[macshemi]

Well, pulled the carburetor off, dissembled it, cleaned (soaked) it overnight, bought JD rebuild kit and re-assembled it. Idles perfectly now....however, now it wants to diesel after use.

Does any body have advice or suggestions?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[macshemi]

That's something worth looking into. I'll check it tomorrow using an unlit propane torch.

Thanks!

I'm not familiar with the 345, but I once owned a 314 whose idle was rough when I bought it, So I thought that was just the way there. It progressively became worse over the years I owned it until it wouldn't idle at all. I finally pulled the carburetor off to rebuild it. Well, it wasn't a matter of something being plugged in the low speed circuit. The throttle shaft and the carburetor body throttle shaft openings had worn so much that air was leaking around them causing the mixture to be so lean it would not idle. I found a kit with the new throttle plate shaft and two bushings. You drilled the carb body shaft openings out and pressed the bushings in. Everything was nice and tight and I couldn't believe how smooth the idle was when I re-installed it. It had never idled so nice! I sold it six months later....Go figure.

I've read a number of posts where guys talk about buying the Chinese replacement carburetors on ebay to resolve similar issues. I'm not a fan of China anything, but what I've heard has all been good. That maybe the way to go.