Garden tractor help?!

We have a 1993 Model 917 18hp Kohler powered Sears garden tractor. The tractor will run fine for maybe 10-15 min, then will run like it’s running out of fuel, then dies and won’t start back up. My guess is either ignition, carb issues, or possibly a bad gas cap. Just wondering if anyone else has had similar issues with a similar tractor, or any tractor at all…

My dad just bought a Kubota MX 25 with all the bells and whistles, front bucket, rear scoop, ridiculously awesome, but we are still going to use the Sears for mowing paths in the woods and such.

Carb and choke issues. Give ’em a good spring cleaning they may have gummed up over the winter

while I am no expert, it sounds like it is starving for gas. I would try running it without the gas cap and see if it always air into the tank to avoid one form of vapor lock.

That is my guess, but it was doing it this fall. It’s never done this before, but i don’t know that my dad has ever pulled the carb and cleaned it. We used it to plow snow with a “modified” John Deere plow on the front, so it was in use all year long since 1993…. If Sears only knew what this tractor has seen, they’d be amazed.

Maybe a quick check of your supply lines. The gas we get is pretty tough on lines, filters and carb components. You might try using a pump type oil can and squirting a little gas in the carb when it starts to fail. That’ll give you a pretty good idea it it’s a supply problem. Make sure you push it outdoors and have an extinguisher handy just in case. Just my thoughts- jerr

Good ideas, check the coil maybe too. Sometimes when they get hot is when it fails.

Mine did the same thing last summer. On my gas cap, there is a small pin hole to allow air…and prevent a vacuum. I cleared the blockage from the hole (used a small drill bit to poke through) and it has been fine since. The symptoms sound the same. Good luck.

This is what I think it may be too. I worked on small engines and a coil and condenser will do the same thing, in autos also. The Kohlers I’ve worked on have the points under a cover, approx. 1 1/2″ by 2 1/2″ down around the bottom next to the base of the motor. Pull the cover off and remove the points. With a sandpaper fingernail file, not a metal one clean up the tungsten contacts then put them back in and reset the gap in the points. The point gap should be around 019. to 020. thousandths. All the Kohler engines I’ve worked on have an external coil like a car coil and thier cheap. Go to your favorite auto parts store and get a coil, thier about $10 to $15 bucks, it dosen’t hurt to change it anyway with a new one, any older series car coil will work, 60’s chevy or ford coil. Also at this time change the condenser thats mounted by the coil, they get old an leak. Kohlers have an external fuelpump on the outside of the motor and sometimes the diaphram starts to go on them and it does the same things. If its the diaphram inside the pump its an easy change. Try to find a place that will sell you just the diaphram, some places want to sell you the whole pump and you don’t need one and thier pricey. Try the coil, condenser and clean up the points first. If that dosen’t do it then clean the carb by disassembling it and putting it back together, just squirting carb cleaner down the carb throat dosen’t do it. Like said above check the vent hole in the gas cap and make sure its not plugged. Ive got an Ariens lawn tractor and im thinking about putting a front bucket and a backhoe on it, it would be cool if it could be done. Its not that hard to get it running good again, message me if you need some help and I’ll tell you how.

Run through your supply lines. Often times the inline filter will clog up. It allows only a small amount of gas to pass at any time. After the line is empty, it sounds like the engine is out of gas, but it just can’t keep up with the small gas making it past the clog. I would replace this first for about $5, and if it still is not running right, hit the coil as mentioned.

My sisters John Deere had the same problem. We went threw every thing. Terns out that the electric clutch that engages to tern your mower deck on and off was bad. When the clutch got hot it would short out the electrical system. You could be running at full throttle and you would swear you ran out off fuel. It would start to spit and sputter tell it died. Then in 15 minutes you could go back out and it would start just fine.