Onan 16hp stalling when hot

[the_nite_owl 15]

I have a D-160 with an Onan 16hp engine.  It starts up well enough cold and runs for a while until the engine gets good and hot then will suddenly stutter and stall.  It will take a lot of attempts to get it started again with the choke on full and the throttle on low and it will rarely keep running for more than 20 seconds before stalling again.  If I let it cool off and try again she runs for a while longer.

Does this sound like it would be fuel pump related?  The engine has the vacuum driven fuel pump.  I have checked for leaks vacuum leaks along the fuel intake side and not found anything.  It does seem like the tractor is struggling to pull enough fuel from the tank and the fuel filter ends up empty sometimes.

[WH nut 553]

You need to confirm if it has spark when it dies. If so then try a shot of carb cleaner to see if she pops off

[Geno 1,928]

I agree with WH nut.  You can also use a cheap spark tester or stick a screwdriver in a plug wire and see if it arcs to the motor when it won't start.  If it will stay non starting for awhile you could also pull the fuel line at the carb and crank it to see if you're getting fuel.  Once you get a system (fuel or spark) you can work backwards from there and I'm sure there are plenty of people here that can help you find it.