Gator Carburetor Question

[humblesmith]

I acquired an old gator.......it's 16 to 18 years old, about 1250 hours on the meter, which I think is legit, since I'm good friends with the owner. It won't start, and I took it to the local JD dealer. I have had two conversations with two separate service men from this dealer, both of which went like this:

Me: I have an old gator that won't start. I think the mice chewed the wires.
Man: How long has it been sitting?
Me: Over a year.
Man: It's probably going to need a new carburetor.
Me: Why?
Man: The gasoline sits in the carb and eats it up.

Now, I don't claim to be the brightest guy in the world, so I'd like someone to enlighten me. It seems to me this is bogus, since:
1) they stopped putting solvents like benzene in gasoline almost 20 years ago. Today's gasoline won't hardly dissolve a plastic cup, let alone a carb.
2) Even if you run the engine daily, gasoline sits in the carb every night and flows through it every time you run it.
3) this is not a 2-stroke engine, where oil can cause varnish that clogs up the needle valve.

So I don't see how gasoline can "eat up the carb" and automatically need a carb just because it sat for a long time. I can understand how the carb might wear out after 18 years, or get varnished up and not be worth the time to rebuild it. But this whole "sit and eat it up" seems bogus to me.

Can someone cure my ignorance?

Thanks

 

[Ron Muhlenkamp]

The ethane in today's gas breaks down after a month and is caustic.

 

[JD Seller]

Also ethanol is a great solvent. This newer gas can very well gum/corrode a carburetor up. You did not post what exact model you Gator is but parts and $100/hour labor can very well make a new carb. be cheaper than rebuilding the old one.

 

[machineryman]

I take it you haven't been keeping up with today's ethanol problems with small engines. It's been all over the board. From my take the ethanol is a corn/sugar based chemical. It will take on water the same as alcohol. When sitting in the carburetor it goes dead after 30-60 days. It obviously doesn't sit in your car as you normally gas up every few days and the lines and jets are larger than a small engine. When the fuel sets up it turn somewhat white and gets hard. It clogs up all the small ports. I recently worked on an engine and the carb was like a rock. I threw it away as there was no way to unclog. Buy a new carb and try the machine, but also be sure to clean out the tank and put in all new lines. The fuel pump is also a suspect problem. The dealer is 200% correct. I suppose you could let him work on it at shop rates.

 

[humblesmith]

I admit ignorance of the subject. I have not kept up with any ethanol issues, so it's entirely possible. All I know is that I've left gas in my Briggs & Stratton lawnmower every winter, and left gas in the gas can all winter, every year. My current mower is 10 years old and every spring it's started first pull on last years gas. The wheels are out of line, cables have broken, the dog chewed the pull cord in half, but the mower has started on the first pull for the last nine springs with last years gas in it.

But this would not be the first thing I've been wrong about, and likely won't be the last. I don't have time to work on it right now because I'm working on a broken JD tractor. So I just left it at the shop and will have to pay the $400 they'll charge me for a carb replacement. Thanks for the advice.

 

[machineryman]

One can use stabil or other additives to preserve life of fuels, however stihl and other saw manufactures figure 45 day shelf life. I always burn up my extra fuel as a mix with new fuel for cars...