JD 325,surging problems

[jasnake65]

Hello everyone,
Have a John Deere 325 and it wont idle,it goes fast then almost dies down,like its starving for gas,surging. Changed the gas filter,plug and cleaned out the air cleaner. Im thinking it might be bad gas(water) what do you guys think?

 

[Molerj]

Sounds to me like you have a jet plugged in the carb. Has it sat for a long period with fuel in it, or did this problem come on all at once?

 

[stuart]

Try some carb cleaner

 

[jasnake65]

It just started,im going to put some carb cleaner in it and see what happens
I'll tell you what happens

later

 

[jasnake65]

I dumped some card cleaner in the gas tank and nothing so far,what else can I do?

 

[bontai_Joe]

I thought most carb cleaner got sprayed directly into the carb. I'm not familiar with a gas additive that will quickly fix a carb that is already dirty.

 

[Nasty135]

jasnake65, That sounds like you have to adjust the carb,There are three things that can cause this problem
#1 The govenor has come loose or the spring is off
#2 The float adjustment is off
#3 The idle mixture is out off adjustment
Now these are listed in this order from your description as to which is most likely the cause of this problem.
Look at the carb as its running do you see the carb butterfly moving with the surge?There are springs or a spring to hold it too a lever that connects to the block at a pivot point.Is all the linkage intact?
Float adjustment on some models there is an adjustable screw under the float bowl when you screw it in it lets less fuel in the bowl,letting it out increases fuel in the bowl,this is best to do while engine is running.
Easiest of all is idle mixture with engine running at idle turn screw in until engine starts sounding worse then back out until it smooths out then sounds rough again ,then screw back in until settles down to the sweet spot.
If you can identify these parts you can do it,Its really not difficult at all just a little intimidating at first. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Nasty135]

jasnake65,Oh also the surge won't be fixed by the idle mixture that's just for after the other two have been done you can fine tune it at that point. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[DJLX]

My X585 started surging also. I realize this is fuel injected but the problem may be similiar. The throttle was sticking/binding in the throttle body which the dealer just replaced so you might want to look at that. It did not happen all the time though, sometimes it felt loose and sometimes it would get stuck hard.

 

[gobbler]

Does the 325 have the Kawasaki 18HP V-Twin? If so, check the coils, I had a 285 that had the same symptoms and one of the coils had gone bad. Not expensive to fix and real easy to change.

 

[Dutch445]

If this tractor has been sitting, over winter etc., and hasn't been running, chances are the carb might need a rebuild. Carb cleaner can't get into the smallest passages in the carb if they are plugged, so sometimes you just have to pull the carb off, tear them down, and and soak them in solution, then put in the new rebuild kit.

 

[jasnake65]

I try that when I get home from work today,Its a Briggs & Stratton motor,18 hp. Thanks for all the tips.

 

[jasnake65]

Got time today to take it apart, took off the carb and then took it apart,did find some crap in one of the jets and blew it out. Put it back together and it runs fine at idle but some surging at high RPM's. I'll take it apart after work today see if some more stuff got free and pluged it up.
Thanks for the tips guys

 

[Nasty135]

surging at high rpm is probably due to low float level,which in some models can be adjusted by a thumb screw located under the carb on the bowl.
sounds like what might be happening is starving for gas then letting enough in to keep running ,causing the pulsating .
I forget have we discussed the gas filter yet ? its not slighlty clogged is it? this could cause the same symptom.Its been awhile maybe you have already gotten it straightened out. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Secretec]

Take the carb apart and clean it. Mine did the the same thing, dirt or other crap in the jets. Fun eh!!