2013 JD X320 w/ FH661V

[kly5953]

Hello all,

I'm new, as most of these posts start, and recently was gifted an X320 from my father after my first home purchase and adding 3.3 acres to my weekly "to-do" list. First off, I love the mower, my dad took immaculate care of this thing, and other than a little paint correction, it needed nothing when he brought it over about 1.5 months ago.

However,
Last week, I was mowing, and it started running rough. I'm not entirely new with engines, but I have rarely had luck with carbs on anything that you ride on (everything but my weedeater).
So I'm currently going through a seafoam treatment to start off, but I want to get a list of everything to check this weekend as I should have time.

Here's the facts:
Father bought new, only has about 285 hrs on it, never ran rough for him ever. It lived a life of collector car in Jay Leno's garage.
oil change, fuel filter, air filter, plugs done yearly
Never used Ethanol free gas before, but he treated it
I used ethanol free fuel the first time I filled up
I have an uneven yard and it is off camber a lot, never had to deal with that at my dad's flat "yard of the decade" property.
I did hose off the motor area but I kept the intake cover on so that shouldn't be a problem correct?
I will complete a full tune up this weekend, I just have a difficult time believing that missing it's yearly tune up by 2 weeks would cause this much problem.


Issue:
runs great as it sits immediately after starting
under load (with me and my son riding) it starts sputtering sounding as if it's going to die
decreasing throttle usually helps (~85% of the time)
turning on blades starts the issue 90% of the time, but it will smooth out after a bit, then run rough again.

I honestly don't see how to remove the bowl without fully removing the carb (anybody with experience please let me know) to inspect it.
I have read a tutorial on how to adjust the valves, I can do that no problem if I get there.
Seafoam should clear out gunk right? Should I treat it 2x to make sure?
Pulling plugs 1 at a time is to check if valves need adjusting, correct?

I'll be checking things in this order:
1. full tune up (plugs, air/gas filter, oil change)
2. finish seafoam treatment
3. seafoam treatment 2?
4. remove and inspect the carb
5. check valve adjustment

Anything else I should add to the list of things to check in order? Just trying to get a plan. Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Born2Mow]

Here's my ideas....

• Stop the Seafoam. It's not doing anything good for your engine. If you must use an additive, try StarTron.
• Stop washing the engine! If you want the mower clean, then use a leaf blower. The top of the deck DOES need to be clean to save the belts and allow the deck to breathe, but DON'T use water.
• It only takes 10 drops of water to screw everything. Water can enter through the fuel tank cap or 10 other ways. Stop washing the engine!
• Non-Ethanol fuel doesn't need any treatment. If you're going to use a stabilizer, like StarTron, then go ahead and use regular ethanol gas.
• The first work to do on an engine with 285 hours is to ADJUST THE VALVES. It's first, not last.
• Do not "remove the carb". Instead, remove the float bowl (or, open the float bowl drain) and pour the ENTIRE contents of the bowl though a doubled-over shop towel. Gas will pass though; water will bead up on the towel. Any water = "Bad Boogie". Using regular Ethanol gas will chase out ALL the water.
• When you adjust the valves, you first pull ALL the spark plugs. Then you adjust ALL the valves. Then you add 2 drops of motor oil to the threads of the spark plugs before you re-install them.
• Lastly.... Stop washing the engine!

Hope this helps.

 

[bertsmobile1]

As you got the mower for free, stump up for the JD technical manual for your mower.
They are not cheap but worth 3 times what they charge for it .
It will turn you into an expert overnight.
Most likely running over the rough ground has stirred up debris in the fuel tank, including water .
When sitting there running the engine is drawing fuel through the idle circuit.
When you turn the blades on or start driving the throttle opens up and you start drawing fuel through the main jet.
Not enough fuel is getting through.
Do your mower servicing at the END of each season so it sits there unused with fresh clean oil in it and put a fuel tap on the fuel line so you can turn the fuel off at the end of the season & run the carb dry .

 

[kly5953]

We'll agree to disagree on the Seafoam. The seafoam treatment I'm doing is to remove water from the system, it's quite common, many mechanic friends I have swear by it and I'm not using it on a modern, highly advanced motor(per Scotty up there) so I should be fine. Since the Kawi doesn't have O2 or A/F sensors, I have nothing to worry about as the oil product wont hurt anything. I'm not using it as an ethanol STABILIZER so star tron wouldn't be of any use anyway.

Maybe I wasn't clear, I didn't wash the engine, I washed the engine area, so the inside of the hood and the frame around the muffler had some buildup from years of use so I hosed it off. I will not do that again though.
I am confused as to why you told me I have to remove the spark plugs to do the valves, I asked a question based on what I had heard to make sure it wasn't crap. The question, "do I pull the plugs 1 at a time to check if the valves need adjusting?" I'm guessing by your confusion that it was crap and I won't worry about it.

Again, I know I need to remove the bowl, that's why I said:
"I honestly don't see how to remove the bowl without fully removing the carb (anybody with experience please let me know) to inspect it."
So if you have experience with this engine and carb, please I am all ears on how to remove the bowl. I just don't see how, as it looks as if the bowl can only be removed after the carb is disconnected, and I do not want to fool with the linkage. I have fooled with motorcycle carbs enough to know I hate adjusting cables.


@bertsmobile1 Thanks, I'm hoping the seafoam treatment will help flush out any crap in the gas. It worked on a few bikes so hopefully this twin cylinder will work too.
Can you provide a link to the service manual for it? I tried a few websites but was unable to find the one I needed for carb adjustments and valve clearances. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Scrubcadet10]

Being a twin cylinder it may be running on only 1 cylinder.
Either a bad ignition coil or valves out of adjustment.

you remove the spark plugs during a valve adjustment so the engine is easier to spin, since the valves need to be closed (rockers loose) when you adjust the clearance.

 

[bertsmobile1]

go to here https://techpubs.deere.com/en-US/Search/Equipment
If the words "technical Manual " are not in the publications type then click on the "more" link then click the technical manual check box.
type X 340 in the search box then search
that will bring up a dozen or so options depending upon the serial number off the ID tag
Note the implements will have their own manuals listed separately

 

[txmowman]

@kly5953 Congratulations on the home purchase. Sounds like your father did what most people should do for getting the best service from their mower. Looks like you have a fine example to live by. Seafoam works just fine. Probably not designed to clean dirt/debris out of the carburetor. It is more for carbon deposits and gummy deposits from old fuel.
What it sounds like to me is something in the main circuit of the carburetor, since you wrote it happens under load. Try: when it begins to happen, slowly start to apply the choke. If the engine tends to want to recover, you need the carburetor (or fuel system) cleaned. The only part of your story that isnt clear is how long the mower sat before dad gave it to you. Did he always drain the fuel at the end of each season?
All the best.

 

[OzPete]

Hello all,

I'm new, as most of these posts start, and recently was gifted an X320 from my father after my first home purchase and adding 3.3 acres to my weekly "to-do" list. First off, I love the mower, my dad took immaculate care of this thing, and other than a little paint correction, it needed nothing when he brought it over about 1.5 months ago.

However,
Last week, I was mowing, and it started running rough. I'm not entirely new with engines, but I have rarely had luck with carbs on anything that you ride on (everything but my weedeater).
So I'm currently going through a seafoam treatment to start off, but I want to get a list of everything to check this weekend as I should have time.

Here's the facts:
Father bought new, only has about 285 hrs on it, never ran rough for him ever. It lived a life of collector car in Jay Leno's garage.
oil change, fuel filter, air filter, plugs done yearly
Never used Ethanol free gas before, but he treated it
I used ethanol free fuel the first time I filled up
I have an uneven yard and it is off camber a lot, never had to deal with that at my dad's flat "yard of the decade" property.
I did hose off the motor area but I kept the intake cover on so that shouldn't be a problem correct?
I will complete a full tune up this weekend, I just have a difficult time believing that missing it's yearly tune up by 2 weeks would cause this much problem.


Issue:
runs great as it sits immediately after starting
under load (with me and my son riding) it starts sputtering sounding as if it's going to die
decreasing throttle usually helps (~85% of the time)
turning on blades starts the issue 90% of the time, but it will smooth out after a bit, then run rough again.

I honestly don't see how to remove the bowl without fully removing the carb (anybody with experience please let me know) to inspect it.
I have read a tutorial on how to adjust the valves, I can do that no problem if I get there.
Seafoam should clear out gunk right? Should I treat it 2x to make sure?
Pulling plugs 1 at a time is to check if valves need adjusting, correct?

I'll be checking things in this order:
1. full tune up (plugs, air/gas filter, oil change)
2. finish seafoam treatment
3. seafoam treatment 2?
4. remove and inspect the carb
5. check valve adjustment

Anything else I should add to the list of things to check in order? Just trying to get a plan. Thanks for any and all help.

Hello all,

I'm new, as most of these posts start, and recently was gifted an X320 from my father after my first home purchase and adding 3.3 acres to my weekly "to-do" list. First off, I love the mower, my dad took immaculate care of this thing, and other than a little paint correction, it needed nothing when he brought it over about 1.5 months ago.

However,
Last week, I was mowing, and it started running rough. I'm not entirely new with engines, but I have rarely had luck with carbs on anything that you ride on (everything but my weedeater).
So I'm currently going through a seafoam treatment to start off, but I want to get a list of everything to check this weekend as I should have time.

Here's the facts:
Father bought new, only has about 285 hrs on it, never ran rough for him ever. It lived a life of collector car in Jay Leno's garage.
oil change, fuel filter, air filter, plugs done yearly
Never used Ethanol free gas before, but he treated it
I used ethanol free fuel the first time I filled up
I have an uneven yard and it is off camber a lot, never had to deal with that at my dad's flat "yard of the decade" property.
I did hose off the motor area but I kept the intake cover on so that shouldn't be a problem correct?
I will complete a full tune up this weekend, I just have a difficult time believing that missing it's yearly tune up by 2 weeks would cause this much problem.


Issue:
runs great as it sits immediately after starting
under load (with me and my son riding) it starts sputtering sounding as if it's going to die
decreasing throttle usually helps (~85% of the time)
turning on blades starts the issue 90% of the time, but it will smooth out after a bit, then run rough again.

I honestly don't see how to remove the bowl without fully removing the carb (anybody with experience please let me know) to inspect it.
I have read a tutorial on how to adjust the valves, I can do that no problem if I get there.
Seafoam should clear out gunk right? Should I treat it 2x to make sure?
Pulling plugs 1 at a time is to check if valves need adjusting, correct?

I'll be checking things in this order:
1. full tune up (plugs, air/gas filter, oil change)
2. finish seafoam treatment
3. seafoam treatment 2?
4. remove and inspect the carb
5. check valve adjustment

Anything else I should add to the list of things to check in order? Just trying to get a plan. Thanks for any and all help.

As we say here in Australia .... "G'day Mate". Being a former Service Manager at a John Deere Grounds Care Equipment Dealership I have the following to offer ..
The easiest way to tell if the valve clearances are way out is from the way the engine cranks over when starting from cold .. the engine's have Automatic Compression Release mechanisms on the camshaft which rely on the valves being in correct adjustment. If the engine spins freely when cranking over at a cold start then that means the de-compressor is working correctly, and that means that the valves clearances probably DON'T need adjusting. If the engine won't crank thru compression then the valve clearances are way overdue for adjustment.
It might be our hot climate here, but there's two common issues with Kawasaki Twin Cylinder engines here.
One is Ignition Coil failure on one cylinder (as mentioned above by Scrubcadet10) .. The engine will still run, but badly, and won't hold the load of the cutterdeck. The simplest way to find out which cylinder might be misfiring is by shorting out each spark plug one-at-a-time using a plastic or rubber covered pointed probe that has 6 or 8 inches of wire attached with an alligator clip on the end of the wire. Attach the clip to a good earth, and with the engine running poke the pointed probe thru the rubber spark plug cap until it touches the top of the plug. This will short out the plug and disable the plug, & make that cylinder misfire TOTALLY. Do each plug, and whichever side makes the MOST difference to how the engine runs is the GOOD cylinder. The disabled plug which makes the LEAST difference to how the engine runs is the cylinder with the possibly faulty coil. In the workshop we would then remove the blower housing and swap the coils over and do a re-test ... if the misfire swaps sides then it is DEFINATELY the ignition coil on the side that's now misfiring.
If the misfire DOESN'T change sides then it is most likely NOT an ignition coil issue.
Another way is by measuring exhaust temperatures. Get yourself one of those handheld "pistol style" infra-red temperature measuring guns but make sure it's one that has a laser aiming beam. When the engine is running at it's WORST take exhaust temp readings by aiming the laser on the header pipe below the exhaust port at the outside of the bend just below the exh port. Make sure you take the reading at identical points on each header pipe. If one cylinder is playing up then that header pipe will be substantially cooler.

The other problem we see that is peculiar to Kawasaki air cooled vee-twin engines is valve guides coming loose in the cylinder head. Usually caused by debris build-up under the blower housing on top of the cooling fins. The alloy cylinder head heats up excessively and the (pressed-in) valve guides come loose. then they ride up and limit valve travel, sometimes bending pushrods. However this is usually easy to pick because the engine will pop and splutter both out the exhaust AND back thru the carby. It'll make the weirdest of noises !!
If you want more info email me on > pltothill@gmail.com <.
Cheers. Pete

 

[kly5953]

@OzPete That's the test I was mixing up with the valve adjustment issue, where you remove the plug or ground it out while running.

Anyway, after the seafoam treatment, the engine was running a bit smoother, I went ahead and swapped out the fuel filter, then found out the air filter was the wrong part number, and I don't have the correct sized socket for the plugs so I'll work on that this week.

I'm curious as to how to tell if it is spinning freely on start up. I'll look up some videos to try to get a good idea of the sound it makes, but I think it's worth noting that the engine fires up without choking every time I have the throttle in the lowest position. It also is running great when I keep it at low throttle now. The problem isn't coming up as often as I had to mow the front and back yard this past weekend and it only bogged probably 10x during the entire 3 hours, and backfired about 4x.

@txmowman the mower sat a total of 3 days lol. He had his new mower delivered the week after he gifted it to me, and he used it a bit this season already. I'll try choking it when it happens again, but if I remember correctly, it just died on me when I did that last week.

@bertsmobile1 Thanks, I will get that ordered as soon as possible.

 

[OzPete]

@OzPete That's the test I was mixing up with the valve adjustment issue, where you remove the plug or ground it out while running.

Anyway, after the seafoam treatment, the engine was running a bit smoother, I went ahead and swapped out the fuel filter, then found out the air filter was the wrong part number, and I don't have the correct sized socket for the plugs so I'll work on that this week.

I'm curious as to how to tell if it is spinning freely on start up. I'll look up some videos to try to get a good idea of the sound it makes, but I think it's worth noting that the engine fires up without choking every time I have the throttle in the lowest position. It also is running great when I keep it at low throttle now. The problem isn't coming up as often as I had to mow the front and back yard this past weekend and it only bogged probably 10x during the entire 3 hours, and backfired about 4x.

@txmowman the mower sat a total of 3 days lol. He had his new mower delivered the week after he gifted it to me, and he used it a bit this season already. I'll try choking it when it happens again, but if I remember correctly, it just died on me when I did that last week.

@bertsmobile1 Thanks, I will get that ordered as soon as possible.

Do you know how old this machine is .. when it was first delivered ? The should be a date-of-manufacture on the VIN plate.
The reason ask is that the early model X300's were having issues with the Electronic Control Module playing up.
It's mounted up under the dash, and when they were "trying to fail", the machines could present with a bizarre variety of symptoms. With some X300's you would swear that it had a fuel system issue, and then the next one you saw with a faulty module you would be prepared to lay money on it being an electrical problem.
That unit had a history of problems, having had FOUR different part numbers since the X300 series was released, and this tends to indicate that the module has had to be revised several times to resolve issues.
Its current part number is AM141075. It might be worth asking the dealership that sold it new to your dad for the machine's warranty history, coz many of these modules failed early in their life. If your unit is the original one then I would change it anyway.
The module swap out is a two minute job.
Let us know how you get on.
Cheers.