Problem - John Deere OHV130

[lxskllr]

My mower's about worn out. It's held together with cord and tie wire, but it mostly worked last week when I shut it down. It was having some problems stalling when engaging the blades, but after being warmed up, it behaved itself.

This week I can't get it going. I have it hooked up to a battery charger, and I can get it to start with some effort. When I do get it fired, it runs great; For about 10 seconds, then dies  :^/  It takes a bit of rest, but it'll fire up again, run strong, then die in ~10 seconds. I checked the spark plug gap, and adjusted it last week. One variable is it spent most of it's life running alcohol gas, and the last batch has been alcohol free. My Poulan saw wouldn't idle after the same conditions, but I got that straight today. Related?

Any ideas? I'm wondering if the fuel filter's plugged. I've never changed it in ~15 years. Maybe running real gas loosened some junk up? Maybe it gets fuel from the heavy cranking, but uses it up and dies? Full throttle and light throttle give the same results near as I can tell.

I'm not especially mechanically inclined, but can do stuff if necessary. IOW, I don't enjoy working on machines, but will muddle my way through when prodded, and with some help from manuals, so troubleshooting isn't my strong suit.

edit:
Forgot, last week it wanted to stall when facing uphill. Downhill, and sidehill were fine. Not sure what that means, but it probably means something.

edit2:
Sorry for the dribbling out of data. I don't remember everything at once... It was backfiring through the carb while trying to start it. In fact, I set the carb on fire tonight  :^D  I tried putting some raw gas in the carb, and slopped it a bit. Caught it on fire, and had to beat it out with my hand. Cut my finger on something. Always something...

[sawguy21]

Your first sentence probably sums it up, the last Tecumsehs were built in 2005 so it is getting long in the tooth. A fresh fuel filter and carb overhaul wouldn't hurt but first you need a shop to determine the condition of the engine to see if it is worth spending the time and money.
Edit: I assumed the OHV130 was a Tecumseh model number. Regardless, it has served you well and doesn't owe you anything.

[lxskllr]

2005 would be an upgrade  :^D I bought it used in ~02. I just did a search, and it looks like they were made from 86-88. It has a Kawasaki motor. I think I'll try the fuel filter first. If that doesn't work, I'll buy a new push mower(Walmart special) til I decide what I'm gonna do. I'm definitely not spending real money on it, but if I can fix it myself for a couple tens of dollars, I'd do that.

That'll be a longer term project, but right now I need to make the grass shorter. All the rain we've gotten has really made it grow.

I hate summer. I just want it to get cool so I don't have to cut grass anymore, and can get back to work cutting my tree. That's a fun job. Making grass shorter is pointless.

[Roger2561]

Sounds like the carb needs a good cleaning, a new fuel filter won't hurt it a bit and don't forget to replace the air filter.  While you're at it toss some sea-foam in the gas tank, that stuff has always worked wonders for me.  The ethanol gas is hard on carbs.  I have a 2000 JD LX277 with the Kawasaki motor, other than a couple cleanings over the past 18 years and other items which wore out, she has worked great for me.  If you don't already do this, when you tuck her in for the winter, shutoff the fuel to carbs, then start the motor, let it run until she dies, you'll get no ethanol gunk build up this way.  I hope this helps.  Roger   

[lxskllr]

Thanks all. I stopped by the consignment shop today, and I picked up a Craftsman with a 42" deck. $580 with taxes. The deck's kind of cheap, and since it's wider than my old one, I'm beating it up on stuff. It'll do. The shop's ~1/4 mile from my house, so I could drive it home. That kind of convenience tipped me towards getting it.

And this is bad... but I picked up a brand new Stihl ms362(not cm) with a 20" bar and a Stihl case for $550 including taxes. I don't use the saws I already have to their full potential, and my "big" saw I got earlier this year was a 362cm :rollseyes:  Seemed like a good deal, so I jumped on it. I may keep the b&c, the case, and sell the powerhead. Dunno yet. I may feel out the boss, and see if he's interested in it. He doesn't have a saw, but could use one. He has a farm, and no saw. How can you have a farm and not have a saw?!

edit:
I'm still gonna try to get the Deere going. First step will be bypassing  the fuel filter, and see if it runs. If that fails, I guess I'll be breaking down the carb. Never fooled with one on a small engine. My only carb experience was rebuilding VW single barrel carb. That was pretty easy, but that was back when I enjoyed working on mechanical things.