The lawnmower in question ran fine last year until **something** happened in the middle of a mowing. Then it just quit and wouldn't restart. Like many a homeowner, one of the first things I checked was the spark plug. Sure enough, it was completely fouled. Clean it off, still no start -- it's hard to get that much carbon off. So a new spark plug. The mower started up just fine and ran for about ninety seconds. The new plug had already fouled!

Okay, it sounds like oil is infiltrating into the chamber somehow. But how? I bought Small Engine Care and Repair hoping to find the answer in a troubleshooting guide. But when it arrived I found that there is really very little troubleshooting information. Yes, there is a troubleshooting section. Fouled spark plugs? Yes, on page 51 but it just talks about cleaning them, nothing about what might cause fouling and how to repair it. Similarly, the book talks about cleaning carbon deposits off the cylinder head but doesn't say much about preventing the deposits in the first place. The only recommendation is to use unleaded gas and clean the head once every 100 hours of operation.

To be fair, the book does describe the critical systems of small engines (compression, fuel, ignition, lubrication, etc.) well, shows you how to tune the engine, and routine service. The advanced repair topics -- as far as they go -- look to be well done, too. Photographs are excellent and used with good effect.

The book would be great for anyone wishing to perform **routine** maintenance and repair on a small 4-cycle engine. But if you've got bigger problems, pass on it!

49 of 54 found the following review helpful:


Small Engine Care & Repair : A Step-By-Step Guide to Maintai  May 18, 2000 By Will Singleton
Anyone wanting to get started in small engine service, needs this full illistrated detailed book from briggs and stratton. The book breaks down the internal components of the small engine and describes them in full. The large colorful pictures helps those with little knowledge. If you are interested in small engin repair or own a lawnmower this is a definite title to add to your collection!

21 of 23 found the following review helpful:


Check to see if you really need this  Apr 27, 2007 By scott_from_dallas
OK, here's the deal on this book: if you either need to do some repair and heavy maintenance on your B&S (or, as I like to call, BS) engine, or you already have part of it apart and don't know how to get it back together, then this book will be helpful. However, if you have already torn your mower apart, put it back together, but are still having trouble honing in on the problem, I don't think you'll get much out of this book.

I was in the latter position up until, well, today. I had taken the carb off, "rebuilt" it, and readjusted it several times. But I couldn't get my mower running. Turns out the smallest internal part of the carb -- the needle seat -- has to be put in a certain way. This book doesn't go into anywhere near that much detail. This is only one example of which I'm sure there are others, particularly when you start messing around with the head and piston.

You can only learn engine repair and diagnosis through experience with (hopefully) a mentor. Online forums can help be that mentor in many cases. If you have no idea how to get started, then yes, I recommend this book. But if diagnosis and other small issues are your problem, I don't think this book will help.

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:


Very Good Book On Briggs and Stratton Small Engine Repair & Maintainance  Jul 17, 2005 By Konan
Good colorful pictures to start off with. Good step by step pictures. This books explains the maintainance and repair of Briggs and Stratton small engines. Good book to use with the Briggs and Stratton factory L-head service manual. The carburetor section explains only one of several Walbro carbs - the factory manual has a much better illustrated parts teardown picture. If you own a Briggs and Stratton small engine such as a lawnmower, pressure washer, go-cart, etc. and enjoy do-it-yourself maintainance and repair projects this is a good book to buy.

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