"then rev up and down then quit running. " Reving up and down indicates fuel starvation not flooding. First I would clean out the carb float bowl. Removing the hex plug on the lower right hand side of the carb and letting it drain MAY accomplish this. Blow compressed air into the main jet which is located just behind this plug if you have the means. DO NOT do this when the engine is hot or where gas might cause damage to suroundings. A better way would be to remove the top of the carb. This must be done carefully as the gasket needs to come off with the top, it may be stuck alternately to top and lower part and there are at least 3 different variations of this gasket which will be hard to find without buying a carb rebuild kit. Blow compressed air into the various orifices found in the upper surface of the carb bowl, especially the brass looking one after thoroughly cleaning out any foreign material in the bottom of the bowl, water, rust particles, etc. IF this does not help, does the fuel line run through the cooling shroud? IF so, there may be obstruction of the cooling fins causing overheating of that cylinder bank and vapor lock in the fuel line where it runs through the cooling shroud. A temporary rerouting of the line or an external gas tank may help find if this is the problem. Walt Conner

Ok , I have I believe to be a 2011 Craftsman riding mower with a 48 inch cutting deck and a 24hp Intek V-twin Briggs & Stratton engine that was given to me 3/25/18 of this year. Engine model #446677 0463 E1. Previous owner said engine started backfiring while mowing then died. Since I had done auto mechanic work for several years and the mower still looked almost new I accepted it. Got it home and charged up the battery and give it a whirl. The engine completed about 4 or 5 revolution’s and it backfired. So did a little research on this issue. Found out it could be several things. So I removed the flywheel and checked for a bent flywheel keyway. It was fine. Next I pulled the valve covers and what do you know. Sitting on the mower on the left side it had dropped the pushrod out of the lower exhaust tapper and sucked it into the engine. The valve guide and spring looked fine and were not stuck as I could compress the spring and valve without any hard spots. On the intake valve it had about .0012 clearance and the pushrod was barely hanging on. The right side of the engine was almost as bad finding both pushrods barely hanging on and not dropping out of the tappers. I have tried to use a telescoping magnet and run it inside the engine just to the right of where the pushrod sets on the lobe. I’m not sure if the pushrod is steel or aluminum? Anyway no luck from that point of entry. Next I removed the oil filler tube and went from that angle but the magnet only grabbed the crankshaft and wouldn’t allow me to move the magnet all around in the crankcase to retrieve the stray pushrod. It got dark on me so I had to stop for the night. Tomorrow I’m going to drain the oil and remove the drain valve and give it a try that way and after the oil is drained I had thought about jacking up the opposite side of the mower so that the pushrod might be loose in the crankcase and slide or roll to the side of the crankcase where the filler tube and oil drain valve are and maybe get lucky and be able to retrieve it. What I would like to know is the exhaust pushrod steel or aluminum and do you have any suggestions that wouldn’t require the engine to have to be torn down ! I sure could use a engine repair manual showing how to separate the engine case if needed to extract the rougue pushrod. Anything you can suggest or can me to download would be awesome. Thanks Tim F.

"I disconnected the vacuum hose that runs from the fuel pump to the dipstick, and oil ran out of it. I am certain I didn't overfill it" "(I don't see any gas in the oil.) " Well what you describe sure sounds like the carb float needle leaked and contaminated/overfilled the crankcase oil. Quite common with these engines. Don't you check your oil before starting the engine when you go to use it? That may or may not account for the other problems. You need to check if you have compression, spark, getting fuel. IF all is good here, remove valve cover and see if push rods/rocker arms are in place and working OK. Walt Conner

I take it the warranty out by years? IMO that's why they put time limits cause they know most people won't put to many hours or do any maintenance on or in two years. When it won't start that's when you need to troubleshoot it. IMO first I would do would pull the plugs see if you getting fire at the plugs (pretty blue spark, no orangish and of course no spark) It you got spark spray carb. cleaner down the spark plug holes and see if it will start up on the carb. cleaner. If it fires of the carb. cleaner and dies you still have carb. issue or compression lost. I afraid you going to have to take the heads off and look in the comb chamber at the cylinder walls, valves and head gaskets. seems like your problem occurs after the engine heats up and of course that would be the ideal time to take compression when it quits also. my guess would be cracked head, or something causing it to loose compression, that;s why you need to take the compression when it dead, if you got 130 PSI or more then IMO the bottom end, valves are good but that IMO don't over rule the head gasket or cracked head. I would also take the cooling fin covers off and see if I see any sign of leakages before I go tearing it apart. there alot of engines that will fit Based on the shaft size and length Course it easier to get the same type engine (HP number not that important but hookups are. if they are the same then HP don't matter as long as it close to what you've got. Most problems with going with different brand are the muffler and starter setup and throttle cables arrangement and brackets and of course if it will fit under your hood cowl. For the price of honda you can get you another used mower. and fixing the old one if you can do it yourself would be the best choice money wise IMO.