considering gas has ethanol in it.. and will disolve a significant amount of water in soloution without you know ing it.. if you saw physical water in the sed bowl, that tank is SATURATED. put some more gas in there as well as some heet..or drygass..
make sure you have good fuel flow thru the carb. screw main needle in till it just bottoms.. count turns and then turn back out.
a good 600/601 could tote as high as a 6' mower.. 5' should be no issues.
did it overheat on the gauge? if so, check to make sur ehte radiator core fins are clean. if so.. i'd draint he rad into a bucket and see what you get out. back flush the block and rad with a hose.. replace the thermostat.. in the process of this check the water pump action.
also.. you are mis-identifying sumps and fill points.
filler by shifter is for TRANNY.. there is a drain under tranny... level check is a plug on right side of tranny about een with running board, by right foot.. it's oin tranny casting.. not center housing.
filler under left front of seat is for hyds.. drain is on underside of sump.. level check is via dipstick.
filler under back right of seat is for diffy.. drain is a plug under diffy.. level check is a pip plug in the back left side of the left axle trumpet.
any sumps that are wet.. dump in a couple quarts or more of diesel, and then a couple pints of 90% rubbing alcohol.. run around yard... drain.. refill.
trans and diffy can get 80w90 gear oil or utf meeting m2c134 spec ( walmart/tsc or store brand utf likely ok ).. hyds get utf.. etc.
soundguy
Alright... last question... maybe. I took the tractor out and really tested the workload this weekend. I cut about a two acre field that was totally full of brush. I used a 5ft bush hog with a 40hp gearbox. The cutter worked amazingly well. The field was full of small trees, blackberry bushes and more random weeds and plants. My tractor had a bit of issues with what I believe was a fuel problem. At first I though the bush hog may be too large for the tractor? (what are your thoughts)? But then again, it pulled it and lifted it well. The pto worked fine. Turns out, I think the tractor was sitting for a while at the dealership I bought it from and it gathered some debris/water in the gas tank. I had to empty my sediment bowl twice. The first time it had a healthy does of water in it along with some trash. The second time there was still a little drop or two of water and more debris. My tractor was sputtering when I was cutting and it overheated a little. I cut it off, rested it and it worked great again. I am assuming that this debris is what is causing it? Am I correct in assuming this?
Also, I plan on changing out the hydraulic oil this coming weekend. When I checked the hydraulic fluid and the differential fluid, it was a milky white color. I am assuming that some water may have gotten in it as well. Is there a filter that I need to replace as well? The engine oil was changed when I bought it from the dealer so I think that it is good. I found the reservoir for the hydraulic fluid at the gear shifter and the reservoir in the back behind the seat. Am I missing another reservoir? Thanks for all of your help. Between you and my neighbor, I may actually be getting the hang of this.
