2 problems with L118, tranny and fuel delivery

[rjcl004]

My L118 has 120 hours on it and has 2 problems: The dreaded transaxle "popping" sound. The dealer says it needs a new tranny 2 $800 and says that they would not recomend it because the mower isn't worth it. Any other options and/or suggestions would be appreciated. It also has fuel problems. I have replaced fuel line hoses, fuel pump and filter and there is still very little fuel if any visible in the fuel filter. Removing the cap on gas tank doesn't affect it. I have (or had to run it with partial choke or it would die). Any help with this mower that I had expected would last would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Rick

 

[genesii]

I understand I am pretty much repeating what you have alredy said but;

Although I am not familiar with your tractor, I can tell you my (GT242) JD fuel filter runs with almost no fuel in it at all.

Assuming you have a fuel pump, pull the line that goes from the pump to the carburetor, place the hose in a coffee can or similar and crank the engine for a few seconds, there should be a pretty good spurting action.

If fuel output looks good there, proceed to the float bowl, pull, clean and reinstall. Check your float inside the carb, it will be above where you took the bowl off and make sure it moves up and down freely and there is no gas inside of the float.

If you do not find crap in the float bowl, find your low speed screw (the only adjustable screw on my tractor) and open 1/4 to 1/2 (turn counter clockwise) and see if your tractor will run properly.

I know it's crazy, but the low speed screw affects the engine through all ranges.

Good luck and I wish I could help you out on your hydro, but at least you have some other things to look @ on the fuel system.

 

[Engine_Tech]

Those filters don't fill, so they always look empty. Disconnect at the carb and let it pump into a jar. If it's pumping, it's pumping. You likely have a dirty carb from stale fuel. Fuel is doing horrible things to small engines these days.

You might be able to change the trans oil to help. There are some great folks on mytractorforum.com that have good info on that.