Governor going out?

[Priest]

49,12v,front mount.
I think my governor is going. 1st symptom is a longer "warm Up" time then I've had before. (78 degrees outside) Tractor starts OK but RPM is very low and regardless of where the throttle is, slowly gains RPM under NO load. Once it "warms up" and reaches full throttle I have to then engage the PTO and let the brush hog get up to speed before I can move in first gear. Over the past few times I've worked the brush hog I've noticed less and less power at full engine speed, tractor bogs down easy under less load then I've seen it take before. After it gets bogged down I push in the clutch and even have to adjust the throttle to slowly bring the RPM back up. it used to just return to high RPM with no load.

 

[Bruce(VA)]

There are three ways to check to check the operation of the governor. Get the throttle lever at it's lowest point (engine ideling) Then, start tapping the throttle lever slowly open. How far does the throttle move before the engine speeds up? Lack of low speed throttle response (like about 1/3 of the throttle) is the classic symptom of a bad or out of adjustment governor. Next test, put it in gear at about 1/4 throttle, put your foot on both brakes & let the clutch out. The engine should throttle up as the governor arm opens the throttle plate in the carb to compensate for the load on the engine. Next test, w/ the tractor running, pull on the rod going to the carb; does the governor pull back? If that does not work, get out the I&T FO4 manual & check out the 'adjusting governor' paragraph. Finally, before I paid $200 or more for a governor, I'd pull it off & open it up. It could just need new balls & races.

Once you rule out the governor (and I'd be surprised if that's the problem given the symptoms you have described) I'd say it's tune up time.

When's the last time you replaced the points/plugs/condenser & set the timing?

When is the last time you cleaned the fuel screens?
50 Tips

 

[Priest]

I checked spark, black but working, Carb got a reset of settings, governor still suspect but when I checked the air cleaner I found it clogged with the whitefluff that floats through the air.

 

[Priest]

After cleaning

 

[Ken(Ark)]

Was the air filter full on oil ?

Could just be deceiving on the pics but it should have sucked the white fluffy stuff through the oil before getting stuck in the mesh .

 

[Priest]

There was no oil in the cup. I missed that one.

 

[Ken(Ark)]

I save my used oil and fill the cup to the fill line .

About once a week during the summer months when I bush hog a lot , I change the oil and clean 1/8" of sediment in the bottom of the cup .

I would say the filters work great but are probably the most overlooked maintenance item .