Try using the Briggs website to find your Illustrated Parts List (IPL). If you find your carb kit under a Briggs number, you can use that # to search for a source to buy from. At what time is this flooding occurring? If it is "flooding" only when you park it in off duty cycles, you need to install (and use faithfully) an inline cutoff valve.

Here is a link that might be useful: IPLs and more

Carb loads up at idle. Shouldn't need any adjustments.

If the carb "loads up at idle", I presume you mean the engine begins to run roughly and produce black smoke from the exhaust. Is this correct? If so, you have a problem with the float, needle and seat assembly. Either the float level is too high, resulting in the fuel level rising high enough to allow excess fuel to be drawn out of the main jet and emulsion tube (in spite of the very weak venturi effect present at idle with throttle plate closed). Or.... the needle valve is not sealing off the fuel inlet after the float valve presses the needle against the seat (the effect on fuel level at idle will be the same and excess fuel will be fed into the intake resulting in overfuel, rich mixture, black smoke.

Thats exacly what I meant! You can actually see the gas spitting and puddling up. I found the solenoid and float stuck when I first took the carb apart. After cleaning things up I believe that the rubber seat on top of the solenoid has gotten too hard to seal properly causing the bowl to load up which I why I think it's time to do a bebuild. Like I said I went from no gas to way too much.

Uhhhh.......the solenoid does not have a role in the problem.

Actually it did! Needed a whole rebuild kit

The solenoid being "stuck" would have contributed to the original problem of "not getting gas out of the carb". The solenoid will have zero effect on the problem you are having with "excess fuel at idle". If you want to explain why you feel the solenoid is somewhat responsible for the problem you see now, I can better clarify why it is not a culprit.

Honestly, a good cleaning should remedy any flooding issues due to a bad needle/seat unless they were damaged. The other poster is correct, a bad solenoid will not contibute to an overfueling. In fact, the solenoid won't even cause an engine not to run as it only shuts off fuel to the main jet...not he idle jets (which the engine runs on until under a load).

I suspect the JD price on the kit is about the same as the Briggs price. Really.

Did the rebuild, replaced the fuel filter and pump. Now if I apply full choke at high idle all is fine. Take the choke off and the idle goes up and down up and down. What gives??

tps, have you run the engine with "a load on it" yet. If you are only running at high curb idle, you can expect the governor to "hunt" fruitlessly for the sweet spot. These engines are meant to "work" and so everything about "normal operation" means it should be "doing something aerobic". The governor is designed to open or close the throttle plate in an attempt to keep the engine near the manual setting you select with the "throttle cable or linkage". Because simply operating the engine is not much of a load, the carburetor is greatly oversized for that task. If you open it up completely with no load, the engine will try its darndest to spin at 30,000 RPM because the carb can deliver way more fuel than is required to spin up with no load. Because the engine is able to spin up so quickly when unloaded, it will rev beyond the setting of the governor faster than the governor can react. When the governor finally intervenes and pulls the throttle plate toward the closed position, the RPM is already higher than the governor can allow, so now the governor tries its best to shut the throttle plate altogether. Now, because the engine has been deprived of fuel (throttle plate closed, no venturi action, no fuel drawn from main jet) the engine loses RPM so quickly that it is drops BELOW the RPM setting of the governor. Guess what the governor tries to do next. The governor now senses that the engine needs more fuel, so it opens the throttle plate, venturi action is immediately restored and fuel is drawn out of the main jet. RPM jumps up again and exceeds the HIGH setting of the governor and so the idle goes up and down and up and down and up and (well, you started it). Some governors feature a "buffer spring" to "somewhat discourage" hunting under no load conditions. The fact that the engine is able to react quick enough to cause the governor to hunt is an indicator that this engine "is no loafer". Put that thing to work under a load and report back (with a grin, I hope).

when the governor is hunting that means that at the load it is at, whether lite load or heavy, means the engine is lean. if it is chugging and blowing black smoke, it's rich and the governor is going to put the carb at wide open. hence, if it's hunting, the carb is either misadjusted, plugged, or the spring could be stretched and does not have the right tension. in some cases if it has always been this way and no amount of cleaning will fix it, then you will have to replace the carb. it might have a piece of metal in a passage way or, as i have found on a few 2 barrel brigs carbs, the transition slot for the throttle blade is cut wrong. in this case, when you engage the blades, it picks right up and runs like it should or when you choke it slightly without a load it runs ok. without a load, and the throttle control at fast, the throttle blade is just barely open and is running on both idle and main circuits in the carb. when you put a load on it is when just the main or high speed circuit is being used. so at no time should the engine hunt more than one or two surges when the engine is reved up or put under a load, then it evens out and runs at the rated loaded or unloaded speed.

Guess I need to clarify what I'm doing. When the mower is running at idle it is fine. When I give it gas OR ride it up an incline a full throttle it wavers up and down in RPM's unless the choke is fully applied. Wouldn't going up an incline produce the same load as engaging the blades? Thats why I'm thing I have a vacuum leak or bad seal somewhere, though maybe I'm not drawing consistent fuel but some air as well!

I am experiencing this problem with my JD L111. At low idle, the engine goes up and down. With choke, the engine sounds great. At high idle, the engine sounds great. How do I fix the low idle issue?

Add 1oz of SeaFoam fuel additive per gallon of fuel and run a couple tanks through it. Otherwise, the carb needs to be cleaned.

I also had a problem with surging .I opened the carb and soaked it in hot water and dish washing detergent. Then cleaned all the jets and ports with compressed air. When I put it back and started the engine there was no surging. Got it fixed.

***"I opened the carb and soaked it in hot water and dish washing detergent."**** Surely it wasn't caked up with stubborn tomato sauce stains again!!!

No, mownie I spilled wine all over it!!!

I did it to remove outside dirt.

Careful with that whine. Stuff gets expensive. :^)