components.

Please keep reading the article for a step-by-step method to remove and clean a Troy Bilt lawn mower carburetor in more detail.

Step-by-Step Method for Cleaning a Troy Bilt Lawnmower Carburetor:

We outlined the entire procedure by breaking it into a few small, easy-to-do steps mentioned below:

● Step 1. Check the engine before servicing:

Carburetors may need to be serviced after a certain period depending on their application. The engine’s signs and symptoms, such as odd noise during service, rough running, not starting, and stalling, signify the need for a carburetor clean up. Suppose you experience some of the above symptoms. In that case, you should consider examining your carburetor for any deposits that might not supply the right fuel mixture to the engine.

● Step 2.   Remove the carburetor from the mower:

In Troy Bilt riding mowers, taking off the carburetor is less easy than in a Troy Bilt walk-behind mower. For the disassembly, the following steps have been mentioned:

– Step 1. Detach the cables of the battery:

Remove the key if it is in the ignition switch. Before removing the carburetor, you first need to make sure that the battery is not attached, which could cause the Troy Bilt mower to start. To do this, you can raise the mower seat under which the battery is placed and disconnect one of its terminals.

-Step 2. Remove the housing of the engine blower:

You need to remove the mower hood to reach the carburetor. The following sections shall be located under the hood, which needs to be removed.

  • Air duct: Just under the hood, the air duct directs the air to the air filter. Remove the air duct screws and remove the duct from the mower.
  • Air filter assembly: The whole air filter assembly that consists of the air filter cover, the air filter housing, and the filter needs to be removed. First, take off the air filter cover, then the air filter, and finally the air filter housing by loosening the screws.
  • Blower housing: Blower housing is another component that needs to be removed. You should loosen the screws on the front and back of it to make sure it stays off.

-Step 3. Detach the lines of air and fuel:

The carburetor can be visible to you once the housing components have been removed. Before you start, it would be useful to take pictures of the assembly with your cell phone. This step allows you to know their locations when you put them back together.

It might help if you used a rag to catch oil spills that could fall from the fuel lines. Remove the fasteners that fix the fuel lines on the carburetor and disconnect the lines. Next, remove the mounting screws from the air intake.

-Step 4. Remove the carburetor:

With the help of its mounting studs, the carburetor is fixed. Loosen the studs with the appropriate wrench. It might be useful to disconnect the throttle rods and the throttle spring with the choke rod. The carburetor is completely removed from the mower engine now.

● Step 3. Clean the carburetor:

The carburetor removed is now to be serviced. You should follow the steps mentioned:

– Step 1. Carry out external cleaning:

Externally, you could see the carburetor jets along with the throttle shaft. Use a carburetor cleaner spray on the throttle shaft and the visible jets from the outside to clean them. Make sure the black residues are removed and the shaft rotates freely. Clear any deposits you see on the outside by spraying the cleaner continuously.

-Step 2.  Clean the main jet:

Remove the bowl nut under the carburetor. The nut is the main jet that supports the bowl, which extracts fuel and has the greatest risk of being congested. Using a thin metal wire, clear these deposits and ensure that the jet is cleared from any debris. Also, spray the jet with a little carb cleaner.

When you see the mist of the cleaner coming out of the other end, you know it’s unblocked. Normally, the bowl is quite dirty with debris, rust, and deposits. Spray the cleaner on the bowl as well.

– Step 3. Clean the needle and the float:

After the bowl has been removed, the needle and float are visible. The float regulates the volume of fuel with the help of the needle.

Spray the cleaner onto the float pin that may be sticky with the clogs and the needle. Make sure it is clean and the deposits have been dislodged.

After cleaning, reassemble the carburetor components such as the float, needle, bowl, and bowl nut.

● Step 4.  Reassemble the components:

After washing, attach the carburetor to the engine: link the fuel lines, air intake, and throttle springs and bars. Then attach everything back to the mower, such as the air filter assembly, the engine blower assembly, and the hood. Connect the battery wires and start the engine to notice the performance. Your Troy Bilt lawnmower should now be ready to start.

Related Questions:

1. Where is the carburetor located on a Troy Bilt lawnmower?

The carburetor is mounted just below the hood under the engine blower assembly on a riding lawnmower. You need to remove the hood first. To reach the engine, you need to take off the air filter assembly and the engine blower cover. The carburetor is attached in front of the engine. It is mounted on the engine with the help of its studs and has the fuel lines and the air intake attached to it.

2. How do you clean a lawnmower carburetor without removing it?

You may not want to remove the carburetor from the engine body fully. It is because you shall need to disconnect fuel lines and other mechanical components, such as springs, which could be difficult to assemble. Nevertheless, it’s quite possible to service the carburetor without taking it off entirely.

The simplest way of cleaning it is to use an aerosol spray or a carburetor cleaner and spray it over jets and holes that happen to be dirty. You may also loosen the bowl nut to wash the bowl and the float. A high-quality carburetor cleaner or air compressor will certainly help you clean the carburetor without detaching it completely.

3. Can you clean a lawnmower carburetor with a wd-40?

Wd-40 is a solvent-based cleaner that cleans metal parts with hard deposits and debris. It is safe for use on parts of the engine, including the carburetor. Without leaving any residue, the carbon deposits break down and improve overall results. However, you should be careful about using these aerosol items as they contain chemicals that are hazardous for breathing.  

4. How do I know if my lawnmower carburetor needs to be cleaned?

If you are experiencing the symptoms below with your engine, it means that your carburetor needs to be inspected:

The engine doesn’t start: even after priming it several times with a tank full of fuel, the engine doesn’t start.

  • Engine Stall: The engine stalls, i.e., stops after starting. This is one of the signs of a bad carburetor.
  • Running lean: When the fuel quantity is lower in the air-fuel mixture, the engine creates a pop-up sound in the intake. This is the lean condition caused by carburetor blockages.
  • Running rich: that’s the opposite of the above. When the carburetor is saturated with fuel, the engine gives black smoke to the exhaust.
  • Flooding: The needle is stuck due to deposits. As a result, a high volume of fuel flows through the carburetor contributing to flooding.

Final remarks:

Bad carburetors are a direct result of improper engine maintenance. Servicing the parts at the right time prevents the formation of deposits in the carburetor and filters and plugs. Also, the fuel quality of the lawnmower should also be inspected. Poor-quality fuel contributes to the formation of residues. Gas should not be stored in the Troy Bilt lawnmower tank for more than 30 days. With the addition of fresh petrol, the tank should be cleaned periodically. Or, if you intend to store your Troy Bilt mower for a long time, you can also use a fuel stabilizer. Regular care of Troy Bilt lawnmowers will minimize possible replacements and fixes.

Recent Posts