1963 ford truck 1 #1 Posted July 23, 2020 I have a WH 310-8 with a Kohler K-241 engine. I have owned it for 2 years. The tractor ran great and was very reliable the 1st year. I ran the gas out of it and stored it for the winter. Had a hard time starting it this Spring when I took it out of my shed. Plenty of spark, but did not seemed to be getting gas. I cleaned out the carburetor and changed the fuel filter. It was still hard to start (usually required a shot of ether), but ran great once it started. Most recently, I was driving the tractor and it suddenly lost power. It continued to hold an idle, but had no acceleration or power. I continued driving it and it cleared up, ran strong for a while, and then got very weak again. I put it away. Next time I took it out ran strong for about 10 minutes, and then lost power. It does not stall, just very weak and no throttle or acceleration. Seems like a fuel problem. Can anyone help me diagnose the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 41,961 #2 Posted July 23, 2020 I would pull off the fuel line into the carb. Hold it in a container while you or a helper cranks the engine. If you get a good spurting fuel supply, the problem is in the carb. If you do not have a good spurting fuel supply, pull off the line into the fuel pump and see if the fuel runs freely from the tank. You see where this is going....you must have a good supply to the carb. If you don't, you must find the problem. It could be a bad fuel pump or bad filter, or blocked line or clogged fitting in the tank. One easy thing to try is loosening the cap on the tank. The vent may be clogged. The tractors with the fuel tank under the seat (below the fuel pump) can be hard starting after sitting as the fuel leaks back into the tank and the pump looses its prime. I am guessing your fuel pump is bad. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1963 ford truck 1 #3 Posted July 23, 2020 Thanks for the guidance. I will check fuel flow to pump and carburetor tomorrow. I did just replace the gas cap, the old one was cracked. I also replaced the fuel filter, fuel lines and cleaned the carburetor in the beginning of the season when i first had difficulty starting it. The ignition system is fine, strong spark and it never stalls when I lose power. It just idles way back and loses power. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,482 #4 Posted July 23, 2020 Horizontal muffler on this one? If yes take a rubber mallet and tap on the muffler to see if it has a rattle inside it or use your fist. Have seen the end of the inlet pipe inside the muffler burn off which leaves the end cap loose inside there. It will rattle around and end up covering the hole in the first baffle where the exhaust pressure holds it there. The result is restricted exhaust and they will not rev up. Shut the engine off and the restriction falls away from the port so it runs decent until it gets over that port again and the restriction returns. They run good but will not rev up. The inlet pipe inside the muffler has a series of holes the exhaust exits through. The end of the pipe is capped. The hot exhaust burns the pipe off in the holes area leaving the end of the pipe and cap to move on to the next baffle where it plugs the hole in it. Garry 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 59,987 #6 Posted July 23, 2020 Most fuel system problems are the result of using gas with ethanol. That junk will ruin a fuel system. Use this site to find a station that sells gas without ethanol. https://www.pure-gas.org/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 41,961 #7 Posted July 23, 2020 Good advice from Garry @gwest_ca above. I also have seen exhaust blockage cause some of the problems that you described. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RandyLittrell 3,903 #8 Posted July 23, 2020 Almost every time I get carb troubles, its after I run out of gas. That last sip seems to get all the crap from the bottom of the tank. Clean the tank, replace lines and clean the carb out again. Ethanol eats the lines on the inside where you can't see. It usually works for me. Randy 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Tuul Crib 7,339 #9 Posted July 24, 2020 I don't have much to add. Most everyone above has said it all except for....... T😎 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1963 ford truck 1 #10 Posted July 24, 2020 Didn't have a chance to work on it today. I did check and the exhaust stack is vertical. Hopefully make some progress on it tomorrow. Thanks for all the input. Appreciate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RandyLittrell 3,903 #11 Posted July 24, 2020 35 minutes ago, 1963 ford truck said: Didn't have a chance to work on it today. I did check and the exhaust stack is vertical. Hopefully make some progress on it tomorrow. Thanks for all the input. Appreciate it. Welcome!! They are satisfying to work on for the most part and you will feel good when its running right!! Randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1963 ford truck 1 #12 Posted July 24, 2020 I checked the fuel flow to the carburetor. Seems like sufficient stream from pump. Also, fuel line from tank to pump is clear. I assume it is a carburetor issue. Starts up and runs, but fades under load. Keeps running, but no power or throttle control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reddart 212 #13 Posted July 27, 2020 My C101 also had this symptom...for me it was the main jet was too rich, a quick turn of the adjuster fixed it. Before I found the problem, just slightly turning on the choke instantly killed it, which led me to the too rich diagnosis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RandyLittrell 3,903 #14 Posted July 29, 2020 On 7/24/2020 at 6:29 PM, 1963 ford truck said: I checked the fuel flow to the carburetor. Seems like sufficient stream from pump. Also, fuel line from tank to pump is clear. I assume it is a carburetor issue. Starts up and runs, but fades under load. Keeps running, but no power or throttle control. It just takes a tiny piece of rubber to plug the carb and until you clean the tank and replace the lines, I promise you'll fight this trouble forever. I know this from experience!!! Randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunahead72 2,545 #15 Posted September 5, 2020 On 7/22/2020 at 9:11 PM, gwest_ca said: Horizontal muffler on this one? If yes take a rubber mallet and tap on the muffler to see if it has a rattle inside it or use your fist. Have seen the end of the inlet pipe inside the muffler burn off which leaves the end cap loose inside there. It will rattle around and end up covering the hole in the first baffle where the exhaust pressure holds it there. The result is restricted exhaust and they will not rev up. Shut the engine off and the restriction falls away from the port so it runs decent until it gets over that port again and the restriction returns. They run good but will not rev up. The inlet pipe inside the muffler has a series of holes the exhaust exits through. The end of the pipe is capped. The hot exhaust burns the pipe off in the holes area leaving the end of the pipe and cap to move on to the next baffle where it plugs the hole in it. Garry On 7/23/2020 at 8:08 AM, Ed Kennell said: Good advice from Garry @gwest_ca above. I also have seen exhaust blockage cause some of the problems that you described. Not to hijack, but have you guys seen this problem as much with the vertical mufflers? -------- And @1963 ford truck just wondering if you got this problem resolved? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
