2182 doesn't like the heat
 

I have been a collector/user of Cub Cadets for a lot of years. I gradually upgrade as I can afford it. I started out as a kid with a 1650, high school was a 1641, and several 1641s since, now I'm up to the 2182 (I'm 37 now). I love this machine. LOVE!!! But, when it gets hotter than 80 some degrees and I'm cutting my 5 acres, it starts to run bad. Mostly idle and mid range is the worst. Wide open with the blades going, its ok. Idles terrible. Loping. But the carb is clean as can be. I even took out the air cleaner for a moment while it was running to see if it cleared up. It almost seems like it is partly choked. I clean see that the butterfly is wide open by the position of the arm with the cable. Coolant is fine to the tippy top of the rad, overflow tank is fine. Grass catch is clean. 78 degrees, runs perfect all day long. What am I missing?

Any help would be much appreciated
Andy

Any chance the engine is trying to vapor lock?

Vapor lock would mean the fuel is turning to a gas before it reaches the carb. I wouldn't think that this would be possible due to the fuel being in the back of the machine where it is cool, and there is an electric fuel pump where fuel is circulated (maybe not circulated but a pressure system). The fuel line is also insulated when it enters the engine compartment. A big foam sleeve. Maybe its insulated because this has been an issue? You may be on to something

Andy

My 2182 is the same way. I'm convinced it has more to do with governor than anything else. I've even replaced the carb, new cap and rotor, new plugs etc. It just seems to hunt to control the RPM's at anything other than wide open or close to wide open. Just keep the radiator screen clean and run it. I do run some Red Line Water wetter in the cooling system it helps keep it cooler.

Mike got me thinking... I may have removed that black insulated tube around the fuel line when I cleaned the carb. It was soaked in fuel because the carb drain wasn't tightening completely and it was slowly dripping fuel. Sam, do you still have that foam on yours? Is there a chance that the fuel is boiling in the line just before it gets to the carb?

Not with a pressurized system/fuel pump.

Like Sam said, it's common. I've gotten them to quit that before when I worked at a dealer, like 15 years ago, but I don't remember how. :bigthink:

I was thinking it was a governor issue. (Just like Sam said)

And this isn't a carb adjustment issue? I remember the owners manual talking about adjusting the rich/lean mixture as regular service. Anyone tinker with that?

Could be. Try it.

The reason I brought up "vapor lock".

I have a 1864. I messed with it off/on for a year when I finally decided the engine would stall after 45 minutes or so of mowing. I put a new Ebay plastic fuel pump on it. That made it better but it would still stall. It would run okay if I removed the left hand engine cover.

So, I removed the fuel pump from being mounted on the engine flywheel shroud to the bracket that holds the battery to get the pump away from the the heat.

Problem solved.

The early 2182's the fuel pump was back at the tank and the later ones it was along side the engine down low. Maybe there was an issue they were trying to remedy.

Fuel pump is in back on both of mine. My other one is waiting on parts (throttle cable, hydro filter, seal) before I can try it to see if it does the same thing. I appreciate the ideas and keep them coming. Also, is PartsTree the best place to be shopping for parts?

Best place to start is with the sponsors at the top of the page. :beerchug: I've found cubcadet.com to be more inexpensive than PartsTree when factoring in shipping.

My 2182 hunts also if not at full throttle but I have not run mine with a deck yet.

Parts Tree is a good place to look up parts and if you need anything Kubota go to them on it. I use Messicks and have had great service from them.

Andy

I don't have the foam on my hose. On my 2182 it will hunt hot or cold. It's worse when it's cold. I've adjusted the carb also. I also have gauges on it and it never gets over 190 unless the screen is starting to plug.

The simplest and easiest check is the air/fuel ratio. If it is running lean then it will heat up with time. I have a cheap infrared temp gun from Harbor Freight that will tell the temp of any part you aim the laser at. Maybe if you start the tractor and then scan different parts when it is still cool and then as you run it scan the again to see where the heat is and where it begins it might tell you where the heat source is. Running lean is a very common problem and can or cannot have much to do with the cleanliness of the carb. In my case it was particles in the carb but on the Porsche that I used to own, which was air cooled, air/fuel ratio was a must to get right or the engine would self destruct. If you can get an air/fuel ratio meter maybe you can see what you are running. Also the sparkplugs tell a lot about the fuel ratio by their color. Here is a good article on sparkplugs and their color.
http://www.enginebasics.com/Engine%2...k%20Plugs.html
good luck.

Guys, the Kubota engine is a really good motor. Made to run under load. It is possible that the jet in the carb is for max load/ fuel. Anything under full load it wants to hunt. That's why it runs fine under load. Because that is where it is getting the best air/fuel mix. Like I stated before, I've worked on these things on several different applications. It's kinda the "nature of the beast". I do think that I got one to stop, but as mentioned, I don't remember how. My memory is so bad I may not even be thinking of a Kubota. It may have been something else entirely. Whichever the case, it doesn't hurt anything for it to be this way. Annoying yes, bad no.

As a note, IIRC, the diesel Kubota's have a buffer spring on the governor. It's job is to take the "bounce" out of the governor. I do not recall if the gas uses it or not and I don't have a gas motor to look at.

I ran it for a while with the side cover off and you can watch the gov try to control it. If you grab ahold of the gov arm you can get the surging to stop. That's why I say it's they way the gov is built. Jon as you say the diesel is stone solid at what ever it's set at.

I really wanted to play with this today but I got busy with my buddy's 1641 get the snow blower off and the deck on (yes July 4th, he has been using a snapper) I did get a chance build a new throttle cable for the other 2182. I got tired on waiting for the $70 throttle cable from PartsTree that I ordered a month ago. Anyway, $8.99 for throttle cable from TSC and a cut off wheel and you'll be all set! I'll hook it up in the morning and run her to see if she does the same thing. But like I said, it only lopes when it's really hot. 80+. Sam, I found the old foam and I'll put that on too to see if that helps with the Vapor Lock situation. I think J-Mech might be right though if all you guys are running these Kubota gas engines with same issue. I'll keep posting my findings if you guys are bored of this yet!

Andy

I used my 2182 yesterday for a little while. Paid a little more attention to the surge and I'm wondering if maybe the issue is caused when the carb is transitioning from the slow speed circuit to the high speed circuit. I may play with it some day. :bigthink:

[IMG]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...limini/011.jpg[/IMG]

Hey Sam, this is the foam tube I was talking about. Still trying to figure out how to post images.

Anyway, I had other problems with the new 2182 (pictured if it worked) so I didn't get to tinker with the heat issue. Got the throttle cable in, greased everything, changed oil, fired it up and pulled it out of the garage where she idled for maybe a minute, then died.

I struggled with this one. She seemed like she wasn't getting fuel. I could hear the pump running, but still spited and sputtered, but wouldn't stay running. Finally, I took the gas cap off. Tank was completely dry!!!! :bash2: Low fuel light was burnt out in the dash!!!! Check your light bulbs guys!!!!

Andy

You have the picture thing working. Are you telling me you need to put gas in these things? LMAO :beerchug: