any two stroke experts

I have a mantis garden tiller that is about 10 years old has always started fine and runs like a champ. I am having trouble starting it now it acts like the kill switch is on when I pull the cord. it may take several more pulls or it may not fire at all. Once it starts it runs great. How can i tell what it is..thanks

 

you could try changing the plug. all a 2 stroke needs to run is compression, fuel and spark. They are very simple. Also try cleaning the carb. It most likely has a lot of varnish in it causing the problems.

 

Is the fuel from last season?

 

the fuel with the ethanol.... it f*cks ur carb. u have to pull it apart

 

It can do a lot more than just that.

 

It also causes the oil to not mix properly which is never good. Get premium for any 2T fuel.

 

no the fuel is new, i ran the engine last year until it ran out of fuel i always use stabil in the gas anyways

 

That's good. Will it ever cut out as if you hit the off switch but you're not?

 

Pull the plug wire and check for spark. Also, pull the plug and make sure it isn't wet and there is a gap. If you have been trying to start it for a while, it should actually be wet with fuel and you will need to wipe it off with a paper towel and reinstall. If there is no fuel or no spark, there is where your problem lies.

EthOH is not as bad as indicated unless you have a particularly high blend or you leave it sit long enough the gas starts to evaporate out of it.

 

nope when it's running it runs like new

 

Ok. Then it's not what I was thinking. If you haven't done this recently then I would buy a new plug and new filters(fuel and air) and see if it still gives you a hard time then.

 

I had a mantis and it was doing that, it turned out the motor was cracked and needed to be replaced.

 

Man that is not what I need to hear,that little thing busts up dirt and turns it into a fine consistency. This morning it nearly fired up once then afterthat dead again. The sparkplug was wet

 

Well one way to check this is a compression test, but I would still get a new plug for it and see if that fixes it. If when you take the old plug out it is not wet, you most likely have a fuel problem. Im betting on a partially fouled plug though.

 

yeah if its getting fuel and air in a good mixture id replace the plug. 2 strokes (at least dirt bikes) foul plugs very commonly.

if thats not your prob i would do a compression test. the rings could be going, though it should still run fine, just not have the power that it usually does it its the rings. or coiuld be a crack in the cylinder or somthing like that

 

Does it have a primer bulb? If it dooes, does that make a difference in starting? Have you tried spraying gas directly into the carb? If it starts up right after spraying gas into the carb, something is plugged on the low speed/starting circuit in the carb. It may look clean, but those carbs are so small a speck of dirt can clog the fuel passage and make starting impossible. A new carb is probably cheaper than a service visit to a dealer. I bought a new carb for my generator for less than $50. I just looked on mantistillerparts.com and saw a new carb is $49.95.

 

Throw a new plug in it.

 

SeaFoam works wonders in powersports motors. Might want to run some through your tiller when you get it fired up. Shooting a bit of starting fluid under the filter might just give it enough to get going, just don't go crazy with it.

 

We called mantis when the engine cracked they said a new motor is like $99 and easy to put back on.

 

I have one of the first model Mantis tillers with the SV2AE engine. I was having the same issues you are having.

Install a new plug and make sure you clean and re-oil the air filter or just replace it alltogether.

Once I did this, that sucker woke right up and ran like a champ.

Marc M