I am completely flummoxed on this failure

[docmirror]

I picked up these two mowers about 6 months ago, and one of them was a Craftsman CT2000. It has a very good Industrial Commercial Briggs on it that just needed a carb, and some tune up bits. Blades, belts and seat cover, it was back in business.

The Cub looked much better condition visually, but it's been a train wreck to get back in shape. 2 of the spindles were bad, of course belts and blades, no batt, starter needed, coil and wire, carb junk, had the starter ring cracked, 3 of four tires were junk and it had a fuel line leak.

Starter is the last thing, and once I get that, I'll be in good shape if it'll start. This is one that was kept in a garage, as the seat and body are pretty nice looking. But - underneath it's been a nightmare of zero maint since it was new. What a shame, as it's such a nice looking tractor. The Craftsman looked pretty bad, but has required very little to get it up and working. One of my tenants on a 1ac plot has been using it all summer and fall.

[ol'George]

Looks are deceiving.
Many a purdy "lady" weren't worth a dam when given daily chores to do on the farm.
Most couldn't make biscuits "N" gravy, much less hay the cows or gather eggs from the hen house.
Now give me a good ol'gal that drives the tractor or big truck and can fix it too,
then make pork chops and poke salad for supper, without it being toxic

[docmirror]

I wanted to update this as I've worked on the mower some this past wknd. I was able to get the compression checked, and it's a bit over 100PSI which I think is darn good for it sitting so long. I sprayed a bit of WD40 in the plug hole, and ran it around for a bit, then tested with throttle wide open.

This confirms the compression. I've already had it pop and spit some so I know it's getting spark. The carb is new, and I have fresh gas, so I think that's going to be ok once I get it to run.

Now, I'm at the point where I think the ign timing is off. The only way that can happen is if the keyway is sheared in the slot and the flywheel has moved around. This is kind of indicated as the engine will spit and pop, but not run. Also, once in a while the engine will slow rapidly when cranking, which may indicate a firing of the plug at the wrong time.

The flywheel is stuck pretty good, so I'm making a puller tool with some bolts and thick tubing. Once I get it off, I'll check the keyway, and set it up right, then try again.

[ol'George]

Before you get all carried away removing the flywheel just to find it ain't the problem LOOK to see if the valves are operating properly.
Sum of them new fangled engines used PLASTIC camshafts and a gopher said they liked that because it made them stop and then that "noisy thing" didn't mess with their mounds.
Also WD 40 is a water dispersant not a lubricant or penetrating fluid.

[1711Cub]

I understood that WD-40 is roughly comprised of 20 percent lubricants (fish oil), the rest is kerosene and dispersants. So it is a lubricant, but a really lackluster one. It is better utilized as a cleaner and water displacer.

[docmirror]

Originally Posted by ol'George

Before you get all carried away removing the flywheel just to find it ain't the problem LOOK to see if the valves are operating properly.
Sum of them new fangled engines used PLASTIC camshafts and a gopher said they liked that because it made them stop and then that "noisy thing" didn't mess with their mounds.
Also WD 40 is a water dispersant not a lubricant or penetrating fluid.

This was contra-indicated with a comp test of ~105PSI. Mistaken valve timing would have resulted in 5-60ish PSI.

[docmirror]

The flywheel finally came off with a lot of tools, and pressure. The keyway was sheared, and it was out of time about 20 deg. The old keyway showed signs of corrosion at the juncture of the shaft and flywheel.

This appears to be the original problem why the unit was left to sit. I will have a new keyway in, the flywheel torqued, and running by Sunday.

This machine has taken up far more time than most of the others I've worked on. Happily, I have an Original to hop on and go have some fun mow.

This will conclude this thread, thanks to all who chimed in.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by docmirror

The flywheel finally came off with a lot of tools, and pressure. The keyway was sheared, and it was out of time about 20 deg. The old keyway showed signs of corrosion at the juncture of the shaft and flywheel.

This appears to be the original problem why the unit was left to sit. I will have a new keyway in, the flywheel torqued, and running by Sunday.

This machine has taken up far more time than most of the others I've worked on. Happily, I have an Original to hop on and go have some fun mow.

This will conclude this thread, thanks to all who chimed in.

Well sir I stand educated, I would have bet it was not the flywheel.
Just goes to show no one is exempt from learning.

[docmirror]

Well, the horror story continues. Got the engine to run, engaged the deck and it spun, set the height, pushed the pedal and the tractor went forward. I thought I was on my way.

But, just when ya think you are out - they pull ya back in again. It sputtered for a minute or so, then died and won't start while cranking. Since 90 percent of issues are related to fuel, I started there. After about 10 min, pulled the float bowl and dry. Blow into the hose from the fuel pump and I can move air through the hose, and down the float valve.

At this point I have to assume it's not getting fuel to the carb. It was running ok for about 15 min, then just sputtered and died. Took off the air cleaner, and sprayed carb cleaner in. Started and ran on carb cleaner for a min. Barely any fuel at all drooling out. Sigh - the diaphragm in the fuel pump must have given up after running for a few min.

So - one more wait, one more part, one more repair, and try again.

[RLause]

Check to see if fuel will run out of the tank. Sometimes the outlet gets plugged or a small amount of water will cover the outlet.