Craftsman Flooding

My Craftsman 917270 with Briggs & Stratton Nikki Carb 287707 starts up and idles until I engage the blade or shift into gear and release the brake or quickly increase the throttle. Doing any of these things will cause it to flood, run roughly and cause gas to mix with the oil. Sometimes, the mower eventually shuts off and other times it just continues to run roughly and occasionally will begin to run smoothly after some time at slow throttle until I repeat any of the above actions, then it floods again. The fuel solenoid works fine and there is no flooding while the engine is off. The float needle and seat are good (I did replace the needle to be sure - no change. I cleaned the carb thoroughly and the gaskets look fine but have not been replaced. I purchased a used Carb on ebay and installed it; same problem (don't know if that carb is any good). Is this a problem with the carburetor or something else? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

It's the carburetor. Replace the needle and the gaskets between the carb body and the plastic insert in the bowl area.

 

I bought and replaced the bowl gasket and needle. It started right up, as usual, and ran kind of rough. I pinched the fuel line shut for a few seconds and it began running smoothly. Same process as usual. When I tried to engage the blade, it began running very rough, then died after a few seconds. I can sometimes keep it running at that point and begin the process of pinching the fuel line again to keep it running. After my initial post, but before my gasket and needle were replaced, I was able to start the mower, engage the blade very slowly and mow the yard on a slow speed setting without it acting up. When I finished mowing, I increased the throttle to normal mowing speed and tried to engage the blade slowly and the mower died. It did die a couple of times, as it had before, when I released the brake to begin moving.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Do you have the nikki carb on it or the walbro?

 

It's the nikki carb. The other nikki I bought does the same thing.

 

Take the white plastic insert out of the bowl and look down through the tube in the center. It should have a brass jet in it. Often, this gets lost when the carb gets cleaned and the engine gets way too much fuel.

 

Now we may be getting somewhere. The jet is missing from both carburetors. I'll try to find them or purchase replacements and let you know how it goes. Thanks.

 

Go to the BS website and enter Model Number and type and it will give you a parts list break down. You might also find it on E-Bay using BS part number. Good Luck

 

Yep, I think you'll find that cures the problem.

 

Yep you're right Cheese, I have done that before, cleaning carb and that pessky jet fall out into nowhere's land.Tried it without it ONE TIME and yes it will flood like crazy.

 

My new jet arrived yesterday. Today, I assembled the carb with the jet installed and the mower runs like a charm. Thanks, cheese (and mowerdude), for the help.

 

Alright!!!! Good job. We love it when something goes right. You are very welcome.