Cub Cadet motor issue

[Rich'sToys]

Cub Cadet zero turn with steering wheel--26 hp Kawasaki engine. One time it will run perfect. The next time it will do fine for about 10-15 minutes, then start to die, as though running out of gas. Pulling the choke out helps a little, but usually it eventually dies anyway. Re-start it and it will do fine for a few minutes, then do it all over again. Inline fuel filter replaced, and no foreign matter in gas tank.

I finally hauled it into the shop. Naturally, it ran fine for them! They cleaned the carb, replaced the fuel pump, and supposedly did a bunch of mowing with it, plus let it run for extended lengths of time. They "could not duplicate the symptoms"--their words.

The day I brought it home I mowed with it for about an hour with no issues. The following day I took it out again. After about 15 minutes it did it again! I restarted it, and it worked fine the rest of the day. I mowed for about 3 hours, as I had a lot of catching up to do! It ran fine the whole time.

Today I used it again. After about 15 minutes, it started acting up again--about 5 or 6 times in about 10 minutes! Finally it wouldn't re-start at all. Naturally, I was at the farthest corner of the yard away from the shed! I got the tractor and dragged it up there. After I got it up there, I tried starting it again. It fired right up and ran perfectly just sitting there for 15 minutes!

I'm getting so discouraged with this thing, I don't know what to do! I'm no small engine mechanic, so I have no idea what to try next. Gas in the tank is non-ethanol premium. Looking for suggestions.

 

[timcasbolt]

I had something similar with an intek engine. Turned out it was the linkage that opens and closes the choke. Just a little bit out of adjustment and the butterfly could flop around with the movements of the machine. Drove me nuts until I stumbled into the problem.

 

[M-MAN]

Same as last year. Did you ever pull the metal elbow at the top of the fuel intake tube and verify there wasn't anything stuck inside acting like a check valve like I mentioned? Look close for air bubbles going into the filter when it acts up.

 

[DaveBN]

You didn't say how many hours on this engine. A bad coil will do exactly that but it should run at least a little on the other cylinder. I'm assuming it's a twin cylinder engine. For the few dollars it costs I would replace both coils unless its an almost new engine, maybe even then. I believe ten thousands of an inch gap from coil to flywheel.
Actually you should check that gap first to see if it's correct, look it up don't go by my .010 guess.
Also you could check for spark when it fails to start.
Dave

 

[T.R.K.]

Some kind of trash in the fuel tank that eventually blocks the pickup tube? Also, could be trash in the fuel line, the fuel filter, and shutoff valve, if there is one.

I recall one Toro years ago, the complaint was it could run 45 minutes with no problem, then soon after that it would act like it was running out of grass. Out of our shop and back twice. We tried all the common things.
The last time, my boss said stay with the problem until you find what it is. I cut grass. I mowed all around the shop, the both shoulders of the road in front of the business and then started mowing at the house across the street. By the time I was mowing the back yard there, it started starving for fuel. with the choke on, I just barely made it back to the shop. I ended up taking each piece of fuel line off and blowing it out, catching any possible debris in a rag. There was one leaf in the pickup tube. I think that as the fuel flowed past it, it would eventually fold over and that was enough restriction the engine would starve for fuel. It never came back for that problem.

 

[guido]

Cub Cadet zero turn with steering wheel--26 hp Kawasaki engine. One time it will run perfect. The next time it will do fine for about 10-15 minutes, then start to die, as though running out of gas. Pulling the choke out helps a little, but usually it eventually dies anyway. Re-start it and it will do fine for a few minutes, then do it all over again. Inline fuel filter replaced, and no foreign matter in gas tank.

I finally hauled it into the shop. Naturally, it ran fine for them! They cleaned the carb, replaced the fuel pump, and supposedly did a bunch of mowing with it, plus let it run for extended lengths of time. They "could not duplicate the symptoms"--their words.

The day I brought it home I mowed with it for about an hour with no issues. The following day I took it out again. After about 15 minutes it did it again! I restarted it, and it worked fine the rest of the day. I mowed for about 3 hours, as I had a lot of catching up to do! It ran fine the whole time.

Today I used it again. After about 15 minutes, it started acting up again--about 5 or 6 times in about 10 minutes! Finally it wouldn't re-start at all. Naturally, I was at the farthest corner of the yard away from the shed! I got the tractor and dragged it up there. After I got it up there, I tried starting it again. It fired right up and ran perfectly just sitting there for 15 minutes!

I'm getting so discouraged with this thing, I don't know what to do! I'm no small engine mechanic, so I have no idea what to try next. Gas in the tank is non-ethanol premium. Looking for suggestions.

Sound more an elctrical issue

Cub Cadet zero turn with steering wheel--26 hp Kawasaki engine. One time it will run perfect. The next time it will do fine for about 10-15 minutes, then start to die, as though running out of gas. Pulling the choke out helps a little, but usually it eventually dies anyway. Re-start it and it will do fine for a few minutes, then do it all over again. Inline fuel filter replaced, and no foreign matter in gas tank.

I finally hauled it into the shop. Naturally, it ran fine for them! They cleaned the carb, replaced the fuel pump, and supposedly did a bunch of mowing with it, plus let it run for extended lengths of time. They "could not duplicate the symptoms"--their words.

The day I brought it home I mowed with it for about an hour with no issues. The following day I took it out again. After about 15 minutes it did it again! I restarted it, and it worked fine the rest of the day. I mowed for about 3 hours, as I had a lot of catching up to do! It ran fine the whole time.

Today I used it again. After about 15 minutes, it started acting up again--about 5 or 6 times in about 10 minutes! Finally it wouldn't re-start at all. Naturally, I was at the farthest corner of the yard away from the shed! I got the tractor and dragged it up there. After I got it up there, I tried starting it again. It fired right up and ran perfectly just sitting there for 15 minutes!

I'm getting so discouraged with this thing, I don't know what to do! I'm no small engine mechanic, so I have no idea what to try next. Gas in the tank is non-ethanol premium. Looking for suggestions.

Sounds more like an electrical issue. I am guessing that it loses spark when hot? When it acts up do a spark test. Who knows, you may get lucky,

Guido.

 

[Rich'sToys]

I actually got it back a couple weeks ago but didn't get around to checking back in here till now.

Turns out the breather reed valve inside the engine had failed. I had never heard of this part before. When the engine is running it creates a vacuum which operates the fuel pump. It actually was working intermittently, which was why it ran perfectly sometimes, and not others. It was also letting oil into the combustion chamber which was causing the engine to use more oil than it should.

They replaced the part. The mower has been running fine and also using less oil.

 

[timcasbolt]