I have this weed whacker, purchased new...9 years ago. It has always run a little rough, but it worked. Last time I used it, it just stopped. I changed the plug, and visually inspected the gas lines and carb. I tried to start it by priming the bulb, and after a few pumps of the bulb it stays in, like there is some kind of vacuum. The primer bulb stays in. After a few minutes it's back out, but the same thing happens after a few pumps, and it still won't start. I cleaned out the gas lines, is it a carb. problem? Not sure what to do from here.

Thanks

 

There a couple of different types of primers on engines. One ends up squirting a little fuel directly into the carb throat and essentially gives it a souped up choke type mixture = really rich.

The other pulls fuel through the carb reservoir, filling it and sending the fuel on to the fuel tank. It, for the most part is just an air purging setup that gives you "fuel only" in the carb for the starting and running. All position carbs have that a lot to get the air out of the system. Then the choke is more effective for starting. This is the one you have.

The primer would have a little back flow checking device in it - that could be messed up and sticking. Or the path it pulls fuel from the tank could be plugged. That could be in the carb/tank/lines.

Since it has a history of running rough you may need carb work.

But before you invest in the fuel system, take the muffler off and look inside the cylinder for scoring on the piston and/or cylinder walls. If either of those are scored you'll need to do a compression check on the engine. If you can't get over 100# think about scrapping the engine. Buying new would be cheaper than a rebuild. Then sell any of the good parts, like the ignition coil, casings, etc. to recover some of your costs.

If everything is good with the engine, put a carb kit in it or replace the whole carb. Sometimes the latter is just as cheap.