[TxGreaseMonkey]

I stayed up late last night rebuilding a Walbro carburetor to my Weedeater Trimmer ($78, Home Depot). I suspected the Pump Diaphram was weakening and causing the engine to die. I bought a common Walbro K10WAT rebuilding kit ($7.45, eBay). After replacing everything, the trimmer started the first time, ran well, but would not restart afterwards. I also replaced all hoses with yellow Tygon Fuel and Oil Line (3/32" I.D. x 3/16" O.D.) and cleaned the fuel pickup, air filter, and exhaust port.

After tearing the carburetor apart again, the problem was the Micro Screen, located beneath the Pump Diaphram--it became clogged, even though I could not see it. Previously, I had tried cleaning the screen with brake cleaner spray. After I picked out and pressed in a new screen, everything ran great. Hopefully, my experience will benefit someone else.

Dealers say these trimmers should last 2 to 3 years. Because of the long growing season in Texas, my trimmer gets used a lot--it's 13 years old and I expect it to last many more. I use synthetic 2-cycle oil, rated API TC, mixed 100:1.