Oil & Fuel Oil change to fix mis-fire?

Rick Roberts · Dec 20, 2010

My Deere LA 115 has begun mis-firing when it warms up. Manipulating the choke doesn't make any difference. The troubleshooting section of the manual says I should try changing the oil. The engine has 13 hours on it.

My question is this...why does oil have anything to do with a mis-fiiring engine? It behaves like the carb setting is too lean. I have changed the fuel filter and the air filter. I have also drained out old gas and put in new gas. No difference. SO before I go to the trouble of changing the oil, can someone shed some light on my question about the oil change?

Rick Roberts

DrRick · Dec 20, 2010

welcome to the forum. I noticed that your name is the same as mine. Where do you hail from.
rick roberts/ west texas

DrRick · Dec 20, 2010

I had trouble with my classic mustang misfiring when warmed up. ended up being fixed with a capaciter in the distributor that was bad. I think it cost 2 dollars. engine would idle fine but upon giving it any gas it would miss. I cannot think of any reason the oil change would be a factor unless it had a type of low oil switch that was getting clogged.
probably not one of those on your tractor. I would look at coil also. Feel it and see if it is real hot to the touch.

RalphVa · Dec 20, 2010

Their advice is wrong.

I'd try some Seafoam in the tank. It cleared up misfiring problems on my Gravely and both my 2 walk behind lawnmowers. Seems to work well on carburetored engines.

Ralph

Scotty370 · Dec 20, 2010

Try this forum. Not 'dissing' TBN, but this might be more JD Problem specfic!

Weekend Freedom Machines

Scotty370 · Dec 20, 2010

Just another aside: I think that the 10% Ethanol Gas that they are forcing us to buy, is giving us a lot of this grief............(rant over) ................Scotty

PS, I've been trying to treat all my fuel. with "Stabil", year round, but I will say, I've missed a few batches.........

Scotty370 · Dec 20, 2010

Rick- After a re-read...........Was this a 'new' purchase? 13 Hours? I'd be taking it back, and making them fix/or replace it!

Happyman · Dec 20, 2010

RalphVa said:
Their advice is wrong.

I'd try some Seafoam in the tank. It cleared up misfiring problems on my Gravely and both my 2 walk behind lawnmowers. Seems to work well on carburetored engines.

Ralph

I use Seafoam in every gas or gas/oil powered engine. Has made a HUGE difference in performance. Carbs stay cleaner and any water absorbed by the ethanol is taken care of by Seafoam. Amazing stuff. I'll never look back!

kjung17 · Dec 20, 2010

The reasoning behind the oil change is this: Engines run at less than WOT or with poor quality fuel will tend to allow raw fuel to wash past the rings. This both thins the oil and overfills the sump. If your oil level is normal, you can probably skip the oil change.