You might be interested in this.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Toro Commercial 22156

Kudos to Park Plaza!! He misses his Tecumseh! Just what i have been saying all along--those old Tecumseh engines were good ones! All it took to keep them happy was having an owner who thought they were great!
I've tuned up scads of them, repaired the carburetors, cleaned a lot of carbs, repaired the owner's goofs, and run the stuff out of them, and they never gave up, nor treated me badly!

Thanks for the responses, although they are only making me more depressed. In order to avoid a new purchase, is this normal or is there something I can do to avoid this issue? Did Toro ever recall this carb? Why are they located in an area that is so confined that it continually gets dirty which furher declines the vane from properly working? I read to spray with lube...but wont that make more junk stick to it? And if the shaft is sticky inside the unit, that means it is warped, correct?

I'm not aware of any recalls on the DuraForce carburetor. I think the problems you're having are pretty typical of the plastic carbs on these engines--they're prone to warping. Are you mowing in dusty conditions?

Install a fuel shut off and an inline fuel filter. The Dura Force carb is way lean from the factory and can be very hard to deal with. You MUST keep it clean.

As per past comments, have you fixed the jets? I have no problem with mine after enlarging the main jet and it's 10 years old.

It is not a jetting issue...it is the vane not working...it does not move freely. I have read the housing warps making it stick.

In the long run, you might be happier if you go ahead and sell your 22261 and replace it with one of the following new units:

-Toro 22156 if you want or need a commercial unit

-Toro 20092 if you primarily mulch

-Toro 20192 if you primarily bag

The 20192 is a great all-around mower. Unfortunately they called it the 'Super Bagger'. Well, it does bag fine. But it also mulches fine. It's a much more advanced design than the 'Recycler' or 'Super Recycler'.

I guess my options are to replace a carb every couple of years or sink $500 into a new mower?

If I was not mechanically inclined, I would be screwed. I can at least buy the silly parts kit and build a new carb. Could not imagine how much it would cost at a shop.

My choice is sad being the LB cost me I think around $700 new a couple of years back.

Have you checked to male sure that the primer hose is not binding against the air vane?

Orange may have a point - you may be binding on the primer hose. That is a nasty fit. I've never had a problem with the governor vane on my duraforce once I get the primer hose on correctly - I've replace mine with a longer hose for easier routing. I'd still bore our the main jet as that gives better performance with a greater margin of variance. Nothing sounds better that a rejetted Duraforce hitting into it's "powerband"

Primer hose is spot on correct. It is the vane, it does not move freely in the housing. Assuming housing is warped.

My lawnboy was bought new in June of '04 and has the Tecumseh engine. Starts on the first pull always, never a problem. Plenty of power and quiet. I would dump that 2 cycle junk if I was you and move on into the 21st century.

Another angle on warpage - If you have not rejetted. Rejetting results in the engine running cooler - was documented by another viewer in an older message. Perhaps the extra heat caused by the lean jetting is warping the carburetor. I'm just guessing but could be worth a try.

I have a Duraforce Gold Pro Series Model 10525 that I just installed a new carb kit, primer, and ignition coil. No problems starting up. The engine speed control causes surging on 'fast' after mowing for about 5 minutes. Then the only way to keep mowing is to set the speed control to medium and it runs fine. Would this be related to a primer hose crimp or what?

Make sure your primer hose is ok. Then I would rejet. Should be easy for you as you know how it goes together. Here is an excellent article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rejet