B&S 385777 on Husky Engine Surging Problems

Good evening everyone.

I have a Husky 2148 riding mower with a Briggs&Stratton 385777 (vanguard) engine.

Last week, i mowed my yard as normal. I refilled the tank with gas (different can of gas than I used previously), started the mower back up, and headed down the street to take care of a lady's yard who lives a couple of houses down from us.

I made one pass on her yard, when all of a sudden, the mower died on me. It restarted ok, but now the engine is constantly surging up and down when it runs.

So far, i have done the following:
1. Drained the gas and refilled with a new tank of gas directly from a different station.
2. Added fuel treatment to eliminate any water that may have been in the gas.
3. Cleaned the carb.
4. Changed the air filter.
5. Replaced the fuel line to the carb.

The engine is still surging. I have a video of what it is doing at the following site:
http://www.astate.edu/executive/cio/mvi_7915.avi

you can see what I think is the governor rod at the rear of the carb going up and down.

i would really appreciate any advice anyone can provide.

 

The surging indicates a lean-condition. The governor is acting as it should.
I'd say you still have a restriction in the carburetor. Did you blow through the passages with compressed air?

The video clip is a nice feature. Much better for diagnostic purposes than descriptive text.

 

Just to add to Cheese's post, I see the choke was at near full choke and it still hunts which indicates the carburetor is a mess inside. I also see that you have excessively dusty conditions based on my visual of the engine compartment and I'll bet the air filter was quite filthy, wasn't it? I'd say you will NEED to remove, soak and recondition the carburetor. A bath type cleaner (I like Napa # 6402), a spray carburetor/choke cleaner (I like Briggs # 100042), compressed air (with a rubber tipped nozzle blower), the proper Briggs carburetor rebuild kit, the proper fuel pump repair kit, new air pre-filter (the foam wrap (coated with engine oil)), and, a new fuel filter will be needed to do the job right. Post back with ALL the engine ID numbers, not just the model number, and we'll provide you with the Briggs part numbers you'll need.

 

Hi, I am having the exact same problem as sfatexman with my mower. I watched his video and it also sounds the same. I also did all he did to try and fix the problem, all to no avail. I was told I might have a cracked head. I was wondering what the diagnosis was on his mower? Does anyone have an answer for me? I would really appreciate any info. I really like this mower, but wondering if I should just buy another.

 

Even we don't know the outcome as sfatexman never updated us but hopefully he's still out there and can update us for your sake. As far as a cracked head, while it is certainly possible it is extremely highly unlikely. I'd say you, too, need to thoroughly recondition the carburetor.

 

Agreed. Carb problems.

 

I did some work on my briggs last winter and this spring it surged at high speed. It was suggested to be lean condition but a test is to hold the governor lever to prevent the surge and see how it runs. My ran fine. Solution in that case was to do a static reset of the governor which solved the problem. One poster says this reset is necessary any time the carb is removed/replaced.

 

The governor should not ever need adjusting for the life of the engine unless related components have been damaged, removed/altered, or replaced.

 

was trying to view the video but couldn't.... sounds just like the prob im having .... will try to clean carb. check fuel pump and replace fuel filter ....will let you all know how it goes asap ...

 

This thread has been dead for about five years so the video might not be hosted/available any more. If you can't get your engine working start a new thread which will get it some attention and one of the pros will probably be able to help you out.