Weed Eater Fuel line/Carb help needed

Greetings all.. need a little help here. I have an XT125KT weed eater. All of the fuel lines were rotted away as it hasn't been used in a few years, so I did not get the chance to see what went where. I replaced all the lines, new in tank filter, new primer bulb, and went through the carb.

Here's what I have come up wth for fuel line routing based on what I have read on the net:

small line coming out of tank: has filter on end in tank, goes to fuel pump side of carb
large line coming out of tank: sticks up slightly in tank, goes to primer bulb side labeled "tank"
large line from "carb" side of bulb to other port on the carb

This is a Walbro WT298 carb, if that helps.

My problem is I can't get the primer bulb to prime up. Fuel is making it down both lines, but it won't prime up.

1) Do I have the lines going to the right places?
2) what would cause the primer bulb not to prime? It does create suction (with no lines hooked up I can hear it), and is a new bulb

What else should I be checking? I used to be able to fix these things with my eyes closed when I was a kid, but it's been a good 10 years since I had to go through a small engine carb.

Thanks in advance!!

 

What are you expecting to see as 'primed up' ?
looks like you've got the lines hooked up right.
If the lines are devoid of fuel, what you should see when you push the bulb is:
fuel being pushed to tank thru the return line, and,
fuel being drawn into carb from the line that comes from tank with the filter on it.
It's not actually a 'primer', where it squirts mix into carb throat, rather,
it's an air purge bulb, purging carb when you push it, and, sucking fuel into carb when you release it.
if everything is working right the bulb should be somewhat filled with fuel, altho i've got some that don't and still run good.
it's job is to purge carb of air and fill carb with mix, then choke it and start yanking rope, etc.
hth

 

I would expect the bulb to at least have some gas in it. It always did in the past, but it is bone dry now no matter how much I pump it.

Thanks for confirming I have the lines right, this was a big question I hadn't been able to answer.

Will let everyone know if it runs once I get back out there to finish it.

 

I'm thinking since you say the fuel lines were rotton & it hasn't ran for a couple years, the inside of the carb is rotton too.. the diaghraghms get stiff with old age (as we do) & the carb probably needs a good cleaning & most important, a new kit installed... Roger

 

I agree with hopkinsr2 on the diaphragms.
Also if the primer bulb is acting normal but not pulling fuel, it may also need replaced.

 

I have replaced all fuel lines, primer bulb, and also put a kit in the carb.

I got some time to mess with it tonight, all fuel lines are hooked up as described in my original post. I still can't get any fuel in the primer bulb, but I discovered another problem I have to figure out. When the fuel lines are hooked up, I have gas dripping out of the carb (it isn't mounted back on the engine yet). So, I've got to figure out what is wrong in the carb.. most likely something I forgot to replace, but that's the next step. If I can get that fixed, I can then worry about getting it running from there.

What would cause gas to leak out of the carb (not from the gasket area, from the port that bolts up against the engine) with the carb just sitting there?

 

.

 

Just to clarify.. I also cleaned the carb when putting the kit in.

My problem now is the gas is flowing out of the carb as soon as you hook the fuel line up to it.

 

You could try switching the lines at the carb.
I "think" there should only be one large line, going from the primer to the tank...could be wrong here though.
Not sure which side you are considering the fuel pump....
Otherwise the carb could still have a restriction or incorrectly assembled.
How did you clean it?

 

Carb Cleaner. I tried switching sides and had the same result, makes me think something is still wrong in the carb. However, I replaced all the gaskets just as they came out, put them right back in the same way with new ones. Also replaced the needle and the fuel screen. From what I can tell, that's the only part of these carbs that you can get apart. The side I am considering to be the fuel pump - there are 2 sides that you can take off on the carb - one with the 4 screws on each corner where the diaphram is, the other has the 1 big screw in the middle. The side closer to the 1 big screw should be the fuel pump, right? (that's what i saw on an online drawing)