I do work for a rent-to-own company in my area and repair their equipment on site. They called, wanting me to schedule a call to another town and look at a new MTD mower. They said the customer can only fill it halfway and then it overflows. He said there is some kind of baffle or piece in the tank that divides the tank. I haven't seen anything like this before and looking at another new MTD tank, I didn't see anything like that. Have any of you seen this? I hate to ride to another town to look at something that is built the way it's supposed to be. I'm thinking maybe there is a built in baffled off area for the fumes to accumulate and then be burned by the engine the next time? (EPA stuff)

Hi all, I have a 4.5 horsepower Craftsman lawn mower. It's been a champ for a number of years, but this year it won't stay started. The spark plug is getting on in years, but it looks good, and I have no problem starting it. The air filter is dirty, but again, not sure that's really the problem. I prime it, and it starts and runs for a few seconds, then dies. I find that if I keep priming it, it will stay running for as long as I prime it. There is a small lever type mechanism on the carburetor that opens and closes, and that seems to be what's causing it to die. I can grab that little lever, hold it about halfway, and it keeps the mower from dying. Talked to my local shop, and they recommended carb cleaner. So I bought some gum-out, and some premium gasoline, and threw it all in there. It helped, definitely, but it still dies. (the gas is from last year, but I've done that every year) So, not sure what else to look for. This mower has no fuel filter, so I can't replace that. I took a video of me trying to run the mower (sorry it's shaky, but it's the best I could do by myself). [url=http://youtu.be/0d-a4nzzEyM]Lawnmower won't stay started - YouTube[/url] Any ideas for what to do to fix this??? Thanks, Jon