Toro: 74325
Serial:250002187
Briggs 286H77 0165E1 Code:0412222ZE
(Those last two on the code look like ZE but having a little trouble being certain)
This is my personal machine. I've had it for many years now, I think like 15. I've done regular maintenance and am very pleased with it. I've never done anything to the carb and sure enough, when I went to take it out of the shed for the season yesterday, I had a carb leak. Ended up hydro-locking on me. Long story short, I got her into the garage and now I'm digging into it.
So this engine seems very similar to a briggs I recently posted about on a Craftsman with a Nikki Carb. It's my first time cracking into one of these as I went with a new aftermarket on the previous post.
I'm not worried about cost on this because I plan on getting another 15 years out of her. I could go with the aftermarket carb, as I did on the other one, an OEM, or a kit. I think the reason this one was leaking was that it seems to have a plastic needle with a little spring-loaded mechanism in it. The spring is very week and I was thinking that maybe the culprit. But that's a very inexperienced opinion. (the kit I saw appears to have a different type of needle. Is that normal?)
Pride makes me want to go with a kit and keep this OEM but I see there's a replacement OEM for about $95 on amazon, as well as aftermarkets for less than $20. What would you guys do if it was your own machine?
One side note, I found a little something stuck to the side of the inside of the bowl. I can't figure out if it's just some yuck or an actual part. It looks like a glob of hot glue. I can't for the life of me figure out how it got in there, which makes me think it's a part. It's kind of gooey but kind of solid, both at the same time. I'll put a link to a pic.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qFDHvKAamDMYJXUU8
Lastly, (sorry for so many questions in the same post) One thing I've noticed in my short time working on machines is that after cleaning a carb, if I let fuel fill the bowl too quickly, the needle may not seat properly. At least that's my observation. In other words, if I feather fuel in slowly, I never have a carb leak after cleaning. But if I just hook up the tank and let fuel rush in, it will sometimes leak. I'll often fill the carb slowly with my auxiliary fuel tank before hooking up to the gas tank, especially on machines without a fuel shut off valve. Is this even a thing or my imagination?
Thanks.