Riding Mower Issue

[djhupnorth]

I have a Scotts (John Deere Sabre) tractor with a 16HP Kohler Engine. It starts great, runs great for 5 -10 minutes then stars idling bad and dies. I have changed gas, spark plug, gas filter. blew out gas line, replaced air filter, ran Sea Foam etc and it still does the same thing! Any Ideas?

[sjshaner]

I am not sure but I had a similar issue with a snowblower and it was the diaphram in the carb. It had a small tear in it. I got a carb rebuil kit and it solved the problem. I do not know if your tractor has the same type of set up for the carb but it does sound like a fuel issue. If anything, at least pull the carb and give it a good cleaning. Hope this helps.
Steve

[kevisip]

You should try using Gun Powder..or a new gas cap.
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Gas cap could be sealed with silicone...

[jim_golding]

I have a Craftsman with a 16.5 hp Kohler which has a fuel shut off solenoid. You may want to check to see if you have one. If it is not opening up all the way you won't be getting enough fuel to the carb. To me it sounds like it is not getting enough fuel. I would pull the carb and clean it.

[winter_time]

i know it sounds weird but i have had the same problem on my simplicity with the same motor and the dealer told me to try changing the oil because gas occasionally mixes in with the oil. i did this on mine and it started to run great again.

[skidoolis]

my snapper would do that ended up i accidently closed the vent on the gas cap i opened it all the way ran fine.yours might be partly plugged something to look at good luck

[2buckchuck]

Clean the carb.

[sxrron]

I had a similar problem and did all that you have done. It turned out to be the ignition module which was not a cheap fix.

[anonomoose]

All here are good suggestions, but I suspect it simply has dirt in the carb, which eventually sucks up into the tiny jets and then it quits running right.

Does it keep running if you choke it when it is warm? If so you are sucking fuel passed the jets that normally control and that surely means plugged jet, or dirt particles in the sed. bowl.

If it is a plugged gas cap, simply loosing the cap will clear that problem.

If it is a solenoid that went bad, check the fuel line when the motor stalls to see if the fuel flows freely to the carb...if so, it isn't the solenoid.

If it is the ignition module, by pass it with a simply solid state generic module which you can get thru Northern, or JCWhite cat. They cost about $12.

Also check the oil...if there is gas in the oil, you can smell it.

Also make sure that the air filter is not plugged cuz that can do what you describe too.

Do each of the above one at a time and isolate the issue...going from simplest to most expensive/time consuming.

That's what the mechanics do, and charge you $90/hr.

[lvr1000]

Dirt in the fuel bowl. As the engine pulls fuel, dirt gets sucked up to the jet which causes the engine to sputter. When engine dies, dirt drops back into the bowl.

[djhupnorth]

Thanks for the ideas! I will start with an oil change since it nneds one anyway. It's been awhile since I pulled a carb but I'll give it a try this weekend. I'll either have good news or pictures of a battered tractor.

[saber1]

had the same problem with my jd 2 yrs ago turned out to be the ignition module like sxrron said . good luck.

[harvest1121]

My dad just had the samething on a cub cadet it was the ignition module also.