No fuel coming to carb , 18.5 ohv briggs engine . had head off, cleaning inside of dirt and carbon . adjusted valves .004 & .008 . thanks mkb

Should go to the valve spring access cover. Is the PCV line and keeps engine from building up pressure internally.

To clean the carb you will have to remove it from the engine and give it a through cleaning with small diameter wires run through the ports and blowing out the gunk with low pressure air or WD40's little red tube. From your description, you need to do this as the ports are clogged and not letting proper amounts of fuel through to the engine.

good luck.

Hello! How long have you owned it? Question is directed at the carb and fuel pump...I would suggest rebuilding the carb with kit and replacing the fuel pump at the same time...see photos below...There are a couple of different fuel filters; one for a non- fuel pump (gravity feed) and one with a fuel pump...Your engine requires the fuel pump filter...dirt and varnish build up in the carb and pump especially if the wrong filter is installed...Buy a gallon of carb cleaner with the tray inside...
Guru...saailer

Genuine OEM Part - Manufacturer #808656...$18 Fuel Pump




Genuine OEM Part - Manufacturer #691035...$6 Filter




Genuine OEM Part - Manufacturer #797890...$45 Rebuild Kit


I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/david_6df67de3b14de867

How long did it take to do this job..did you clean the the carb first...then the oil or vise versa...the reason I as is ma y if these motors are equipped with an electric valve on the carb that go bad or stuck allowing the gas to continue flowing after shut down eventually in the intake valves and into the crankcase...causing smoke and high crankcase pressure and out the carb and exhaust...no use changing it WILL happen again..the fix is simple put an inline gas shut off and shut it off if only shut down for minutes...happened to my 18 horse Briggs...just shut it off every time you turn the engine off..Hope this helps..good luck..

The surging you are experiencing sometimes indicates a dirty carburetor. Somewhere inside it, something isn't right. Their is a possible solution that doesn't involve carburetor disassembly. Go to the auto parts store. Purchase a 15 oz. can of Chem Tool Berryman B-12 fuel system cleaner. The prescribed dose (for autos) is 1 ounce per gallon. You can increase this dosage to be sure and get the job done. Add it to your machines fuel can. Add some to the machine (maybe after draining off the old fuel). Let the machine run and idle with the new gas and cleaner cycling through it. It WILL clean the carb and probably the intake valve of the motor. You should see positive results.
A couple of other things though. I suggest installing an inline fuel filter between tank and carb. It will help greatly. There is also the possibility that if this 6.5 HP engine is an OHV engine, that the valves may need adjusting. On a standard flathead (L head) type engine removal of the valves is required. Adjusting the valves on an OHV motor is easy. You just access the clearances from the Briggs website for your engine. Remove the cover with the 4 screws in it. Using a Torx driver or screwdriver and a box wrench, with a feeler gauge (the spark plug needs to be taken out too) YOU can adjust the valves. This is required periodically and makes the engine easier to start and it performs MUCH better. Try these things and post back if needed. Good luck.

This does not sound like a head gasket issue. Your description indicates fuel flow issue. Items involved are fuel filters, fuel itself, and the carb.

First thing to check would be the base governor setting.This should be done by someone with small engine expertise.Can be fatal to engine and do bodily harm if not done right.Other things to check would be air leaks where carb manifold attaches to heads.Remove air cleaner assembly to gain access to carb linkage and manifold.You will need a can of carb cleaner to perform this check.Start engine and hold throttle at just above idle speed and carefully spray area where manifold attaches to head,do this on both ends of manfold and at carb base,area where carb mounts to manifold,if leak is present the engine will either die or their will be a change in rpm,s.If no leaks are found in these areas have carb cleaned,it is very likely there is dirt in the carb.You can do the same as above,start engine and hold throttle just above idle and spray carb cleaner into carb,engine will try to stall when doing this,only spray carb cleaner in carb while engine is running.If this doesn't help have carb cleaned and adjusted.Info from small engine tech with forty plus years experience.

It is much more likely that there is an ignition or carburetor issue. If the mower is less than about 10 years old, it may be an OHV (overhead valve) engine. An overhead valve engine like the one pictured above is unlikely to have developed carbon build-up. If it is an older flat head (side valve) engine, it might have built up carbon deposits after several years. If the spark plug screws into a finned flat plate cylinder head, it is flat head in which case unbolt the bolts around the perimeter of the head, and scrape the carbon off the head, being careful not to scar the interior surface or the gasket surface, and re-assemble.

sounds like you sucked up dirt in the carb needs to be taken off and cleaned

have you checked the air filter,if that is clean I think I would replace the carb, diaphram.