Small engine repair guys ?

Need some help. Dad decided to buy me a riding mower randomly, which was really nice but it was one of those " it's works great just gotta do abc and xyz when doing whatever" deals. Had a day off today so figured I'd try it out. Thing basically sputters out after your press the gas down more then half way and does the same if you actually try to cut gras going any speed other than super slow. Replaced the little fuel filter deal since the old one looked pretty bad and that dent really help. Noticed smoke coming out after a little bit of cutting so I stopped and found fuel coming from this little deal. Is this salvageable ?

Wolfie , hard to tell from your pic , but it looks like you are showing the bottom of the carburetor in your last pic - round silver thing.

If fuel is leaking there , yup major runability issues. Probably leaking at the bowl gasket and needs carburetor cleaned out.

And if it's set out in the rain, it has water in the gas. That can be problematic.

.. spray some seafoam on it

Maybe a little in the carburetor as well.

Is the choke coming all the way off? Sputtering and smoke sounds like a choke issue plus the have a bunch of safety switches that can be a pain on the riders. Check the cable and the butterfly plate to see if the cable is moving it.

I’d pull or drain the tank and flush it, flush the lines and clean the carb add a new gas, gas filter, plugs and air filter. Take a wire brush to the flywheel and coils.

Don't know where your at but if it's been run with ethanol gas it probably needs a carb kit or carb replacement. If you getting gas dripping off the bottom of the silver thing (which is the carburator bowl) then it's flooding. That could be the choke not coming off as mentioned but I'm guessing the carb needs rebuilt. Ethanol is horrible on small engine parts

If gas is dripping from the carb, the float is stuck or the jet is messed up badly. Either way, just replace the carb. They're usually cheap enough that it's not worth rebuilding. While you're in their, give it a basic tune up...plug, air filter, and fuel filter. It should run like a champ after that

Ok thanks y'all gonna order a whole new carb come pay day

always start with drain all the old gas and put new fresh 91 octane in it , a little seafoam in the gas doesn't hurt either

I prefer startron for storage but I think sea-foam dissolves varnish in the carb better

amazing how much that can fix also not worth putting a new carb on with old bad gas or your back to the problem in a couple days

At the bottom of the carb, there should be a small cylinder threaded in with a wire attached to the bottom. It’s a solenoid to shut off the fuel when the engine is shut down. Unthread it, be careful, there should be a small rubber plunger on top of the solenoid post. You should now be able to remove the carb bowl. Clean it out, and the solenoid too. If it is leaking after reassembly, use a little blue silicon to get a seal.

change the oil also. i just got a old mower the same as you, started to smoke when we ran it. oil was like chocolate milk.

Good idea on the new carb. Easier and faster. X2 on the oil change.

Might check the air filter as well. Awhile back I mowed most of the yard and then stopped for the day. Mower had run fine with no problems. Got back on it a couple of days later and it didn't hardly want to run at all, and was smoking too. I had had a similar problem in the past when one of the kids pulled one of the spark plug wires off. I check that and they were both still on so I decided to put in new plugs as the mower is several years old and they had never been changed. That didn't really make any difference. I looked at the air filter and it was dirty so I tried blowing it out with air compressor but that didn't seem to help. I tried starting it with no filter and although it wasn't perfect it seemed to run better. So ended up buying a new air filter and put it in and it ran great. Sometimes it's just something simple. I'm not really a mechanic so I often just have to throw stuff at the wall until I get it fixed or give up and take it to a pro.

Nope. read the can. All you need to do is spray in the general direction of the unit with the wind at your six.
Miracle in a can they say.
Wolfie needs to drain the fuel tank until it is bone dry. I use a shop rag or old cotton T shirt and use it to mop up what doesn't drain out.
Change the spark plug (cheap/easy).
I would try to tighten the hex bolt at the bottom of the carburetor. If it turns, it may seal up.
See if it runs right.
Come back to me if it doesn't.

Used too much when it was new.

A little seafoam goes a long way with small engines , Ethanol gas is garbage as mentioned above premium gas without ethanol is a must , if your nervous about trying seafoam a little marvels mystery oil will help or even ATF all this modern gas is so dry it's hard on everything but mainly on small engines.

I'd also check the fuel line clamps just to make sure they aren't leaking also .

If it’s leaking from the bowl i’d just get a new gasket for a couple dollars, it’s pretty much the same work as replacing it. Put a few drops of acid in the ports and jets and hit it with some carb cleaner. Get you some fresh gas and i’d bet it would run good for just a few dollars. New spark plug wouldn’t hurt either. Doesn’t hurt either to hit the flywheel with some steel wool to clean off any corrosion.