Pressure washer running issues

[numnutz6383]

Howdy all, I'm hoping to get some advice with a malfunctioning Murray PW3200 pressure washer (which appears to be a rebranded Husqvarna PW3200) with a B&S CR059 engine. I'm not new to small engines and I can and do wrench on them quite a bit, albeit mainly two stroke.

A little background on the unit. It is a refurbished model that I ended being refunded for because the pump was broken out of the box, however the engine appeared unused (fuel tank never saw fuel and there was no oil in the crankcase).

It ran fine for a few uses (I have a total of 2 hours run time on it), but since it has developed a surging (especially coming down from load) and then shutting down issue, but at the same time it had an intermittent flooding issue, especially when being restarted after running/shutting down.

To me the surging pointed to starving for fuel (obstructed nozzle/emulsion tube, and the flooding to a stuck float or needle/seat obstruction. So I took the carburetor off and made sure it was clean. I'll say the carb looked pristine when I took it apart, as you'd expect from an essentially new unit. The float functioned normally, and everything was cleaned anyways.

Despite my efforts, it continues to exhibit the same issues. Does anyone have experience with these units?

 

[RCBS]

Long shot, but if it has #34 (Held in by #10), take it out and run a piece of wire through it (from top). Those engines are essentially Honda GX clones and every once in a while that port would get clogged...not usually on a new unit though. You can also try removing the main and putting a torch tip cleaner to the jet ports...clean/waller them just a bit. Older Techumseh updrafts had horrible surging issues. The newer GX series is slightly prone due to very lean jetting. I had several through my few years as a wrench that whooped me and new carburetors were installed.

Disclaimer...have never turned a wrench on one of these particular engines.

 

[numnutz6383]

Long shot, but if it has #34 (Held in by #10), take it out and run a piece of wire through it (from top). Those engines are essentially Honda GX clones and every once in a while that port would get clogged...not usually on a new unit though. You can also try removing the main and putting a torch tip cleaner to the jet ports...clean/waller them just a bit. Older Techumseh updrafts had horrible surging issues. The newer GX series is slightly prone due to very lean jetting. I had several through my few years as a wrench that whooped me and new carburetors were installed.

Disclaimer...have never turned a wrench on one of these particular engines.

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Thanks. I should've mentioned I already did all that you mentioned. First I ran a torch tip cleaning wire through then I drilled out the main jet a teeny bit with a 0.35mm drill bit. It improved the surging to a small degree.

In hindsight I think I also have an intermittent hydrolocking problem with it. Every now and then when I go to restart it the pull rope is essentially stuck until I pull the piston through slowly a few times. I think I may have it's a leaking needle? How do I test if the needle is leaking on one of these carbs with a float bowl?

 

[Al Smith]

Perhaps a tad bit late for the party but similar problems .It's a Toro zero turn with a 23 HP Kawasaki which has the same style carb. Grass dust found it's way into the fuel tank which some times makes it through the fuel filter and plugs the jet on the carb .I had been removing the carb and rodding it out with a tip cleaning wire ,pain the buttocks that .This last week,same problem so used compressed air through the fuel inlet and that fixed it .It only takes a teeny tiny little bit of dust to mess those things up .Those older types of carbs never did that but come along the EPA with emission standards this is what we have to deal with now . I have no idea what people do who don't know a ball peen hammer from a screwdriver except pay a lot out in service fees .

 

[EFSM]

In hindsight I think I also have an intermittent hydrolocking problem with it. Every now and then when I go to restart it the pull rope is essentially stuck until I pull the piston through slowly a few times.

Could this be pressure building up in the pump? Try squeezing the trigger on the wand if the recoil seems stuck. Some pumps have an EZ-start valve that releases the pressure automatically. Did you get the running issue resolved?