LT2000 Briggs quits when warm

[blacknchrome]

Hello,

So, I brought home a used Craftsman LT2000 (917.273758) that I thought looked good. But, I found the reason they were selling it. It runs until it gets heated up, usually 3-10 minutes, then stalls. It has a Briggs 18 hp OHV INTEK model 31P777 0299E1. It starts great and sounds fine - maybe knocks a little. When it gets heated up, it sputters a little, then starts to die. I can go to idle and usually keep it running for a few seconds or more, or to choke which saves it for about 1 or 2 seconds. After it shuts off, I can immediately restart it, but it will die with throttle or shortly after at idle. I let it sit and come back in a few minutes or more and it will run for another 2-5 minutes.

Any body know how to fix this?

I've cleaned the plug and it's got fresh gas.

Thanks

 

[TonyMcD]

I like to try the easy cheap stuff first.

You may be running short of fuel.
Try opening up the high speed needle about a half turn.
If that doesn't work, clean the carb really good and change the filter.

Also maybe a bad coil...except for it starting right back up doesn't make sense. (usually a bad coil will have to cool down before working again)

 

[Jim Thompson]

If it restarts immediately, then the problem isn't the coil. I would suspect a fuel problem. You might start by replacing the fuel filter and while the fuel line is open, drain a few ounces of gas into a clean container to check for water, dirt and fuel flow. If those are all good, you will need to test the fuel pump if it has one. The next step would to remove and thoroughly clean the carb.

Jim

P.S. I don't believe that there is an an adjustment screw on that carb.

 

[blacknchrome]

So I'm not real sure about adjusting the carb.

However, today I did clean the bowl out - it was real clean - and spray a little cleaner into the carb without taking it off. Also drained the fuel tank. I then checked the valve rocker arms clearances, and they were good. I think I found the problem - I couldn't even get a feeler gauge between the flywheel / magnet and the coil. So, I backed it off to .014 per the maintenance manual, and the tractor ran decent for 17 minutes, when I finally shut it off. It still sputters a little after it gets heated up, but it didn't die. Hopefully this is the issue, as I hate to just throw money at parts hoping for the best.

Thanks for your info so far and suggestions.