20 Most Recent Mantis 2-Cycle Tiller - Page 2 Questions & Answers

-Won out drive or driven gears. Good luck Mai

uh huh... your asking the magic question... what fuel line goes where on what ???

-Heat. Good luck Mai

First, I would mix up a batch of fresh fuel. Stale fuel will prevent a 2-cycle engine from starting. If it still will not start, you need to determine if the engine is getting fuel and spark. Remove the spark plug, re-hook it to the spark plug wire, ground the plug against a metal part of the head near the spark plug hole, and pull the rope to see if the spark plug is producing spark. You may have to do this out of direct sunlight to get a true reading. If you have spark, spray some starting fluid into the spark plug hole, reinsert the plug and try to start it again. If it starts then you have a fuel problem which could be a bad primer bulb or a carburetor problem. If it will not start then you may have low compression which is an expensive repair. Try these things and post back.

One reason that I have seen for no compression on a 2-cycle engine like the Mantis is severe scarring of the piston, rings and/or cylinder. This can be caused by not mixing the fuel with the proper amount of 2-cycle oil. The engine will normally run for a while but eventually it will die and not start again. If you have a compression tester, I would use it to test your compression. If it is lower than around 120, you may have this problem. You can remove the muffler and looking into the exhaust port with a flashlight to see if you have scratches going up and down the length of your piston. If you do then you are looking at a sizeable expense of replacing the short block. If you can do it yourself, you might be able to do it for less than $100 but if you have to have a dealer repair it, it might cost more than the tiller is worth.

Hi anon, if it's starting your 2/3rds of the way there. You have fuel and spark. Try and clean the air filter first and if that fails to keep it running then check that the choke isn't staying out. If all thats ok then it may be the carb gaskets.

Anon, it sounds like you need to get your Mantis serviced. If you cant pull the recoil rope it sounds like the coil is overheating and obstructing the fly wheel.

The first thing I would do would be to dump out all of the old gasoline mix from the tank and replace it with fresh gasoline mixed with the proper amount of 2-cycle oil.

Sorry I have never worked on this unit.

Mantis.com carries all the parts and manual. The Mantis engine is built by Echo and most repair shops carry parts as does Sears online parts. j

You might try a tank of premium fuel that does not contain the ethanol. Many of the small engines will not run properly with the fuel containing ethanol. "Some (not all of the gas stations-ask the attendants if their premium fuel contains ethanol) premium unleaded fuel does not contain ethanol" and it makes a world of difference in whether or not some engines run at all or runs like you describe, (if you get it started and running at all will not perform as it should).

No it don't have to be, mine does not fill completely. I have a trimmer that never has anything in it but it runs great. Good luck!

Sounds like the throttle cable is sticking or the carburetor butterfly is sticking. Squirt some WD-40 into the cable that attaches to the throttle handle and onto the mechanism the cable hooks to at the carburetor. Carefully actuate the throttle and see if the mechanism is moving smoothly. It may need several squirts and some actuation before it become free.

I posted this same procedure in a reply to this post: http://www.fixya.com/support/t2127031-tine_shaft_removal_mantis_2_cycle_tiller Follow the procedure for removing the worm gear shaft by removing the retaining ring at the bottom of the housing and extracting the worm shaft and other associated parts, Adding heat to the bottom of the housing to expand the hole will help the removal of the #458 roller bearing - with the housing in a vise, tap on the top of the worm shaft through the top hole of the housing with a punch or rod smaller than 1/2" in diameter. Then remove all grease from the housing - to eliminate the remaining roller bearing pieces that may reside in that grease. After total teardown and cleaning place the worm gear housing in a vise apply heat with a propane torch to the outside of the worm gear housing in the vicinity of the beaing location. Applying heat to this area will make the housing expand and make it easier to remove the remnants of the old bearing. With the housing still hot, take a punch or piece of 1/4" steel rod and insert it from the top hole, where the drive shaft goes in, there is a large ridge in the cast housing that the bearing mates against and immediately past that the bearing body will protrude just a little more into the cavity, with the rod against the bearing body gently and rapidly tap on the rod. You can look into the other side through the housing cover opening to be sure you are on the bearing and not the cast metal ridge. I just replaced that bearing this morning, be careful putting the new one in as well, they can be damaged very easily if you don't apply even pressure.

The primer bulb is on top of it, the housing the primer bulb is attached to is the carburetor.

The carburetor may need cleaned or rebuilt, empty out the fuel and put new in if you have not already. If that doesn't work remove the carburetor, clean it and inspect the diaphragm (small engine shops will do this as well if you don't feel comfortable). Echo engines are great runners but this is very common- rebuild kits and brand new carburetors are available online. The work can be very quick and easy if you are careful and patient, if not then leave it to the pros.