don't feel lonesome afriend of mine got gave to him a 21" selfpropelled,electric start he said that after w while of mowing it would die gas would come out of the carb. found part # ordered one from ebay put it on today start die start die,took it off clened up the old one mowed about 30feet started spitting spurtting then dead it will not hit a lick primer bulb is working insted of shooting a mist into the carb it spewes out of a brass pipe in the carb. could almost run back out spraye carb cleaner in it won't hit a lick.going to try one more carb. if it don't work to the dumpster it goes i even did a compression check 100psi that's good enough to run on.seems to me like troy bilt had a bunch of 2nds not up to standard quality passed them of to lowes and other places got a lowes hot line going to call tommorrow see what they say.not mine they may not talk to mei don't know when engine cos. quit rating engines in hp this is 7.00hp bought a new bolens it's ccs.

I was begining to think I wasnt going to get a response. I tried it with and without the air filter. Just setting there it runs fine no miss or hesitation, but as soon as I engage the blades or try to go up an incline the engine sputters and belches blackish smoke (too much fuel) Thanks for the input mownie...

***"When I engage the mower blades I notice a puff of black smoke from the exhaust area. It doesn't smoke when I am mowing, only just as the blade engages. Is this a problem?"*** Absolutely NOT A PROBLEM. What you are observing is simply a result of the engine governor "snapping" the throttle wide open, for a moment, as it reacts to the drop in RPM caused by "applying the load" of the cutting system to the engine crankshaft. The sudden loss of RPM causes the governor to try to increase the RPM to its former rate. The governor attempts to raise the RPM by opening the throttle plate of the carburetor. This action, in turn, will allow a greater volume of air to enter the engine, along with the greater volume of air, comes a lot more fuel drawn from the main jet. At first, the volume of fuel is great enough to result in a "rich mix", which is why you see the puff of black smoke. The engine quickly recovers its RPM and once it reaches its former RPM rate, the induction mixture has pretty much "leaned out" to a near optimum air/fuel ratio. If the load applied to the engine was greater than what the engine could handle, the governor would still open the throttle but instead of seeing a quick puff of black smoke........you would see a continuous plume of black smoke as the RPM got lower and lower til finally, the engine quit running.

Hi All, Thanks for all the tips; you actually helped me solve my issue (the clutch did not engage). Two years ago, I decided to buy a “Portable Car Battery Charger” instead of keep buying new battery every winter, which apparently was the root-cause. I used the “Portable Car Battery Charger” to jump-start the tractor then disconnected it and start plowing but this year the clutch did not engage. Apparently, the clutch need some power from the battery and since my battery is dead it simple didn’t engage. So, as a "temporary solution" I ducted tape the “Portable Car Battery Charger” to the tractor hood and I keep it connected after the initial “jump-start” and the clutch (and me) are happy. Next week, I will get a new battery for the tractor and a “Battery Buddy” to keep the battery alive during the summers. Hopefully, this post will save others some time & $$