2009 BX 2660 loses power, rpm after going down steep hill

[nepa]

My house has a very steep section of ground that I always mow downhill, never risking uphill. It is not long, maybe 10-12 feet. After I get to the bottom, sometimes the engine acts like the engine wants to die. It loses power, rpm, and sometimes shutters. It has never stalled, but I would not say that it would never happen. It seems as though it is running out of fuel, but the tank is full. Of course, the engine is downhill of the tank which is on the rear. Otherwise, the entire drive train operates flawlessly - always has. There are less than 400 hours on the tractor. Trans fluid has been changed 100 hours ago and up to full on dip stick. Engine oil gets changed every year with T-6. Any explanations?

 

[ruffdog]

Any smoke? If there is, oil pushed out the breather?

 

[ruffdog]

Did it do it last year? Maybe on the steep grade water or gunk in fuel tank blocking outlet port?

 

[sandyc]

Check for junk in fuel tank and condition of both fuel filters. Do you use fuel conditioner? Water in fuel?

 

[nepa]

Check for junk in fuel tank and condition of both fuel filters. Do you use fuel conditioner? Water in fuel?

The tractor has been doing this for several years. I regularly use power service or Amsoil octane booster in the fuel. Water - always a possibility but the fuel otherwise is clean. Runs under load at full rpm fine so I do not suspect filters. The slopes on which I have the problem are so steep that my foot is off the hydro pedal allowing full braking from the trans. Also, on these slopes I reduce engine speed to about 2500 rpm. The slopes are so short that water will probably not be getting to the engine in that short time. Thanks for the input.

 

[sandyc]

When going downhill is your weight going forward and making the safety switch turn off the engine? You could bypass the ops switch and see if that helps. That did happen to me on my 3350 if I leaned forward

 

[skipperbrown]

I have run my BX out of fuel 2 or 3 times. When it runs out, the whole tractor shakes and shutters violently and it's very clear to me what is happening. I shut it down immediately, refuel, and continue on. It sounds like the angle is causing something to plug and starve the engine for fuel. My BX has 2 of those cheap see through inline fuel filters that normally have 1/3 air in them. If yours is the same, I wonder if the tilt is causing the air portion in the fuel filter to be drawn into the engine?

 

[nepa]

I have run my BX out of fuel 2 or 3 times. When it runs out, the whole tractor shakes and shutters violently and it's very clear to me what is happening. I shut it down immediately, refuel, and continue on. It sounds like the angle is causing something to plug and starve the engine for fuel. My BX has 2 of those cheap see through inline fuel filters that normally have 1/3 air in them. If yours is the same, I wonder if the tilt is causing the air portion in the fuel filter to be drawn into the engine?

A lot of good answers that I should have addresses in my first post. No smoke. I bypassed the seat safety switch when I replaced the hard riding OE seat with a suspension seat. Skipper, you might have something there in your comment about air in the filters. I have used those filters too and know that there can be trapped air in them. This machine only has the factory filters, which you can not see through, but they can probably trap air too. I guess that there is nothing that can be done about it. It is nice to know that it is not critical. Thanks.