How to clean a Toro Lawnmower Carburetor, step by step.

To maintain your garden, you’re all set for a routine mowing day. You happen to find that recently your lawnmower from the well-known Toro brand is not running as well as it used to. The engine is either not starting or not generating enough power. A bad carburetor that might need servicing is one of the most common causes of engine problems. If you’re ok with doing some maintenance, then you’ve come to the right spot. This blog will give you all the details and help to fix your mower.

How to clean a Toro Lawnmower Carburetor, step by step: 

• Step 1: Detach the battery cables and pull out the air filter assembly under the hood to see the carburetor.
• Step 2: Detach the fuel lines to remove the carburetor and unmount the bolts.
• Step 3: Sweep the carburetor jets, bowl, and float using an aerosol cleaner spray
• Step 4: Reinstall, everything removed and check the engine for performance.

The carburetor is an engine component where the mixing of the air-fuel mixture takes place. The air-fuel charge is fed to the engine for combustion.  The carburetor jets get restricted quite often because of debris and fuel deposits due to the low quality of fuel and absence of frequent maintenance. As a consequence, the engine is showing decreased performance. In riding lawnmowers, due to added parts/components, the cleaning is a little tricky to do.

This blog post will give a step-by-step solution to remove and clean a Toro lawn mower carburetor.

Cleaning a Toro Lawnmower carburetor, step by step:

By breaking it into several small, easy to do steps that are listed below, we have summed up the entire process:

● Step 1: Before servicing, inspect the engine

Carburetors are engine components that, depending on their use, might need to be serviced after a specific timeframe. The engine’s symptoms, such as unusual noise while operating, rough running, not starting, and stalling, indicate the need for a clean-up of the carburetor. Suppose you are witnessing any of these symptoms above. In that case, it might be a good idea to check for some deposits on your carburetor that might not provide the engine with the correct fuel mixture for combustion.

● Step 2: Remove the mower’s carburetor

Taking the carburetor off is less simple in riding mowers than push behind mowers. We have mentioned the steps below for the disassembly:

– Step 1: Disconnect the battery terminals

Start by removing the key from the ignition switch if it is there. You need to ensure that the battery is not connected before you remove the carburetor, which could cause the mower to start. It would help if you lifted the mower’s seat under which the battery is located and disconnect one of its terminals to do that.

– Step 2:  Remove the housing of the engine blower

It would be best if you lifted the mower hood to have access to the carburetor. The following parts that are located under the hood need to be removed:

• Air duct: The air duct guides the air towards the air filter just under the hood.  Turn the air duct screws and remove the air duct from the mower.
• Air filter assembly: The air filter’s whole assembly comprises the air filter cover, the air filter’s housing, and the filter itself that need to be removed. By removing the screws, you should first remove the air filter cover, then the air filter, and ultimately the air filter housing.
• Blower housing: Blower housing is another portion that needs to be removed. To ensure that it comes off, you should turn the screws on its front and back.

– Step 3: Detach the fuel lines and the air intake

Once the housing components have been taken off, the carburetor might be visible to you. Please take pictures of the assembly using your smartphone before proceeding. This step helps you when assembling them back.

If you use a towel to collect oil spills that may come off the fuel lines, it assists. Remove the fasteners on the carburetor that fasten the fuel lines and remove the lines. Next, by removing its mounting screws, you should disconnect the air intake.

– Step 4: Pull off the carburetor

With the help of its mounting bolts, the carburetor is fixed. Using an appropriate wrench, remove those studs. Disconnecting the throttle rods and the throttle spring along with the choke rod would be ideal. The carburetor is now entirely removed from the engine.

● Step 3: Service the carburetor

The removed carburetor should now be serviced. You ought to follow the steps below:

– Step 1: Cleaning the exterior

You might see the jets of the carburetor externally, along with the throttle shaft. Use a carburetor spray cleaner on the throttle shaft and the visible jets from the outside to clean them. Make sure you remove the black deposits, and the shaft turns with ease. Clear any deposits that you see externally by spraying the cleaner regularly.

– Step 2: Cleaning the main jet and the bowl nut

Remove the bowl nut that is located at the bottom of the carburetor. The nut is the primary jet that secures the bowl, which draws the fuel and has the highest chance of getting clogged. To remove these deposits, use a thin metal wire and make sure the jet is free from any clogging. Then, spray some of the carb cleaners on the jet.

You know it’s unclogged once you notice the cleaner’s fumes coming out from the other end. Usually, with debris, rust, and deposits, the bowl is quite messy. Use the cleaner to spray on the bowl.

– Step 3: Clean the inner components

A float controls the amount of fuel with a needle’s aid after the bowl is removed. The float pin is often messy with the clogging, and hence you need to spray the cleaner onto it. Ensure that everything is clean and free of deposits.

Reinsert the carburetor components such as float, needle, bowl, and bowl nut after you’re done with the clean-up.

● Step 4: Assemble the parts back onto the mower

After you’re finished cleaning, reinstall the carburetor on the engine. Connect the springs and rods of the fuel lines, air intake, and throttle. Then fix it all back on the mower, including the air filter assembly, the engine blower assembly, and the hood. Connect the wires to the battery and restart your Toro lawnmower.

Related Questions:

1. Where is the carburetor located on a Toro lawnmower?

The carburetor is situated just beneath the hood under the engine blower assembly on a riding lawnmower. You need to remove the hood first. To view the engine, you need to remove the air filter assembly and the engine blower cover. The carburetor is attached before the engine. With its studs’ support, it is mounted on the engine and has the fuel lines and air intake connected to it.

2. Is it possible to clean a carburetor without removing it entirely?

You may not want to detach the carburetor from the body of the engine completely. It is often understood because the fuel lines and other mechanical parts such as springs, linkages that may be difficult to assemble would need to be detached. Hence, in that case, it is quite possible to clean a carburetor.

Using an aerosol spray or a carburetor cleaner is the best way, and you should do that by spraying it over the dirty jets and holes. To clean the bowl and the float, you can also unscrew the bowl nut. Without removing it, a decent quality carburetor cleaner or an air compressor can surely help you maintain a carburetor.

3. Can you clean a carburetor with wd-40?

Wd-40 is a solvent-based cleaner that cleans up metal components from hard deposits and residue. It is safe for use on components of a vehicle, like a carburetor. It breaks the carbon deposits without leaving any residue and ensures smooth performance. However, in using these aerosol products, one should be careful because they contain hazardous substances and can cause breathing problems.

4. How can I tell if my carburetor needs to be cleaned?

If you see the symptoms with your engine below, then it means your carburetor needs service:

1. Engine doesn’t start: the engine doesn’t start with a tank full of gas even after having primed it several times.

2. Engine Stall:  The engine shuts down after starting. It is a consequence of a clogged carburetor

3. Running lean: The engine gives a popping sound in the intake when the fuel quantity is lower in the air-fuel mixture. It is known as the lean condition of the engine. This situation is due to carburetor blockages.

4. Running rich: This is the opposite of what is described above. The engine delivers black smoke to the exhaust when the carburetor is flooded with fuel.

5. Flooded: Due to deposits, the needle gets stuck. Therefore, a significant quantity of fuel flows into the carburetor, causing flooding.

Final Remarks:

Clogged carburetors result from inadequate maintenance of the carburetor and the filters and plugs. Not cleaning parts at the right time leads to deposits formation. Also, the fuel’s consistency in a lawnmower should be tested since a poor-quality fuel leads to the formation of deposits. Gasoline should not be stored for more than 30 days in the lawnmower’s tank. The tank should be routinely emptied with the addition of fresh gas. Or else, if you intend to store your mower for longer, you might want to use a fuel stabilizer. Effective maintenance of the lawnmowers at the right time prevents potential replacements and upgrades in the future.