Riding Lawnmower

I recently acquired a used Craftsman riding lawnmower (917.258555). It had been sitting outside this past winter. I don’t know much more about it. When I got it home the first thing I did was to check the oil which was ok and poured some gas into the tank. Then I tried to start the lawnmower. Nothing happened. When I checked the battery it only had 5 volts and the positive cable was covered with corrosion so I cleaned it off. I put my battery charger onto the battery and let it charge for about 30 minutes. When I checked the battery it was up to 12 volts. While the battery was charging I was checking out the rest of the mower.

I noticed that there was gas leaking out at the front of the lawnmower. At that time I couldn’t find where it was leaking from. I poured more gas into the tank and tried to start the lawnmower again. This time it started right up so I took it for a spin around the yard. It seemed to be working fine. After I parked it I started looking it over again and I found that the gas tank was empty again. Could it have all run out again after I turned it off?

Does anyone know what the problem could be? I haven’t worked on a riding lawnmower before but I am handy and wouldn’t have a problem with taking anything apart to fix/clean it. After searching the Internet I found the owner’s manual and printed a copy of it. On page 25 they talk about adjusting the carburetor but they don’t mention anything about stopping gas from flowing out of it.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Gasoline is pretty clingy so a leak is hard to spot. It sounds like allot of gas leaked out in a short amount of time. There is a hose that connects the gas tank to the carb with a filter in the line. Had you looked at the bottom of the tank for cracks?

 

probably crud in the carb bowl is stopping the float needle from closing. Chances are your crankcase if full of gas and oil and if you run it much it will blow up from lack of proper lubrication.

 

What I would guess as well.
Does it have a fuel shut off valve? If not you should get one and so should I. I have had my one mower do that once and said I was going to put one on and never have. Only 10 dollars at lowes.
It could have just leaked out through the exhaust, is what mine did. check the oil again to be sure!! like 38 racing says

 

The gas was coming from the front of the lawnmower. When I poured gas in the first time it took it about 10-15 minutes for it to start leaking out. I did check the gas line with the filter and they were both dry so I figured they were not the problem.

I will check the oil tonight to see if there is any gas in it.
As for there being crud in the carb bowl, do I need to remove the carburetor to check if it is dirty? Can I spray some carb cleaner into it and would that help?

Either tonight or tomorrow night I will take the time to look over the engine again to see if I can find the gas leak. I will probably drive it up to my garage and let it run there for a few minutes to see if it is leaking while it is running or if it leaks while it is turned off.

 

Probably leaking when shut off but check everything anyhow.
You will need to remove carb to do a thorough cleaning job. If it had been sitting for awhile then it will need cleaned good anyhow. Take your time and do not break your bowl gasket, you can do this cleaning without buying a kit, unless there are other problems. Remember the fuel shut off valve, the one that should be designed into the riding mower. It really is bad to have a full tank of fuel just go away whether it be into your crankcase or onto the ground and expensive.
good luck

 

I had put some gas into the tank Friday evening when I was trying to get it started. There didn't seem to be enough power in the battery to get the engine to turn over a few times. Saturday morning I took the battery down to the Napa store to get it tested and found that it was bad so I purchased a new one and took it home and put it into the lawnmower. After I installed the new battery I was able to get the lawnmower to start. I also noticed that the gas I put into the tank was still there. I filed up the tank and was able to mow my yard.

It looks like I had the first problem because the lawnmower had not been used since last summer. After I used it this past weekend I have not had any problems with the gas leaking out. I do need to get a gas shutoff valve and install it so I can make sure that the gas is off.

Thanks for the help everyone.