Need help - Cub Cadet 1862 dies after running

[OldBulldogger]

Hello all,
I am looking for some advice. I have a Cub Cadet 1862 with 900 hours on it. It starts fine and will run just fine for a good half hour of mowing. Eventually it starts to bog some once it has run for some time and then if idled down it will die out, almost as if the fuel were cut off. If I try to restart it again, it will crank and crank and sputter some like it is trying to fire if I pull out the choke but it just won't start. If I let it sit for a couple of hours until it is good and cooled down, it will start right up again and run, no problem. I had one person tell me they thought it was getting hot and vaporlocking the fuel supply system.

Does anyone know if that is the cause or could it be something else? Any thoughts here would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gator6x4]

Most Cubs have a Kohler engine with a fuel pump. Disconnect the line going to the carburetor at the fuel fuel when it stops running, attach a short piece of hose and void it into a container, spin the engine over and see if you are getting fuel. If getting fuel pull one of the spark plug boots, insert a phillip head screw driver in the spark plug boot, hold the metal part of the screw driver and spin the engine over, are you getting spark. A small shock is all you will receive. Don't do this test if you have as pacemaker installed. If no fuel coming thru the fuel pump, pump bad. (Pricey) New about sixty dollars. If no spark, bad coils. Pair about one hundred twenty - forty dollars. Removal of fuel pump easy. Removal of coils a nine on a ten scale.

 

[mattbfw]

I would stick with the basiscs - I have a Honda mower that did something similiar - it end up being the sparkplug......

 

[rcbe]

along with matt's thought, might also chk that yer fuel tank cap is not plugged up..

 

[Terry Stewart]

While checking the fuel flow from fuel pump to the carb pull the fuel line below the fuel filter and check for flow from the gas tank could be a blockage some were from the shut-offs to the fuel filter.

 

[savageactor7]

I once had a small knot of grass in the fuel line that gave the GT hard to lock down fits. GT would run great for the longest time ...then sputter and die.

Finally disconnected line from fuel tank to filter and blew out the grass with compressed air. That was so easy to do after futilely exploring all other possibilities I wished I had done that first.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

Most Cubs have a Kohler engine with a fuel pump. Disconnect the line going to the carburetor at the fuel fuel when it stops running, attach a short piece of hose and void it into a container, spin the engine over and see if you are getting fuel. If getting fuel pull one of the spark plug boots, insert a phillip head screw driver in the spark plug boot, hold the metal part of the screw driver and spin the engine over, are you getting spark. A small shock is all you will receive. Don't do this test if you have as pacemaker installed. If no fuel coming thru the fuel pump, pump bad. (Pricey) New about sixty dollars. If no spark, bad coils. Pair about one hundred twenty - forty dollars. Removal of fuel pump easy. Removal of coils a nine on a ten scale.

Instead of getting a jolt (20,000 volts?) how about sticking a Phillips screwdriver in the spark plug boot and holding the metal shaft 1/4 inch from the cylinder head to see if there's a spark?

Bob B.

 

[OldBulldogger]

Here is an update. I went to start it up again after sitting over-night. This time, it turned over and over and over but would not fire. I finally ended up pouring about a half cup of gas into the carb and it sputtered and then started right up and ran. My first thought was did it get so hot that it boiled the fuel out of the carb. So, I pulled off all the shrouds to expose the engine fins. There was some shredded leave debris that had restricted some of the air flow. I cleared everything away from the fins and reassmbled all the shrouds. Started it up and and ran well for about 10 minutes and then started bogging down again under load and eventually died. I did pull both plugs and held them against the outside of the engine and turned it over. It appears I do have spark on both sides. I checked the fuel filter and it appeared to be very dry. I pulled the fuel line off the carb intake and turned it over. It did pulse out fuel so it appears the pump is working. So I removed the air cleaner and proceed to pour some gas into the carb from a small cup I had. As soon as it hit the carb throat it began to bubble and boil. I could hear and see it. I turned it over and it sputtered to life long enough to burn the fuel and then died again. I did loosen the gas cab and actually blew threw the little opening in the gas cap just to make sure there was airflow which there was. So now I am baffled. One guy said the coil might be weak or have a crack in it that heats up and opens up causing me to lose spark. Once cooled down, it would be fine again. Does that sound right? I have not checked the lines coming from the fuel tank to the filter yet so I will do that. When it first died, the fuel fliter did not appear to have any fuel in it however as it cool down, I could see fuel once again partially fillin the filter.

At this point I am open to any and all suggestions so please advise. I did not check compression yet as I do not have a tool to do that but it does NOT blow any blue exhaust. When it does run, it runs fine - no stumbling or hesitation. Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[samandmax]

Does you air filter have any oil on it? I had one where the rubber hose coming up to the carb and inside the diameter of the air cleaner was spitting out oil and killing the engine. The seal on the diaphram pump may be sipping air too. If it is plastic, replace it and see.

 

[Terry Stewart]

Check the shut-down solenoid it located on the backside of the carburetor. You should here a click with the hood open when you first turn on the key. The solenoid could be getting hot and opening up causing the shutdown valve to close shutting off the gas flow. Also it could be a loose
connection in the wiring causing the same effects.