X530 Issue Troubleshooting Help

[ubelongoutside]

Single carb

 

[ubelongoutside]

Little update to my woes.

I tried the choke when engaging the blades and that didn't make much difference. (More on that in a minute)

I began to notice a stutter more during normal operation so I decided to check the coils again. Lo and behold now the other coil wasn't firing. So off to the parts counter I went for another coil.

Now we're firing on both cylinders and I'm ready to mow. Only now when I get up to full throttle I'm getting puffs of smoke (smells like unburned fuel) and if I commence cutting I'm really bogging down and losing power.

So I decide I better take a look at the carb. I get it out of there and where the choke valve should be is a melted looking piece of plastic. So at the very least I've been running for some time with no choke even though I thought I was giving it choke.

Anyone ever try to replace just the choke valve or am I looking at a whole new carb?

***EDIT BELOW***

Well my coffee kicked in while I was looking at the schematics of the carb and while I was wondering where the heck the old butterfly valve went as all I had in the choke end of the carb body was a melted strip of plastic.

Then I recalled when I took off the metal air intake piece on the front of the carb there was a piece of metal in the throat of it that looked like some sort of baffle plate. Out to the barn I went and there's my butterfly valved lodged in the air intake. I'm guessing that backfiring I was having before must have blown it off the plastic rod, lodging it there, and also melting the plastic rod.

So rather than no choke, I've been running full choke as the butterfly was lodged in the intake in what would be a closed position.

Guess it's back off to the parts counter...

 

[Runner]

"It almost sounds like its backfiring. It will go on for about 5 seconds and then resume normal operation. I figured it was a fuel flow issue, but then I noticed that it doesn't happen when I do it at half or less throttle, then go to full throttle after they're engaged."

The manuals for both of my JD machines (1989 185 and 2007 2520) say to engage the PTO at 1/4 throttle and 1500 RPM, respectively, then advance to full throttle. So, if that works, why not do it? What does your manual say?

The manual for my new Cub Cadet ZTR says go to full throttle and engage the PTO, which makes me cringe after doing it the other way for years, but if I try to engage with less than about 3/4 throttle, it sounds like it's going to just about kill the engine, so close to full-throttle engagement is probably about right for that machine.

 

[tomplum]

When you get this re assembled, verify that your choke control cable isn't travelling too far and putting stress on the choke shaft.

 

[Richard001]

Little update to my woes.

I tried the choke when engaging the blades and that didn't make much difference. (More on that in a minute)

I began to notice a stutter more during normal operation so I decided to check the coils again. Lo and behold now the other coil wasn't firing. So off to the parts counter I went for another coil.

Now we're firing on both cylinders and I'm ready to mow. Only now when I get up to full throttle I'm getting puffs of smoke (smells like unburned fuel) and if I commence cutting I'm really bogging down and losing power.

So I decide I better take a look at the carb. I get it out of there and where the choke valve should be is a melted looking piece of plastic. So at the very least I've been running for some time with no choke even though I thought I was giving it choke.

Anyone ever try to replace just the choke valve or am I looking at a whole new carb?

***EDIT BELOW***

Well my coffee kicked in while I was looking at the schematics of the carb and while I was wondering where the heck the old butterfly valve went as all I had in the choke end of the carb body was a melted strip of plastic.

Then I recalled when I took off the metal air intake piece on the front of the carb there was a piece of metal in the throat of it that looked like some sort of baffle plate. Out to the barn I went and there's my butterfly valved lodged in the air intake. I'm guessing that backfiring I was having before must have blown it off the plastic rod, lodging it there, and also melting the plastic rod.

So rather than no choke, I've been running full choke as the butterfly was lodged in the intake in what would be a closed position.

Guess it's back off to the parts counter...View attachment 872790

Ah yes, plastic parts on a ICE engine, what could go wrong ?