190c riding mower runs like it is on one cylinder....

[pacerron]

hey, sorry, been so busy and didnt get a chance to read this before running some seafoam in the mower...
it didnt clear anything up after a few minutes of running, and I just turned it off knowing that wasnt going to work.

You are correct, the carb is already clean and seafoam is not the answer.

I will update in a day or so when I get some work done on it.

thx again

As I mentioned, mine didn't start to clear up till after over half a tank was run through and I ran the tank almost dry during the one Seafoam event, not just at idle, but under full throttle mowing high grass.
Bill may be correct, that this is not your problem, but you did not give the Seafoam a fair test.
Carbon build up on the piston tops and around the valves is also helped be removed by the Seafoam but it has to have a chance to work.
Just an easy suggestion to try.
We must assume that you have changed or run the engine with the air cleaner paper element removed?
Also that you have changed the spark plugs, even if they look good and are gaped properly?
That you have checked the bolts for tightness under the OHV covers and checked the gap of the stems?
I think I remember you saying you changed the fuel filter and checked inside the gas tank for debris around the hose hole.

I'm sure you will find and correct the problem sooner or later.

Related to the engine, if you have oil build up on the frame below the filter and on the other side, which many do, and I did to the point of it starting to drip from the pulley cover
over the main shaft after 1000 hours of use onto the floor, check the tightness of the oil pan bolts.
I had ordered a shaft seal and new pan gasket in preparation of taking the engine out to turn over and replace those items, as it appeared the shaft seal was leaking.
The dealer said the seals rarely leak but the gaskets often do. I still got both as the old seal would probably would be messed up when I pulled the pan.
Before starting that job, I read about a number of engines having the leak like mine and the cause was during assembly. Sure enough, I had one loose bolt. Still leakes about an ounce
in 10 hours of use, but I put an old sock under the filter to absorb any leak. I may do the repair someday, if I run out of socks.:dance1:

 

[DrBill]

Matt,, I've been doing some studying and have learned a little more about your carb. I read about several people who had similar issues like you are having.. Below is a copy and paste of what one owner posted. (Just posted for more general info for you to keep in mind)


You most likely have carburetor problems.
My 190C did the same thing last year. It only had 165 hours on it but it started to pop and spit and sputter at WOT and was just running really ragged.
I tried lots of things, from changing spark plugs to checking the flywheel key and even brightening the magnets on the flywheel, all to no avail. Then I started to notice it was only happening on one cylider, not both.

I learned that the carb on these Briggs engines is really two carbs in one housing. One carb for each cylinder. There is a plastic tube inside the carv with some plastic jets in the bottom. The jets have o-rings around them. Over time, the o-rings get hard and don't seal any more. In some cases, the o-ring will actually let the jet fall out of it's hole.

JD offers a kit, you can get a kit from a Briggs dealer cheaper, but I just replaced the whole carb. No one had a kit in stock, it was a Saturday and I HAD to finish mowing. JD didn't have a new carb. (thank goodness since they wanted $200 for one) Bought the same part # new carb from my local Briggs dealer for $125.

 

[mattbatson]

Matt,, I've been doing some studying and have learned a little more about your carb. I read about several people who had similar issues like you are having.. Below is a copy and paste of what one owner posted. (Just posted for more general info for you to keep in mind)


You most likely have carburetor problems.
My 190C did the same thing last year. It only had 165 hours on it but it started to pop and spit and sputter at WOT and was just running really ragged.
I tried lots of things, from changing spark plugs to checking the flywheel key and even brightening the magnets on the flywheel, all to no avail. Then I started to notice it was only happening on one cylider, not both.

I learned that the carb on these Briggs engines is really two carbs in one housing. One carb for each cylinder. There is a plastic tube inside the carv with some plastic jets in the bottom. The jets have o-rings around them. Over time, the o-rings get hard and don't seal any more. In some cases, the o-ring will actually let the jet fall out of it's hole.

JD offers a kit, you can get a kit from a Briggs dealer cheaper, but I just replaced the whole carb. No one had a kit in stock, it was a Saturday and I HAD to finish mowing. JD didn't have a new carb. (thank goodness since they wanted $200 for one) Bought the same part # new carb from my local Briggs dealer for $125.

wow Doc, you have been a huge help on this...way above and beyond what I expected on a forum...and very much appreciated.

I'm in an unusual spot that keeps me so very busy (just moved to new house in NC, house is being completely gutted and renovated by ME alone, wife and kid are staying one town over with mother, AND I am working daily on rental properties that we have and ones we recently purchased).

I read the post you quoted, and I'm already looking up local briggs and straton dealers to see what kind of price I can get on a new carb. 125 bucks is well worth it to not have to try to rebuild that thing a second time.
I"m convinced that you are correct, and that this will finally fix my problem.

Once I get this on, I'll post up with results.
fingers crossed!

 

[DrBill]

Matt, fingers crossed here too.. And thanks for the kind words.. I'm in the same boat you are in with the houses.. I'm working on an old house built in 1936 and it's fun but a handful. I don't get to be on here much either. I get an email when you have replied and that's clues me to sign on..

Yes,, somewhere in these 5 pages of posts lies the answer.. I think the carb is probably the problem. I'm thinking so because what the fellow mentioned in the post I pasted in also matches what the guy from my old shop was trying to explain to me about the plastic parts and o-rings that go bad in the carb.

Let's hope so and when you get around to working on it, I look forward to hearing any news..

Best luck on this and the house too !

 

[mattbatson]

Success!!!!!

It was the carb.

I finally got around the putting the new one on after looking at it sitting in the back of the 4runner for a week.

as soon as I got it bolted on and started it up it purred like a kitten.

I want to thank you drbill for all your help...and everyone else who chimed in...
It is really great to have the mower running again and I really do appreciate all the help.

and hopefully this thread will help others in the future

peace!

 

[DrBill]

Matt,, your reply made my day.! I had thought about you often and had been hoping for this type of final reply.. I thought the same as you also,, maybe this wild thread will help another person sometime..

Best luck going forward on the 190 and house projects too.

 

[mattbatson]

Matt,, your reply made my day.! I had thought about you often and had been hoping for this type of final reply.. I thought the same as you also,, maybe this wild thread will help another person sometime..

Best luck going forward on the 190 and house projects too.

ha ha, yes, I figured you might have thought I forgot about this thread and would not return to reveal the final solution, but I was also thinking about how I needed to get back on here at some point, and that may have been part of my motivation to get the carb onto the tractor....

that and the 6 inchs extra of cut that the 190c has over the husky that I bought...it makes a bigger difference than I had thought it would in time when cutting a couple of acres.

anyways, in the process I have certainly learned a lot about my mower and in the future will have an easier time of diagnosing and working on it.


thanks!

 

[mark1]

Ok now when it's running spray some water around the carb.intake pipes,etc.see if it changes I had the same engine that was sucking air around the pipes (Bad O Ring) and would only run on one cylinder.there is an upgraded carb manifold gasket for that engine too.

 

[mark1]

Oh I have a "new" carb for that engine.used only 1 year.It'll be avail in November. The rest of the mower is shot and it's time to scrap it. can we make a deal?
P.M me?