# Log splitter quit running



## memory (Nov 25, 2013)

Well crap, I get the log splitter out to work on our pile of wood, it starts right up, let it run for a minute or so and off I go. I was splitting a piece of pine, it kind of struggled to split it but as soon as it split the piece, the motor died. I thought I heard something pop but couldn't be sure if that was the wood making that noise or the splitter. I tried to start it back up and no luck. If I keep it on choke, it acts like it wants to run but just keeps speeding up and slowing down, almost dying. As soon as I take it off choke, it will die. It does not even think of starting with the choke off. 

The motor is a 5hp Briggs and Stratton. This motor has a filter for the fuel but you have to take the carb off to get to it, which is kind of a pain. And that also means possibly replacing the gasket that goes in between the carb and fuel tank. Well, maybe that gasket will not have to be replaced since I just replaced that not too long ago.


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## jthornton (Nov 25, 2013)

memory said:


> Well crap, I get the log splitter out to work on our pile of wood, it starts right up, let it run for a minute or so and off I go. I was splitting a piece of pine, it kind of struggled to split it but as soon as it split the piece, the motor died. I thought I heard something pop but couldn't be sure if that was the wood making that noise or the splitter. I tried to start it back up and no luck. If I keep it on choke, it acts like it wants to run but just keeps speeding up and slowing down, almost dying. As soon as I take it off choke, it will die. It does not even think of starting with the choke off.
> 
> The motor is a 5hp Briggs and Stratton. This motor has a filter for the fuel but you have to take the carb off to get to it, which is kind of a pain. And that also means possibly replacing the gasket that goes in between the carb and fuel tank. Well, maybe that gasket will not have to be replaced since I just replaced that not too long ago.



Sounds like the main jet is clogged, many Briggs carbs you can drop the bowl to get to the main jet. Of course it is much easier if the carb is off the motor.

JT


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## srb08 (Nov 25, 2013)

Did it have old fuel in it?
I had the same thing happen to me a couple of years ago. I drained the old fuel and ran fresh gas with Seafoam through it. Problem solved
Now, non ethanol fuel is all I run in any of my small engines, haven't had any more issues.


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## memory (Nov 25, 2013)

It did have a little fuel left in it but not that much. I just topped it off with new gas. I will empty the tank and see if it looks dirty in there.

I do use non ethanol fuel in the saws, blowers and trimmers, any thing two cycle but nothing else. Maybe I will try that from now on.


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## TreeTangler (Nov 25, 2013)

I just seized the 5 hp briggs on my splitter on Tuesday. Found an 8hp Tecumseh to repower it. Anyway, I'm assuming it's the older style 5 horse with the fuel tank mounted under the carb? If so, there's really no easy way to go about it. Pull the carb off the motor and separate it from the tank. Clean the screen on the fuel pickup and pull the carb apart and clean it up.


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## memory (Nov 25, 2013)

TreeTangler said:


> I just seized the 5 hp briggs on my splitter on Tuesday. Found an 8hp Tecumseh to repower it. Anyway, I'm assuming it's the older style 5 horse with the fuel tank mounted under the carb? If so, there's really no easy way to go about it. Pull the carb off the motor and separate it from the tank. Clean the screen on the fuel pickup and pull the carb apart and clean it up.



Yes, the fuel tank is mounted under the carb. I already know it is a pain because I just had to take it apart in the last year. I just hope that I do not destroy the gasket in between the carb and tank when taking it apart. I just replaced that gasket when I had it in the last year.


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## TreeTangler (Nov 25, 2013)

memory said:


> Yes, the fuel tank is mounted under the carb. I already know it is a pain because I just had to take it apart in the last year. I just hope that I do not destroy the gasket in between the carb and tank when taking it apart. I just replaced that gasket when I had it in the last year.


 
If you just replaced it last year, it should be in good shape still. If it comes to it, pretty much any type of fuel safe gasket maker can be used.


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## memory (Nov 25, 2013)

But I am worried that the gasket will be stuck and rip apart when I go to take it apart like it was last time I took it apart.


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## MrWhoopee (Nov 25, 2013)

jthornton said:


> Sounds like the main jet is clogged, many Briggs carbs you can drop the bowl to get to the main jet. Of course it is much easier if the carb is off the motor.
> 
> JT


 I'm with JT, plugged main jet.


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## jthornton (Nov 26, 2013)

For all of my small engines that I don't use at least weekly I use straight gas that I have Sta-bil added to the gas. I've never had a carb problem since I started using Sta-bil.

JT


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## memory (Nov 26, 2013)

I started working on the splitter this morning but before I started taking things apart, I tried to see if it would start. And guess what, it did. Started right up no problem just like the last time. So I let it sit there and run for several minutes cycling the ram back and forth and never acted up. Of course, I didn't have a piece of wood close by to test it out. Now I don't know if I should still go ahead and take it apart or go out and try to split some more wood. The last time it died, I was in the process of splitting a piece.

If it was a clogged jet, would it run after it sits awhile? Maybe whatever was clogging the jet came loose. 

This may or may not be related but I did notice some gas leaking while it was running. It could be the fuel cap because lots of times, when I fill it up, I will fill it too full and it will come out around the cap. But I didn't think I filled it up that much this time. I will get a flashlight and see if I can tell where that is coming from. Again this may not be related.


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## ETpilot (Nov 26, 2013)

If it sat for a while with an empty tank it could have had a bit of water in the tank. I have a riding mower that I have had unused behind my shop. It will not start. When I checked the fuel supply from the tank it had water in the tank. I am going to drain the tank, replace the old fuel line and see if it starts. It could also be the fuel pump. The mower was given to me and was not well cared for.


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## savageactor7 (Nov 26, 2013)

^that's a reasonable possibility...

...and NO to the OP leave well enough alone as long as it's running now. Good luck with it and everyone have a happy Thanksgiving.


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## shutup-n-cut (Nov 26, 2013)

Could be the diaphran in the carb. On that type it is the rectangular plate on the side of the carb that has 4 small slotted screws holding it on , under there is the diaphram , it acts as the fuel pump on that set-up. Ethanol in fuel not actually friendly to those.
As others said pull the tank and clean the pickup tube filters on both tubes. The short tube is where the fuel actually comes from. It flows up the long tube and is pumped into the little cup in the fuel tank and then sucked into the engine from there.


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## MrWhoopee (Nov 28, 2013)

I have experienced this sort of thing when gas was allowed to evaporate in the carb regularly. The additives left behind accumulate and soon there is enough crud to clog a jet. Yes, the gas COULD re-dissolve the blockage. I always run my carbs dry by shutting off the fuel and letting it run 'til the engine dies. Eliminates the deposit problem.

As for what to do now:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!


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## memory (Nov 28, 2013)

Just a little update to the problem. I am still having issues.

I split two different times without any issues. I didn't put new fuel in it or nothing since it seemed to be working and I wanted to get that fuel out of there. Both times I split wood, the splitter never game me any trouble. Started right up and just kept going until I quit. When I go to split the third time on the same fuel, the same thing happened. It started right up and ran for a few minutes and just quit. Tried starting it back up and no luck. It would try with the choke on but as soon as I took the choke off, it would die. I thought maybe I was out of gas since I split quite a bit of wood with it without putting any fuel in it. So I fill it up and still no luck.

My first step is to get the old gas out of there and put some new gas in it and add some seafoam. If that doesn't fix it, I will tear it down and check the intake screen and make sure it isn't clogged.

I don't understand this. Why would it run fine for awhile then just quit working? If the intake screen is clogged, could all the junk fall off from transporting it and maybe not pick it back up until the fuel gets starts to get low?

BTW, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.


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## bert0168 (Nov 28, 2013)

Your now on the right track.

Sounds like there is either something in the tank or the bowl (or carb) that is getting sucked into it as the fuel level drops, especially if it has one of those pick-ups that has a stem with a screen on it that protrudes into the tank.

You said you added fuel and it ran fine 2x. By the 3rd time the fuel level is low again, sounds like a dirty tank to me.


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## philoshop (Nov 28, 2013)

Yep. Junk and/or water in the tank.
Water will get mixed in when you refill the tank, but will eventually settle out so that the pickup tube grabs nothing else. Could be a couple of minutes, could be ten before it settles.
Non-ethanol gas in everything except the daily drive. End of the splitting session, turn the fuel shutoff and run it dry. Then immediately fill the tank, especially the plastic tanks, to prevent condensation.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!


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## memory (Dec 21, 2013)

I am still having issues with my log splitter. I took the carb off and checked the intake screen and it had some junk on there so I cleaned that off. At the same time, I dumped all the old gas out of the tank as I noticed there was some stuff floating around in there. Put some new gas in there, shook it around a little and dumped it back out to try and get as much as possible out. 

I didn't notice anything else wrong with the carb but then again, I don't know much about these things. I put it back together and ran it the other day and it was running fine for a few minutes, then started to sputter really bad. It was worse when there was pressure on the engine. It never did die but came close a few times. It let it run a few minutes to see if it would come out of it and it didn't. I siphoned all the old gas out and put some new gas in it and let it run a couple more minutes and nothing changed. 

I started to mess with it today and before I started tearing everything apart, I tried to start it and it started right up. It was kind of sputtering a little but not as bad as the other day. So I shut it off and try to start it again and it will not even try to start. 

One thing I did notice is there is a metal line that goes from the carb to the side of the motor that has rubber boots on both ends. On the engine side, the rubber boot is cracked pretty bad. Now what does this line do? Is it for air? 
Here is a pic of it. From this pic, you can't see where the line goes into the engine, it is below the muffler but the boot looks the same as the other end. I know the line is not connected. I was trying to put my finger over the hole to see if I could feel anything while I was trying to start it.

I thought about taking it somewhere to have them check it out. But like most people, I like to be able to do things myself. The problem is on stuff like this, I am not very good with small parts. I almost always forget how everything goes back together. Like most people, I can take stuff apart no problem but the problem is putting it back together. And plus sometimes I don't have the patience.


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## zogger (Dec 21, 2013)

I believe/think/guess that line acts as an impulse type fuel pump for the carb, and should be intact and in good shape, etc.


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## hunter72 (Dec 21, 2013)

Philoshop has it Water in gas. Small eniges do not have enough Vacuum to draw gas through carb.Water is heavier than gas.Drian gas and dry gas tank with rags.Refill with Fresh fuel.

Good luck.


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## memory (Dec 21, 2013)

hunter72 said:


> Philoshop has it Water in gas. Small eniges do not have enough Vacuum to draw gas through carb.Water is heavier than gas.Drian gas and dry gas tank with rags.Refill with Fresh fuel.
> 
> Good luck.



I have already drained the tank a couple different times although I have not dried the tank with rags.


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## hunter72 (Dec 21, 2013)

Water is heavier then fuel and will be the last out of tank. I have seen a thimble or 10 drops of water get by the fuel pickup in tank and the engine falter.


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## nathon918 (Dec 21, 2013)

its most likely the fuel pump, needs to be taken apart cleaned and replace the diaphram/gaskets, alot of times when they work on and off like you describe, and it has a fuel pump. more times than not its the pump... and if youre going to do that you might as well clean the carb while youre at it.
if youre not good at remembering how it goes back together, then look for a diagram/parts breakdown of the carb so you can see how it goes back together.


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## mesupra (Dec 21, 2013)

This might seem a bit weird but if I were you, you me, I would yank the Briggs off that splitter and replace it with a 6.5 hp harbor freight predator engine for $99.00, and sell the Briggs on Craig's list for $40-70. Total investment/upgrade of $60 max for a new easy starting quiet engine, spend the extra timed saved splitting more wood.


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## mesupra (Dec 21, 2013)

Oh yea, the time it would take to rebuild that Briggs carb and pray you got all those little linkages and springs right you will have been able to swap motors.


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## Johnny Yooper (Dec 21, 2013)

I have a splitter built by my uncle back in 1978; the engine was a 1970 Tecumseh 10hp; no recoil, just wrap the cord around the pulley and pull; ran ok up until a few years ago.....became difficult to start and keep running, hard getting parts for it, finally yanked it off a couple years ago and went with one of those $99 Harbor Freight specials. Does not have the power that old Tecumseh did back in the day, so for any real gnarly pieces, I take smaller slabs. Sure is nice having a recoil and even though it sits outside, it does start with one pull, even during the winter, that's sooooo nice.


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## Maykoppa (Dec 30, 2016)

I had the same problem with my Briggs I replaced the fuel tank , Carb , & Magneto but the problem was the Kill wires running from the Magneto & Control panel had been chewed on by mice & were grounding out on the engine or other metal parts so they were making the engine run poorly or not at all Try looking at that. Everything I replaced was fairly easy to do Just be sure to take pictures as you disassemble everything so you have a reference to put it back together properly


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## litefoot (Jan 1, 2017)

I'm pretty decent at fixing small engine carb issues, but I had a snow blower fuel problem the other day that left me scratching my head. I threw up my hands and bought a Chinese carb for $18 and solved the problem. One thing not mentioned (or I missed it) is a blocked tank vent. Try running it with the fuel cap loosely fitted and see what happens.


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