Did you remove the jet up in the stem?

I removed the main jet...but didn't see how to remove the main nozzle. I only know these terms from looking at the parts list. Is there a trick to removing it?

I also bought a new spark plug tonight and now it starts up without having to put gas but still surges.

You could try removing the bowl nut, taking a straw from jet spray carb cleaner and push the straw up into the jet and give it a few good blasts. Take care to protect the finish on the deck if you do this. Otherwise, unscrew the jet and if the nozzel is loose, shake the carb until it drops out. If it was gummed, a little help would be nneeded to dislodge it. It goes up through the stem into the venturi. If it is not cooperating, carbs are stupidly cheap for most of these.

OK thanks I will try this tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully it works!

It is possible that an intake air leak is causing the surge. I would say that if you are confident in your assy of the the gaskets and spacer- a new carb could be an easy way out. Here's what i would do 1st. Be sure the tank is 1/2 full at least with fresh fuel. Do the following w/ an assistant and remember that you are working near a whirling blade. Safety first. Start the engine and direct bursts of Wd 40 or Gumout at the intake gasket and spacer area. A change in running indicates that a leak exists. If no change, pop the air filter and direct several long bursts into the opening of the carb. If there are deposits on the valve stems that are keeping them from working freely, it should get things working freely. The engine will respond when the spray enters. Let us know what happens.

Governors/governor springs do not cause surges. You have a lean condition due to carb problem or vac leak. If you cannot find a vac leak, complete carbs are cheap.

Certainly the most common surges are caused by a lean condition or a vacuum leak, but a hunt or surge can come from an over compensating governor, partially sheared flywheel key or even valve lash that is a tad tight.

So I tried the spray around the carb and there was no change. So I took the air filter off and sprayed it inside and that must have did the trick. The surging has stopped.
Thank you!

The thing to know is the carb spray removed enough deposits from the valves to now function as it should. These deposits tend to get there from deteriorating fuel. With that being said, it may be beneficial to use an additive such as Seafoam, Briggs Fresh Start etc in your fuel from this point on. It will maintain the fuel quality and also act as a cleaner to remove depoits. Good luck and I'm happy it was an easy fix.

quite a few designs to this carb - my 'autoreturn choke " troybilt mower has a lot of moving/interacting parts that are hard to see as you take it apart, and a drawing for it is hard to locate on the internet.. Mine has less gaskets than most of the diagrams i found, from engine I have only: a paper gskt, plastic insulator, sheet gasket, carb, gskt, steel spacer, second gasket, then airbox. On reassembly, the black choke control on top of the carb has a top pin that has to sit left of the 3" choke finger (steel bar). The choke position spring looked correct too, but it popped out of the drillhole but was still hooked on the arm. It looked OK, but wasn't able to force the choke to reopen properly . Once I
rehooked it in the drill hole, all was fine. Finally the govenor rod and spring were twisted around each other- they should be parallel, with the stiff rod thru the coiled portion of the spring only.

Hi all I'm a so called shade tree small engine mechanic for 30 years , and have gotten back into it for a hobby after a long time in absence and retired now . I have been working on some Troy Built Honda's and have hit a hard place in the road too with the surging problem on a Honda 160 cc model which I installed a new cheap Amazon Carburetor and its surging too and took it apart several times now . I have it sold - no money exchanged yet . But if I can't get this surging problem fix I'm going to just take the engine off the deck and put it on the shelf . I'm soaking now , not thinking it'll help after taking it off and cleaning and blowing it out after numerous times . Try to put my thinking cap on , I'm stumped . Can't just keep taking it off and on - heck with that need to go on to something else . Stumped in Jonesboro Arkansas

Marshall , as discussed previously surging is normally a sign of a lean fuel condition . Causal issue can be a improper air / fuel mixture , a vacuum or air leak from the carb base itself , a improper timing set up via a partial sheared or twisted key or improper valve adjustment . Secondarily carbon buildup around the valves or a tweaked governor spring can contribute to a irregular or erratic idle that some may describe as surging . The new efuel that is over 30 days old will cause performance issues unless treated as you most likely know lol. P.S. I pass on a Trade Secret " Startron" fuel cleaner research it !

Let's just hope there's a liquor store in Jonesboro Arkansas! Good points from Ewalk. Carb wise clean the main and the idle circuit below the screw on top. Think that these valve springs are incredibly light. Small OHVs can skip and stumble if there are deposits on the stem. Spraying some Marvel or Deep Creep through the intake as it runs up may be all it takes. of course, aim the exhaust away from your favorite neighbor....

Poor neighbor ! lol.

I had a similar problem. I'm no stranger to rebuilding carbs but this one has been an issue for me for several years. I decided to purchase a new Honda carburetor. Wouldn't you know the problem remained! After reading some of the posts, I decided to check the key for a partial shear. The key was fine. I debated taking the valve cover off because the valves couldn't be too tight because it has so much compression as it is very difficult to pull start. That should have been the key indicator that there was a valve problem since the exhaust valve unloader wasn't working. After prying off the valve cover, the exhaust valve was widely out of adjustment! So much so that it wasn't riding on the unloader pin. After adjusting to spec and putting everthing back together, it now runs like a champ!