Gas is spewing out of the hole on top of gas cap when i try to crank our push mower

SOURCE: Craftsman 5HP Mower does not start

try changing your primer bulb

SOURCE: my push mower won't stay running.

Change out gas for fresh stuff. Try it. If not, take off carburator and clean thoroughly. Clean the foam filter assembly as well. Make sure gasline and vent line are clear. Also check the vent cap on the fuel tank. Sometimes it can make a huge difference taking out the sparkplug and removing the filter on the carb, then take some carb cleaner and while your buddy pulls the cord, spray some carb cleaner through the carb. It will travel into the cylinder and immediately out the top, so be careful. No danger of ignition because you took out the sparkplug, but you dont want that stuff in your eyes.

SOURCE: 4500 craftsman 42'' cut lawn

That is the fuel pump. It feeds the fuel into the carburetor. I would take off the fuel bowl and see if there is any water in it. (1/2 in socket will work) Also you can take the line that goes to the carburetor off at the fuel pump and turn the engine over a couple of times and see if the fuel pump is working correctly. (shooting fuel out as the engine turns over) If the fuel pump is working ok, then I would suggest that the problem is with the carburetor.
If you find water in the fuel bowl, then there is most likely water in your fuel tank as well. Wal-Mart sells HEET, which will help to remove and burn the water from the fuel system. It may pop and sputter as the water goes into the engine. But keep fresh fuel handy and you can run the engine close you your house at full throttle and choke the engine if it starts to die, and run it until the fuel tank is dry. Then you can add the fresh fuel into the fuel tank ( I would add some more HEET to the fuel to help remove all of the water). Your engine should run like normal again.
IF you do not have any water in the fuel bowl and you have a couple of wires running to the bottom of the carburetor, then it could be the fuel solenoid is acting up and needs to be replaced.
If that is the case you will need the MODEL, TYPE, and CODE off of the OHV cover. It is stamped into the metal.
I hope this helps to answer your question.

Curtis Sewell

• 7482 Answers
• Posted on Sep 24, 2011

SOURCE: my craftsman push mower 626

Hi caseycart167...
You have to replace your primer bulb...and also check a few other things...see below
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Sounds like you also could have dirt/debris in your caburetor jets,fuel passages or a diaphgram that is becoming non-flexible.
Check/Clean/Replace your Air Filter, a dirty air filter can make your engine run to rich with fuel.
Note: ALWAYS USE COMPRESSED AIR TO CLEAN YOUR JETS AND PASSAGES, VERY IMPORTANT.
Note:Before you disassemble the carburetor:
Write down on a piece of paper and or take a picture of how the linkage attaches to your carburetor for later reference when you go to reinstall your carburetor.
Mark each piece with a awl, or some kind of sharp instrument that will make an alignment scratch before you disassemble the carburetor into separate pieces.
That way you will know which way it goes back together when you reassemble it.
Sometimes you can get by with priming the carburetor or by using a very small shot of starting fluid and letting it run a few times like that, and it will flush the gunk out of the jets,but most of the time you will need to rebuild the carburetor.
Be sure to check your fuel tank for water and dirt/debris, if there is water/debris then you need to clean your tank.
Check you fuel line/s condition...after a while they will degrade and need replacement.
Check/Clean/Replace your fuel filter if you have one.
When you remove your fuel lines from the carburetor be sure to make a drawing or take a picture of how the lines are connected to the carburetor.
Also a good time to take a picture for later reference for reassembly.
If the mower is over a couple of years old, then I recommend that you buy and install a new carburetor repair kit,because the diaphragm will get hard and that will cause it to be hard to crank.
The diaphgram may look good and flexible, but it can be deceiving and not act as a fuel pump as it should because it has become too hard and will cause hard starting,start and run and shut off, etc.
When you clean your carburetor, I recommend that you use a laquer thinner type cleaner to clean and dissolve the laquer build-up in the float and needle jet passages.
Be sure to remove all plastic and rubber parts before using the laquer thinner because it can dissolve the plastic parts and render them unuseable.
Be sure to use COMPRESSED AIR to blow out all the fuel and air passages.The higher air pressure is needed to blow some of the trash/debris from the fuel or air passages.
Be careful when blowing out the passages, because there are sometimes small rubber type seats in the bottom of some of the passages.
Keep in mind that the float (if you have one) for the carburetor must be level when you go to reassemble the carburetor or follow the instructions you get with the carburetor kit, or you could also ask the parts man that you get your kit from.
When you clean your carburetor and remove the jet screws, you will first need to lightly seat the jet screws.
But before you lightly seat the jet screws count the number of turns it takes to seat the jet screws from their original position.
Be sure to mark the turns down on a piece of paper.
That way when you put the jets back in, you know to lightly seat them first and then turn them back out to their original position before you started.
Once you have your carburetor cleaned/rebuilt that should solve your problem.
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