Splitter engine quit?

[60DRB]

Background...

Older 5 hp Tecumseh engine. Was having carburetor issues (rebuilt a couple seasons ago) so I replaced the carburetor this time. Also replaced all lines and filter.
After carburetor replacement the engine ran fine.
After running/splitting wood for a little over an hour, the engine rpm increased slightly for about 20-30 seconds then suddenly stopped.

-checked gas tank, looked near empty, so refilled.
-tried to restart, and it started but quit after a few seconds.
-will not start at all now...

-oil level is correct.
-air filter looks new.
-checked spark plug and it was pretty dirty, with black carbon and moist. cleaned that all off.
-pull start felt normal, then had a little more resistance than normal for a few pulls, then/now normal resistance again

I am baffled.

 

[Old-Feller]

Background...

Older 5 hp Tecumseh engine. Was having carburetor issues (rebuilt a couple seasons ago) so I replaced the carburetor this time. Also replaced all lines and filter.
After carburetor replacement the engine ran fine.
After running/splitting wood for a little over an hour, the engine rpm increased slightly for about 20-30 seconds then suddenly stopped.

-checked gas tank, looked near empty, so refilled.
-tried to restart, and it started but quit after a few seconds.
-will not start at all now...

-oil level is correct.
-air filter looks new.
-checked spark plug and it was pretty dirty, with black carbon and moist. cleaned that all off.
-pull start felt normal, then had a little more resistance than normal for a few pulls, then/now normal resistance again

I am baffled.

Did you adjust the carburetor? You should do a compression check. did you run an inline filter? I had a butterfly screw come out on one of the cheap carbs and it ingested it, I saw a puff of smoke and I said, Well it won't be long for this engine now! I no more than got that out of my mouth and it started clanging, That was the last day for that motor, I replaced the engine after that it was pretty tired anyway, No sense in rebuilding it.

Have you checked for Spark?

Those carbs usually have a black plastic limiter on them, Pull that off of there and adjust the carb. If you were running fuel with Ethanol in it, It may have sucked some of that gelled up junk into the carb, Remove the bowl and empty it out.

 

[Old-Feller]

Pull the air cleaner off and spray a little carb cleaner in the carb and pull the rope, If it fires it's got spark. That will eliminate that. Here's what you need to run, Compression, Fuel, Spark and Air. Check each one and you will find the problem, These are very simple to work on.

 

[60DRB]

Did you adjust the carburetor? You should do a compression check. did you run an inline filter? I had a butterfly screw come out on one of the cheap carbs and it ingested it, I saw a puff of smoke and I said, Well it won't be long for this engine now! I no more than got that out of my mouth and it started clanging, That was the last day for that motor, I replaced the engine after that it was pretty tired anyway, No sense in rebuilding it.

Have you checked for Spark?

Those carbs usually have a black plastic limiter on them, Pull that off of there and adjust the carb. If you were running fuel with Ethanol in it, It may have sucked some of that gelled up junk into the carb, Remove the bowl and empty it out.

The new carb has a screw/jet on the bottom of the bowl. I adjusted that after it was installed.
Tank is clean, all new fuel line, filter, fuel (no ethanol).

 

[sean donato]

Could have had some water in the tank that got in the carb from running it out of gas. Odder things have happened. Easiest thing to do is take a systematic approach. Spark is the easiest to rule out imo. Just need a spark tester. Compression on small engines with a compression release is about worthless imo, better to do a cylinder leak down test.
Fuel is the "hard" one. You put gas in the tank, do you have good flow to the carb? Are you sure it's going through the carb?

 

[Jaws]

Check for spark and replace the plug, Remove the adjuster screw from bottom of carb and check for fuel flow.

 

[Old-Feller]

Spray a shot of carb cleaner directly into the engine thru the carb and pull the engine over, If it starts for a few seconds its got spark, But as Sean said you can get a cheap spark tester for a few bucks, Harbor Fake carries them and they actually work.