Tried mowing the lawn this weekend. It would run for a while and then sort of backfire a bit then die. One pull, starts back up, mow for a bit then dies again. Any ideas of what the problem might be?

Thanks,
Rob

Air filter? Mine was full of .

Looks brand new.

old winter fuel? sounds like it's starving. it's probably got no filter and may have caught a chunk-o-crap inroute to the carb. if you ever run it low, sometimes it'l plug

clean out float bowl

Last year, my mower had a similar problem. I blew carb cleaner and compressed air through the carb passages and it helped. This year, not so much. I rebuilt the carb and now it starts on the first pull (as long as I use the priming bulb before starting).

VENT PLUGGED UP ON TOP OF FUEL CAP ??

Cracked priming bulb, plugged carb, old gas. If your lucky once you get that fixed your coil won't go out like mine did. Hopefully not a Tecumseh motor. No parts for them any longer.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! No priming buld on this mower. Will take the carb apart and clean clean clean... the culprits got to be with the float. Will also check for a plugged fuel cap.

My sears crapsman mower is doing the same thing, and I'm pretty sure its crappy (factory) gas...

Water in the fuel... Drain the tank, clean the carb and the problem will go away. betcha.

Check the ground strap between the tranny and the body.

I always run the lawn mower and snow blower dry. I'm betting old fuel too. Most carbs have drains on the bottom of the bowl. There will be a spring on a needle type valve. Press up and it'll drain. Drain it out and give new fuel a shot. If that doesn't work unscrew the bowl and clean it out along with the passages.

Now thats just plain funny

My mower runs better than my 914 and turns a whole lot sharper. It's like riding a cutting horse.

@Charlie: Zero turn?

My main mower is a 1970 John Deere 140 with Kohler K321 engine. I can't keep a head gasket on it... seriously thinking of repowering it with a Briggs @ Stratton 18 HP V-Twin.

How long do you think it will be up on jack stands?

Take the deck off and go racing!

Zach

Ha! My '84 JD 111 sat for a couple of years in the driveway, partially disassembled, before I finally sold it on Craigslist. This one's a keeper so I will probably want to wait until summer, when I won't have to mow as much. For now I've got a stack of head gaskets and probably a spare head.

I'm guessing gummed up carb.

Two schools of thought on storing your mower, run it dry or fill it completely up with fuel and appropriate amount of Stabil. I've always gone with the later, and have no problems. Of course the old (78 with a 8hp Kohler) Troy Built tiller sat for five years once and I had to clean out the fuel tank and rebuild the carb.

My '93 Honda 4518 (liquid cooled 18hp) is still running good, but repair parts are getting very expensive. Last year I got a killer deal on a year old Kubota commercial ZG227 zero turn, 27hp, and that thing kicks some serious grass!!

I've been using Shell Rotella, but I'm starting to think about Brad Penn for these old engines.

Thanks again for all the help. Never thought this would turn into a 2 page thread... Anyway, I removed the carb and cleaned the jets and bowl. Used plenty of carb cleaner and air. The bowl had junk on the bottom and left a bit of a rust spot. Put her back together and one pull, started right up. The real test will be today after work when I finish mowing.

Big mistake. Should have listened to the mower and planted a crop of corn. Then you'd have the whole summer to before harvest time.