Trimmer won't start

[loehring]

This is a little off topic but you guys are some of the best mechanics I know so........

 

I have a 2 stroke trimmer and my sone decided it would be a good idea to put regular gas in it. He started it and it ran for a couple minutes until it quit. My wife asked him about the gas and he said he didn't know so he emptied the tank and put the gas mix in. I haven't been able to get it to start. It's not seized but it won't turn over. It the engine toast or is there something I can do to get it started again with the proper gas?

 

I'd rather not have to buy a new trimmer but I may have to. Any help would be appreciated.

[steamer]

May have burned out the plug. try a new plug. if that don't work then the rings and cylinder walls are scored, no compression. Time for a new trimmer.

[cowpuc]

This is a little off topic but you guys are some of the best mechanics I know so........

 

I have a 2 stroke trimmer and my sone decided it would be a good idea to put regular gas in it. He started it and it ran for a couple minutes until it quit. My wife asked him about the gas and he said he didn't know so he emptied the tank and put the gas mix in. I haven't been able to get it to start. It's not seized but it won't turn over. It the engine toast or is there something I can do to get it started again with the proper gas?

 

I'd rather not have to buy a new trimmer but I may have to. Any help would be appreciated.

 

"It's not seized but it won't turn over" = kind of hard for me to grasp because, IMHO and from my personal perspective (no offense intended), a seized engine means it wont turn over... Trying to read between the lines a little, I am assuming that you mean it won't fire but it will still rotate (or turn over) when you pull the cord?

Either way, most of the little two strokes in those trimmers are aluminum pistons/cylinders with steel rings on the pistons. If it didnt run long enough to actually seize the motor but ran until it actually quit, it probably did so because of compression loss.. Sometimes this happens as the piston "smudges" over the rings and actually causes the rings to loose seal against the cylinder wall.. Because of the simplicity of those little motors and them 2 strokes, oft times that can actually be seen by removing the muffler and, looking into the exhaust port - roll the motor until you can see the rings on the piston. Look carefully and you may see the smudging I am talking about.. I had one that did what I am talking about as a result of exactly what you describe. I took a dental pic and carefully scraped the smudge area until the rings moved freely again.. Put it back together and used that weed eater for several years afterwords..

Another thing that I have seen many times in small 2 strokes (including motorcycles) follows along the same idea as above only its the cylinder (or cylinder and piston both) that gets the "smudge".. While this normally happens only to the aluminum bored engines - I have actually seen the lack of lubrication (2 strokes are TOTALLY dependent on gas/oil mix for their lubrication needs) even in the iron bored 2 strokes = it can be that bad.. If, per chance, yours is that bad then yea - unless it has some form of sentimental value - toss it and pick up a new one BUT,, before you do - get together with your son - tear the old one down (NOTHING IS AS MUCH FUN AS A FATHER/SON PROJECT) just to see whats inside.. In the end,, you get to spend some time with him and he will get to see what can happen if he forgets to use mixed gas:big-grin-emoticon:

[rbig1]

the wrist pin is probably stuck. if it wont turn over. normally you can break it loose. wont be like new any more but should run good enough. tore apart a few engines and that's what is usually wrong unless it got real hot. may have to take carb and read cover off to oil it and turn it.

[Sailor]

"Won't turn over" Do you mean the cylinder won't move or the plug won't fire. If the engine is free then check the plug. Let this be a lesson, quit using your mustache trimmer on the bushes.

[djh3]

If engine will turn over, change plug. If its "stuck" you might be able to pull plug, fill what you can of cyl with like ATF or some light weight oil and let it soak for awhile. Try to flush the fuel lines and get pre-mix up to carb and a new plug and see if it will run. If the rings/piston are bad, I would say chance are it will cost more in parts than what its worth. I'm actually thinking if mine dies going cordless. Home Depot has a cordless job (I think its Bosch or Ryobi) that uses the same batteries as the drill saw etc.

[Oldodge]

I had that happen to one too. It would spin with the starter and I had spark. If I put a small squirt of motor oil in the spark plug hole, re-installed plug and pulled the cord it would run for a few seconds. The extra oil filled the ring gap until it burned off. Old trick on 4 stroke engines to determine if ring or valve issue causing poor compression. I knew then it was definitely a compression issue. On mine the rings were stuck big time in the piston. I just ended up replacing it.

[ToyOdie]

If you have a compression tester check the compression. A new 2 cycle should have @120 to 140 psi. Anything below 80 psi is done. At 80 psi you might be able to get it to start but it will die when it tries to idle. Don't beat yourself up, buy a new one. This is what I do for a living.