310-8

[whfan74 2,072]

Ok here we go guys, I am stumped. First of all I didn't know where to post this, so this is where the post is going to land unless it tracks off in another direction.

Trying to help a local guy with his 310-8 with a K series Kohler and 42" side discharge mower deck.

The problem:

When mowing, yes the grass is a little longer and soft, the motor seems to bog down more than normal.

Pushing snow this winter......no problem

Pulling heavy loads............no problem

I know the mower deck is putting more drag than those two things but the issue is only during mowing.

The mower deck has been taken off and inspected. Bearings seem to be real good, spindles are tight with no issues. Blades aren't razor sharp but aren't bad.

Moving back from there the tach-a-matic was taken off and inspected. One pulley was replaced due to a bearing starting to go bad. Everything put back together and works great.

All belts inspected and are in good shape and aren't twisted.

Clutch was slipping a bit so trunion was adjusted and fixed that little hiccup.

Governor linkage seems to be working as intended.

Head gasket seems great, tractor idles down real low and just chugs as it should. Pretty much ruled out a compression issue.

So my question...........what am I missing????? I am sure it is something simple and it is being overevaluated, or at least I hope.

Any trouble shooting advice would be greatly appreciated!

Officially dumbfounded in Warsaw! :hide:

[WH nut 553]

How big a deck you trying to run

[tarcoleo 119]

Scott-

What with all the checks you made, the only explanation is you're trying

to cut too close with the combination of an 8 hp engine and a 42" deck.

Tom in RI :hide:

[WH854 45]

Scott-

What with all the checks you made, the only explanation is you're trying

to cut too close with the combination of an 8 hp engine and a 42" deck.

Tom in RI

I thought a 310-8 came with a K241 or M10S engine

Chas

[Irv 115]

Well first off he says w/42" sd deck. Secondly, a 310-8 is 10 hp. So Scott, what speed are you trying to cut at? And are you sure it's the motor bogging down or is it the mower deck slowing down? When I mow, if the grass is very long and/or wet and I try to go too fast (2nd gear-high), the mower blades will slow down (and eventually the belt will slip).

[WH nut 553]

Sorry missed the deck size :hide:

[JackC 617]

With my 8hp C-81, if the points are not adjusted properly and in good shape the engine will bog down under load. Maybe check the points and replace and adjust if needed.

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,534]

Is this a new machine to him? If not then I assume this is a new problem?

[whfan74 2,072]

Thank you for getting the thread going you guys.........to answer some of your questions.

1. 2nd High for mowing speed

2. Same tractor, replacement motor

The interesting thing is it doesn't happen all of the time. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. It is seeming as though it doesn't have enough horsepower to run through the grass, even in first gear. As soon as you stop and let the blades catch up, then you are good to go.

I just want the phone calls to stop. This is my last ditch effort to straighten things out and then I am done. He will have to find someone else to work on it.

I know it is somewhat tough to diagnose without being at the machine and experiencing it yourself.

Yes again this tractor has a 10 h.p. K241 with a 42" sd deck.

Hope this helps a little more......any input is greatly appreciated!

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,489]

Could it be a loose baffle in the muffler that is restricting the exhaust at times? Take it off and look down the intake pipe (part of it may be missing) and give it a shake.

Garry

[whfan74 2,072]

Garry,

I am going to try and head over and that was one of my things that I wanted to check along with the settings on the governor arm.

If all else fails I am going to check the valves and make sure everything is good to go there.

This tractor isn't blowing smoke or having any unusual noises or rattles. Everything seems tight.

[truckin88 104]

Is the PTO trusion rod adjusted, where is brings the PTO pulley/Bell in nice tight contact w/ the clutch pad, instead of slipping on the pad not making full contact / getting full power. Is the PTO clutch in good shape? How is the PTO to deck belt?

The PTO lever should almost snap down, when engaged

[marvairplanes 34]

He's mowing the grass too short...

Raise the deck a notch or two.

Marv

[whfan74 2,072]

Is the PTO trusion rod adjusted, where is brings the PTO pulley/Bell in nice tight contact w/ the clutch pad, instead of slipping on the pad not making full contact / getting full power. Is the PTO clutch in good shape? How is the PTO to deck belt?

The PTO lever should almost snap down, when engaged

Yup, we already adjusted that to make sure we have good contact.

I wish I could say it is being mowed too short, but in this case it is not. He moved the setting on the governor arm. Will make sure that is adjust properly when I head over there tonight.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. If you see anything else that needs to be addressed, please let me know. I am hopeful that this will be the last time I have to head over there.

[tunahead72 2,546]

Was he always able to mow his yard in 2nd high with this machine, even with the old motor? Have you actually observed him mowing with this setup?

I've owned a 310-8 with the same 42" sd deck since it was new, and I've never been able to mow my grass in 2nd high. Could be my yard/terrain/obstacles/whatever, but 2nd high is just over 3 mph on these machines, may just be a little too fast for his conditions.

Other than that, you've already heard everything else that I thought of.

Good luck!

[dcrage 630]

Scott

I am going to add to the "he's overloading the mower" chorus -- It can be subtle -- I know when my 310-8 was new I ran into the same thing trying to cut a bunch of heavy crab grass on some common ground in my sub-division -- I wanted to cut it short because I didn't want to come back there for a couple of weeks -- Anyway just 1 notch lower setting on the deck and I had the problems you are describing -- Took me a while to figure out that I needed to raise the cutting level -- Then everything was OK -- To get the shorter grass needed to make additional passes

[stevasaurus 23,281]

Scott...just had that happening with my 702 yesterday. Had to clutch to let the blades catch up. I also noticed a once in a great while back fire. I had just changed the oil and adjusted the carb a couple weeks ago...getting ready for summer...but it was probably in the 50's. I readjusted the carb, as it was close to 90 degrees out here yesterday and it then ran great and I finished the lawn. The adjustment was a 1/4 turn leaner on the high adjustment screw. Needs to run leaner with the hotter, moister air. :hide:

[boovuc 1,090]

Too much mower deck, too much speed and not enough horse.

I also have a 310-8 Speed and I can only mow in 2nd-high with short grass and low humidity. (And no quack grass).

If the grass is even at a moderate height but thick and the humidity is up, my 42" deck will slow down. I can only mow in 1st-high. This has been the way it is since I got it. Both rear and side discharge 42" decks are up to snuff and the blades are sharp.

The 310's are better suited to the 36 inch decks. (At least the the newer ones with the M-10's).

My two cents, guys.

BooVuc

Mill Hall, PA

[truckin88 104]

Too much mower deck, too much speed and not enough horse.

I also have a 310-8 Speed and I can only mow in 2nd-high with short grass and low humidity. (And no quack grass).

If the grass is even at a moderate height but thick and the humidity is up, my 42" deck will slow down. I can only mow in 1st-high. This has been the way it is since I got it. Both rear and side discharge 42" decks are up to snuff and the blades are sharp.

The 310's are better suited to the 36 inch decks. (At least the the newer ones with the M-10's).

My two cents, guys.

BooVuc

Mill Hall, PA

Last year I mowed my whole yard with a 310-8 w/ a 42" RD deck, my yard is new construction and a messssssss....tons of rocks etc. I never had an issue like this, I mowed in 2nd and 3rd gear high (3rd for my back yard it is flat like a football field), sometimes the grass was really high), I have to think there is something stupid going on.

[rick 257]

I am wondering if the deck pulleys are worn, letting the belt slip instead of driving the pulleys. The groove dimensions are critical. Peruse the Gates Belt website, I saw the explanation there somewhere. My C100 is equipped with a 42" deck, and has no problems with tall grass. I admit I seldom cut in High Second, as my yard is too rough.

[Kelly 1,033]

I may have missed it, but he is mowing at full throttle right? and the engine is running at the correct speed around 3600 rpms, these GTs need full throttle to keep the blades up to speed, that is why some of these new cheapy lawn mowers cut nice they have high reving V twins and very high blade speeds, I know my mowing tractor, sounds like a jet when running the deck, its a JD with a water cooled 17hp V twin Kawasaki and pushes the 48" deck very nice, been mowing with it for 10 years.

[HankB 16]

... and the engine is running at the correct speed around 3600 rpms,

I've wondered about this myself. I put that generator on my 314-H and found that I needed to use a slightly bigger pulley on the engine in order to get the generator to 3600 RPM. I wondered if that was a result of the belt slipping or if the engine was running a bit below 3600 RPM.

Is there any way to check short of buying a tach?

HHmmm... I wonder if I could calibrate this strobe for use as a tach? At 60 Hz it's the correct frequency. And the price is right. :hide:

[whfan74 2,072]

You guys are all amazing and willing to think outside of the box. That is what continues to draw me back to this forum each and every day.

We do have one individual that kept it simple and was correct in their assessment.

When Dad and I headed over there last night the first thing we checked out is where the governor spring was located and made sure it was in the correct position on both ends. That checked out good so the next step was to loosen both nuts on the governor arm and make sure the post and arm were set just right before we tightened everything back down.

Then the old trusty points cover was popped off........hmmmm interesting. We have worked on a few motors lately and thought we had checked the points already on this one..........well that wasn't the case. We checked it and it came out at 2 thousandeths .....so needless to say it was put back very close to the 20 thousandeths and low and behold we have a strong running tractor! Hopped on that baby and lowered that deck down a bit........hit some real high stuff......and watched the grass fly while cruising in 2 hi!

Sorry to have put everyone through so much when it was a simple oversight on our part. Somedays keeping all of them straight that we have worked on is a task in itself. This gentleman is now happy as can be. He had some bad news that day so when we left we are hoping we gave him something to be happy about.

JackC......nailed it on the head!

to all of you who were willing to lend some advice! You guys are great!

[tunahead72 2,546]

No need to apologize, one of the major reasons I also check this forum every day is that I always get some kind of insight into some niggling little (or larger) problem I've encountered on my machines. So for that I thank YOU and everybody else who's willing to ask questions and share information and advice on this site.

And for now, I'm off to check the governor and points on my 310-8, been at least a couple of years. :hide:

[dcrage 630]

OK -- Now I am concerned and am going to show my lack of mechanical smarts -- I have never checked points on my 310-8 and never seen anything in my owners book about doing such -- My engine is a Magnum (tractor has a 1990 made date) -- Does my 10 horse Kohler have points?? -- And if it does (now the real stupid question) where are they??