[Jon_66_110h]

Okay, I got issues

The 318 did this last winter, too. It ran fine all summer, spring, and fall, but it seems every time I take it out to plow snow it'll stall after a while (I'm only running about 1/3 throttle while plowing {rather then WOT while cutting grass}-don't need anymore power or speed then that, could that be the reason??). I can pull out the choke, give it a little more throttle and it'll start right back up. Other times it'll stall maybe 2 or 3 times before I'm finished plowing, but Sat. it stalled right in the middle of the street and kept stalling as soon as it restarted. (I finally gave up and pushed it out of the street and managed to get it into the driveway in the few seconds it would stay running and then gently, slowly pulled it back to the house w/ the truck after flipping the release lever). The tractor is a '91 w/ the original P218G w/ about 475hrs on it.

Any thoughts? (Please hurry, it's the only one in the stable that is in a 'working' state)

Jon

 

[Brad_ruch]

sounds like you maybe lacking fuel to the carb.being when you choke it it starts back up.I would check carb adjustment and fuel filter.or if there is a screen in the gas tank it maybe be a little plugged.brad

 

[Brad_ruch]

oh also where are you from in michigan I live in zeeland,ottawa county.brad

 

[flymo]

Jonathan, I think these machines run best at WOT. I'd give that a try and see if things improve. Once the engine gets warmed up, there should not be a whole lot of difference between summer and winter, so it seems like the throttle setting is your only difference.

Tim

 

[Djfarmer]

Just my .02 but could be a vacuum problem at the fuel pump. hope I'm wrong, because the easiest way to fix is to replace vac line/pump is to pull the engine

Dennis
(Clio)

 

[Mark A. Miller]

sounds as if starving for fuel, is there a filter or screen to be cleaned? Mark

 

[Jon_66_110h]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Brad, I'm right in Grand Rapids (just click on anybody's 'blue' name and you can see their profile. I did some demographic number crunching a while back and MI actually has the most WFM members!

Dennis, I was thinking vacuum myself-cold temp vs. warm temp and fuel pump issues. Don't really want to pull it that far apart, but the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward getting the 140 out and doing some work to the 318.

Mark, I should probably start w/ the easy stuff-new fuel filter and plugs.

Anybody else got any thoughts?
Jon

 

[tv4fish]

I'm with TimS on this one - I think these engines are designed to run at WOT - primarily for proper cooling - remember you have an air-cooled engine here and even though you're running this thing in cold weather, the engine will still run at a warm/hot temperature after it warms up. I would be using my speed control if you prefer to plow at a slower rate rather than reducing engine speed. Just my $0.02

 

[Ky_hillbilly]

How about a little water laying in filter or a line freezes and restricts the flow?

 

[R Goodwin]

Do the intakes come apart in two halves like the old b43's did? I had an old sears with an onan in it and it had a vacuum leak where they put the two halves of the intake together. I would spray a little penetrating oil or carb cleaner along the edge to see if there would be any difference in engine attitude or rpm's.
Rick

 

[kdursus]

Jonathan,

You know the first thing I thought of when you said it was a winter time issue was what Tim alluded to water in the fuel lines. I'm not too sure about the freezing water in the fuel lines part because you said it would run for a while and then stall. The heat from the engine would have melted the water in the lines by them, but what about water in the gas? Is the tractor in a place where it may get condensation build up in the fuel tank? Would perhaps fuel stabilizer help when you are using the tractor only when it snows? Another thought was it could be something as simple as cleaning the ports in the carburetor cold weather can do some funny things to varnished or gummy carbs. Hope you can get this one figured out. Let us know what the issue was?

Kenneth

 

[kkortman112]

Hi Jon. I too am a believer in running these air-cooled engines at 3/4 to full throttle when doing any kind of real work with them. Since you are running the engine fairly slow and "working" it, I wonder if you are not getting enough vacuum problem like Dennis mentioned, but maybe not the line, just not enough vacuum to run the pump. My test would be to push snow at 3/4 or higher throttle and see if that makes a difference. Now with all that being said, my 318 is resting this winter and my 140 is all suited up to plow snow

Kent

 

[Jon_66_110h]

Double ARRRRGGHH!
Plowed last night-kept the Rs up plenty high. After about 10min, she stalled (right up by the house), sat there a little till my brain cooled down and then fired 'er back up. She ran just fine down the drive about 200' and the she give up. Tried restarting and she immediately stalled-time for the truck again, this time w/o a helper to steer the tractor (wasn't even gonna ask momma to come out in the cold to steer my broke down Deere

) I'm thinking the 140 is gonna have to take over.
Jon
P.S. Man, that air cleaner got dirty this fall. I couldn't believe the crude.

 

[vinnie110]

I wonder if snow or dirt is building up around the gas tank vent and blocking it. If air cannot get in the tank the fuel cannot get out. What happens if you run it with the cap on loosely. Had that problem with a snowblower,run for 5 minutes or so then quit, would restart when it sat for a while. After some looking found that gas cap was put together wrong so vent was blocked. Reassembled cap and all was well.

 

[mike]

Check the vent like Vinnie said. Might got clogged a few years ago.
Mike

 

[Jon_66_110h]

I think we are up to 'Triple Arrgh!' This is starting to get real annoying.

Had to pull it back to the garage again Friday night (and momma probably ain't liking the looks of the driveway). I ran it w/ the gas cap practically falling off and it didn't make a difference. Same deal, run fine for maybe 10 min, stall, restart, run for maybe a min., stall,restart, stall immediately.

Could the TDC box be doing this??

Jon

 

[jdjake49]

Jonathan,

I have a 345 that had a similar type of heat related problem. I changed the fuel pump, fuel line, fuel pickup tube, filters, cleaned carb and gas tank. This did nothing for the problem. It was the TDC Module.

The challenge with a heat related problem is that by the time you drag the tractor back to the shop, it cools off and runs again. What does not make any sense is that you did not have this problem in the summer.

This leads me to another possibility. There is a vacuum leak somewhere in the intake manifold. You said that the air filter was really dirty. This would cause the vacuum in the intake to be greater. A vacuum leak would change the fuel and air mixture to very lean and cause it to stall.

I have a Ranger pickup with the 4.0 liter V-6. I recently had a similar heat related problem with it. Ran good cold, but after 10 minutes it would stall. Turned out to be a vacuum leak in the intake manifold.

Now where is the most likely place to have a vacuum leak?? Rick had an Onan with a leak where the 2 halves of the manifold were joined. This is a possibility, but seems like it would not just wait for winter to raise it ugly head.

My guess is the leak is between the carb and the intake manifold. There is a gasket (HE154-0733)on the bottom of the carb, then a plastic adapter (HE154-1977), and then another gasket (HE154-0733) for the manifold. It is quite possible this plastic adapter has a crack in it or the gaskets have a leak. WHY??

The purpose of the plastic spacer is to provide a thermal break between the manifold and the carb. This prevents the carb from boiling the gas in the summer. In the winter, the manifold will be warm, but the carb will be very cold due to the cold air passing through it. Heat on one side of the adapter and very cold on the other side could cause the crack to open.

An interesting fact is that the HE154-1977 adapter is no longer available?? Order HE541-0428 instead. Hummmm. Was there a problem with the original adapter???

Given the fact this problem happened last winter and is doing it again leads me to the above conclusion. A defective TDC would not just wait for winter and would actually be worse in the summer.

Just a S.W.A.G.}

George of Buford

 

[Jon_66_110h]

George,
Thanks for the informative reply. My other thought was a sticking needle in the carb. (This tractor has done it's share of sitting around in the past couple of years). My thinking is that during the summer I'mbouncing along so any time it sticks it is quickly jostled loose, but in the winter on a smooth drive, it can stick an' stay. It was kinda hard to start the other night (dry bowl ??) and of course it stalled out when I was as far from the house as possible. Another trip home behind the truck (SLOWLY!), that makes the 4th time and I AM getting tired of it.
Jon
P.S. SWAG=some wild @$$ guess???

 

[kkortman112]

Hi Jon. SWAG = scientific wild a__ guess (at least that is the way I have always had it told to me). George's post brought up something that I think was happening to me last friday with my 112. Since the carb is cold, I wonder if you are getting an ice up problem in it? Granted, mine was caused by the light, fluffy snow as I was using it throwing into the wind (I also suffered a frozen and now broken choke cable, but $25.50 lighter after my trip to JD today got me a new cable). Not sure how you could fix that on a 318 though. On dad's old Gleaner K combine with a chevy 250 six cylinder it would do that bad and he rigged up a cover for the air intake so it would suck heated air from around the engine into the carb (OK, it was a 2 1/2 gallon oil jug with the bottom cut off of it shoved over the little air stack that is on this combine). I'd do some comparison with my 318, but it is dead at the moment and probably will stay that way until spring when I put new battery cables on it.......

Kent

 

[Jon_66_110h]

Well, I opened up the carb and it was dry. Added fuel, put 'er back together and she started beautiful-and then proceeded to stall. Seemed like the fuel tank was down a ways so I flipped it to reserve, started and ran for a little while and then quit again. There is/was still fuel in the filter. So my question is: How much fuel pressure is it supposed to have?
Any other thoughts?
I finally got tired of it, pulled out the 140 the has been setting for 2+yrs, added fuel, put the 318's battery in it, sprayed a little carb cleaner in it, and she fired RIGHT UP!

Threw a set of chains on 'er and got to plowin' some snow. (need to add a little weight yet, but them chains sure get some grip)