What do you think a manual is going to do for you? They tell you HOW to operate it, not HOW to repair it.

First thing you need to do is to figure out whether this is a spark issue or a fuel issue. Take out the spark plug and clip the high tension wire back onto the top of it. Get your wife to use a wooden stick to hold the plug firmly against the cylinder head while you spin the engine over. Tell her to look for the spark jumping the gap in the plug.

Make sure that the plug is gapped correctly. If you don't own a gap guage, go buy one or stop doing your own repairs. There are some tools that are simply essential and a gap gauge is one of them. New plugs are not gapped properly. I would suggest a gap of twenty-five thou.

If you have spark, put the plug back in. Find the carburator and see if there is a bolt on the underside of the carb's float bowl. Shut off the gas at the tank and remove that bolt while holding a clean glass jar underneath it so you can capture everything that comes out.

Remove the bowl and look at the bottom of the bowl and what's in the jar. Do you see dirt, water or other stuff other than gas? If so, put the jar back under the carb and open the fuel shutoff again. Let some fresh gas run on through into the jar. Then...while that gas is running out, use one finger to gently lift the float up and see if the fuel stops. If it does, then let the float down again and raise it again to make sure all of that is working ok.

Shut off the fuel, clean out the float bowl and reinstall it. Turn on the gas and close the choke. The engine should start at this point unless the carb is gummed up from stale fuel. Buy a can of kwik-start fluid. Give a tiny shot of that into the air breather and immediately spin the motor over. If it trys to start, then you know that the spark is definitely ok and this is a dirty carb problem.

You could try a can of SeaFoam but in order for it to work, you need to drain the tank and the float bowl again in order to get the Seafoam into the carb where it will actually do some work. After the tank is empty and the empty float bowl is back on the carb, pour the can of Seafoam into the gas tank and let it fill the carb. Leave it for a day or so. The fill the tank with gas again, shut the gas off, remove the float bowl, empty it, let some mixed fuel run through to clear the line of 100 percent Seafoam, reinstall the float bowl, open the shutoff and try the engine again.

Another short shot of Kwikstart fluid (ether) might help get things rolling.

If this is one of those Briggs engines with the carb directly underneath the tank, then there is no float bowl. You can try the Seafoam in the tank to see if it will remove the gunk that is blocking up the mainjet but you ma have to dismantle the carb and soak it in TRUE carb cleaner.

If you have no spark, then you most likely have a coil problem.

"I looked on Sears.com, but couldn't find a manual there."
You can if you type "manual" in the box.
PN# 152999.

Although the Sears manual has an exploded view of the engine, you can get a better IPL from the Briggs website.

I happen to have the IDENTICAL engine on my Sears tiller. I also happen to be having the identical problem. Stabil works for a year, but not 3! I'm waiting for a bit warmer weather before I fix mine.

Either the carb diaphragm is cracked, or carb passages are clogged. I'm going to pick up a new diaphragm (B&S PN# 272538) before I start, since mine is already 14 years old.

Here is a link that might be useful: Briggs

After paying $85-$125 for repairs to my garden equipment, I decided to fix them myself.

I have manuals for all my equipment but none have the information needed for rebuilding carburetters etc.

I went to the library and checked out all the books I could find on Briggs and Stratton Engines and am glad I did. Most were OK but some were very good so I bought those off Amazon.com.

These jobs are simple and the first carb rebuild paid for all the books (4) that I bought with money left over. Since then, I have rebuilt several more for little cost and no 3-4 weeks for the shop to get around to the job.

In short, you will have better luck with aftermarket books (some by B&S) because they have the detailed information that you need and that will not be in the manuals.

Thanks for all of the information. It looks like a repair job is beyond my repair skills and tools at this time. Oh well, hopefully I'll have the time and inclination to do it in the future.

You don't have a screw driver?