Ariens 52” Zero-Turn Running Rough

ysDlexia

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May 7, 2021
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Hey all,
I have a new-ish Ariens 52” zero-turn with a Kawasaki engine, and when it idles on low throttle, it either dies or runs very rough.
It’s hard to describe the symptom, it’s as if one of the cylinders isn’t firing, so it sort of starts to die for a second, then one cylinder fires, then dies, and rinse and repeat.
This started happening last mowing season after I got it bogged down (had the deck too low) and snapped the deck belt, which I replaced.
In order to get it to start, I’ve gotta pull the choke, and as soon as it’s running, let off the choke and up the throttle. This makes me feel like it’s running too lean.

I checked both spark plugs and they look fine visually, no residue or wear on them. I mean, the mower itself only has 11.5 hours on it.
Last season, I tried to fix it by taking apart the carburetor and inspecting it, and it looked fine, but I’ve heard that some of the bolts are meant for adjustment for the air/fuel mixture.

I just tried to mow, and ended up getting it stuck since it rains constantly here, so there’s always wet spots. When I tried to start it, I pulled the choke, and nothing. After 4-5 attempts at getting it running, I finally did. The whole time I was trying to start it, it was blowing grey smoke from the exhaust.

Since the spark plugs look fine visually, and don’t have any sort of smell to them, is it safe to rule them out? I’m thinking it’s the fuel system, but I’m very new to mechanics (21 y/o with no dad) so I learn most of what I know from YouTube tutorials and the owners manual.

Sorry for the long post, I was trying to give as much detail as possible. I would rather try to fix it myself than take it to a mechanic, so any advice would be much appreciated.
 

Rivets

Lawn Royalty
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Mar 11, 2012
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When you say newish, how new. Second we need to have engine numbers, because guess which engine you have really isn’t going to help anyone. Unless you are an experienced mechanic, visually inspecting parts doesn’t really tell you much, especially with a carb.
 
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