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localdj77

312-8 new purchase but now an issue

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localdj77

Hey guys!  I'm a new guy here and finally found a wheel horse I like......so I bought it!  It is in pretty good shape but I have a carb issue.

 

The seller said that every once in a while it would die while mowing and he would just quickly clean the main jet. 

 

I'm not a carb guy so thats a problem in itself.  Regardless, here are the symptoms I had today.....

 

I started it and let it idle for about 5-10 minutes at very low idle.  It ran great with no misfires.  When I was ready to move the tractor to the back yard I throttled up maybe 30%...dropped it in 2nd and eased the clutch.  She moved just fine for maybe 10 seconds that stumbled a little....then ran fine....stumbled again and maybe about every 5 seconds.  Not just a misfire but a stumble....lost power.  I throttled up some more but it didn't seem to help. 

 

Does this carb need rebuilt?  Anything I need to look into??? 

 

It has an electrical fuel pump and a newer fuel filter.

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WH nut

What motor, magnum or k series.

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Wishin4a416

Welcome to Red Square. Did you try adding some choke when it stumbled to see if that helped?

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hm12460

Hard for us to say with information provided. Could be an ignition issue also. Sounds like a good carburetor freshening and a good tune up may be in order and see if that helps. If you have a Magnum engine it will not have points, condensor, or an external coil.

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skrusins

I question why a electric fuel pump? Make sure it's pumping gas, make sure the cap is vented, and if it's a K series

clean and reset the points.

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WH nut

If its a K I would change condensor

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953 nut

:WRS:   skrusins may be onto something, I had a problem sort of like this and a new gas cap was the cure. However, the first thing I always do is put in a new Champion H-10 plug, lots of times that is all that is needed. Another thing that helps is to run some "Seafoam" fuel conditioner in the fuel.

 

If pulling the choke helps then it is starving for fuel; could be the previous owner has the float set too low. If pulling the choke makes it worse the float could be too high. These are a few things you can try and then let us know what you observe.

 

:text-welcomeconfetti: 

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chazm

WELCOME TO :rs:

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ericj

i had a 94 314-H that every time i would change directions and the tractor bounced around the tractor would cut in and out or more of a stutter i replaced the mag but made no difference. i was planning looking at the carb but somebody at the big show decided he wanted it real bad so he took it home. after talking to people over the years since i'm convinced it was the junk emission carb, but i guess i will never know for sure now 

 

 

 

 

 

eric j

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localdj77

What motor, magnum or k series.

 

Sorry I'm a rookie.....how would I know?

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localdj77

Welcome to Red Square. Did you try adding some choke when it stumbled to see if that helped?

 

I have not but I can try to do that tonight.  I'll fiddle with it a bit tonight.  Depending on what I find I might pull the carb off and have a friend check it out.

I question why a electric fuel pump? Make sure it's pumping gas, make sure the cap is vented, and if it's a K series

clean and reset the points.

The guy said that the mech pump went out and that since it was fairly common he just through an electric on it.  Do you think I should get the mech back running???  Drawbacks or plus either way???

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localdj77

Thanks for the welcome guys.  I known these were good machines thats why I bought it!  I'm hoping to score a blower to help out the neighborhood next winter and have a good mower in the meantime.  Thanks in advance for all the help!

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SethL1984

Welcome to Red Square!  

 

btw, I'm thinking this is a fuel delivery issue. I dealt with something similar myself this winter; bogging and stuttering. Idled fine but under load wouldn't last long! Check the entire fule system from the fuel tank back. 

Tank, shut off valve (be sure it isn't clogged! Sneaky issue.) Inline fuel filter, and finally the fuel pump and carb. 

 

The guys here are always a TON of help! Give them as much info as possible, let them respond, and it'll get worked out well!

 

Again, WELCOME!

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localdj77

Welcome to Red Square!  

 

btw, I'm thinking this is a fuel delivery issue. I dealt with something similar myself this winter; bogging and stuttering. Idled fine but under load wouldn't last long! Check the entire fule system from the fuel tank back. 

Tank, shut off valve (be sure it isn't clogged! Sneaky issue.) Inline fuel filter, and finally the fuel pump and carb. 

 

The guys here are always a TON of help! Give them as much info as possible, let them respond, and it'll get worked out well!

 

Again, WELCOME!

Thanks!  Didn't even know it had a shut off! Is it under the tank or.......

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SethL1984

It is; looking at the tank from the back, you should see a right angle shut-off coming out of the fuel tank. You can look inside the tank with a flashlight and see the inlet of the shut-off.

You should be able to tell right away if its clogged or not, would be very obvious. Then keep moving down the line!

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VinsRJ

If the prior owner stated he went into the carb a number of times, it is my bet the float has been messed with too...  a carb float issue which will cause a symtem of running great and then stumbling... I personally would pull the carb, give it a complete cleaning and reset the jets and carb float to factory specs.

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localdj77

It is; looking at the tank from the back, you should see a right angle shut-off coming out of the fuel tank. You can look inside the tank with a flashlight and see the inlet of the shut-off.

You should be able to tell right away if its clogged or not, would be very obvious. Then keep moving down the line!

 

If the prior owner stated he went into the carb a number of times, it is my bet the float has been messed with too...  a carb float issue which will cause a symtem of running great and then stumbling... I personally would pull the carb, give it a complete cleaning and reset the jets and carb float to factory specs.

Thanks guys!  Yeah I think I need to go through everything....just to be sure.  I do that with every car I buy so why not this?!?!?  I'm going to empty the gas, check the valve and line, replace the filter, sprak plug, and any other line that looks bad.  What about that pump?  Should I care?  Should I stick with it? 

 

I'm also going to pull the carb and check clean it.  Where would I find factory specs?  How about gaskets? 

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SethL1984

We'd need to know what model engine you have first. It will be on a sticker, on the engine shroud, facing the front of the tractor.

 

When I replaced the pump on my M14 this last winter I used a mechanical one, couldn't be happier. It also makes sense to use a mechanical one considering every engine on a WH is mechanically driven, NOT EFI. So it on'y makes a simple system more complicated. 


We'd need to know what model engine you have first. It will be on a sticker, on the engine shroud, facing the front of the tractor.

Concerning where to point you in reference to manuals, and everything else!

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localdj77

Gotcha.....I'll get that tonight.  I'd also like to know a reliable source for parts.....to maybe get another fuel pump!

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SethL1984

Jacks Small Engines is a good place to start. There's also NAPA, Tractor Supply, ect. Most times you've gotta do the leg work to find what you need at the best price.

 

And don't over look local parts houses, sometimes they can surprise you with pricing.

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bmsgaffer

rcpw.com does good for me for new parts.

 

kelly or dennist on this forum for good used parts, joes_outdoor_power on ebay is a member of this forum and has lots of good used parts for sale.

 

Also, I have a snowblower in Cincy for sale that works well and I need to get rid of it! (I am out of storage space)

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boovuc

If I may chime in.................that Kohler, regardless if it's a Magnum or a K series, needs to run full throttle when your moving the tractor. They are designed to run this way. If you run the tractor at lower throttle while the transmission is engaged, you risk running the motor hotter than what it was designed for and you are not getting the designed splashing of motor oil particularly in the top end of that motor,

Running full throttle verses a lot of idling will also help keep that carb and your cylinders/piston heads from carboning up as much.

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leeave96

Sounds to me like you got a fuel delivery problem. Ok at idle, but then you gas up and add a load, it stumbles, sounds to me like not enough gas is getting to the engine.

First things first though - go to the manuals section and download the manuals for your tractor and a brochure while you're there!

Since this tractor is new to you, I'd do some general maintenance first - starting with the fuel tank to the carb, all easy stuff. Pull the fuel line and replace it with a new fuel filter too. With the fuel line off, see if you are getting good fuel flow from the tank. If not, then you might have to replace the valve on it and clean the tank.

Once you've got the fuel line and filter replaced, pull the fuel line end to the carb. You said the tractor had an electric fuel pump? Nothing wrong with that. Turn on the key switch and see if it pumps fuel. If it does, you'll need to move to the carb. If it doesn't, replace the fuel pump - they are cheap IMHO.

If all is good from the tank to the carb, then you can rebuild the carb. Again, not a big expense and pretty easy - after you've done it once... ;)

Good luck,

Bill

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skrusins

To check fuel pump disconnect line to the carb... get a clean can for the gas... turn the key to the start position and

the pump should be pouring out of the line.

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localdj77

Did some diag last night.....idled for about 5 minutes to warm it up.....no hiccups.  Throttled up to maybe 40%, dropped the deck and started mowing.  Ran great for 10 minutes!  lol  Then is slowly died......couldn't restart it.  It's a magnum BTW.  I took a look in the tank and the valve looked pretty clean but had some sediment near it.  I think a tune up is in order.....front to back.  Found out the gear box oil looks pretty bad....gotta change that and the oil!  Needs a makeover!  lol

 

Also realized that the left blade is cutting lower than the right.  Haven't even looked into that but any common issue thoughts would be appreciated.  I'll keep you updated as to what I find!  Thanks for the help!!!

 

Oh yeah, at 40% it sounds like the motor is running very high revs.  How do I know if it's overrevving??? 

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