Craftsman Rider dies

Rich A

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See if the fuel line from the gas tank to the carb has a "bend" in it where the line loops lower than the carb for a few inches. Like the line starts high at gas tank then loops down LOWER than the carb and then back UP to the carb. IF you have a PARTIAL gas flow problem somewhere (like the aforementioned various gas cap vent or other plugged vents or filter etc.) the pressure of the gas in the full tank will be reduced enough as the level gets lower and the engine won't be able to get the gas fast enough and you'll notice no gas in the filter because of the downward and then upward lack of gas flow caused by the lower loop. The result is the engine will stall and if you wait a few minutes the "loop" of lower gas line will eventually refill and fill the empty carb bowl and the engine will start again .. until until the carb again doesn't get the correct flow of gas and the loop causes the carb starve from a lack of gas. Meantime the loop of gas line evenutally refills the carb and the engine starts again.

You might find that simply cutting off the excess amount of gas line so the line is a straight downward path to the carb with NO loop of line lower than the carb MIGHT fix your problem. My son who is an old tractor rebuilder / hobby guy has seen this problem with the gas line loop occur "magically" on older vintage gravity fed systems he's worked on. And that fuel line routing was the only thing that was needed to fix the problem. Just a case of an older less efficient system needing a little adjustment to get as much fuel flow as possible to flow normally.

Your problem most likely is fuel system flow related and keep in mind adjusting the possition of the fuel line to be a more direct and efficient flow to the carb is only a bandaid and I would guess there is still something amiss with the flow or venting of the fuel system. I personally have an 18 HP sears tractor that one day started to do the same thing ONLY it would fail when the gas tank got below half full. It ran FINE with full tank .. but as I approached 1/2 tank it would do exactly what is happening to you. I'd let it sit a while and it would then start fine and run for a minute or two and stall again. All I had to do was to fill the tank and it would run fine again until the tank approached half full. And I did EVERYTHING you could with carb, gas caps, filters etc just like you. I did have quite a bend in the gas line as mentioned and I cut off the excess and re-routed the line to remove the loop and no more problems. VERY weird and I am also still trying to figure out WHAT in my fuel system caused the problem but so far have not found the culprit .. only that increasing the gas flow by reducing the excess fuel line loop below the carb and making it a straight downward line to the carb has allowed me to run the tractor until the tank is empty.
 

Alton R

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Have a small craftsman riding mower with a problem that is beyond me....

Problem: It runs for 10 or 15 minutes then stops running then it wont start. I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and it will strat but will only run for another 10 or 15 minutes then stops running

What I did to try to fix? I had thought it must be the coil going bad seemed when it warms up it quits, sits for a bit cools down and it will start again. So I replaced the coil and spark plug still same problem so I turned my attention to the fuel system. Next time it quit I looked at the fuel filter and it was empty. I thought ok must be fuel tank outlet, fuel line plugged, or vent for tank plugged. I drained tank (it looked clean inside tank bottom). I ran a wire down the tank outlet then blew air through the fuel line into the tank. I also thought it may be a vent problem just to be sure I drilled a small hole in the tank cap and put a new fuel filter on. I then put new gas back in and disconnected the fuel line from the carb. Fuel flowed through the fuel line and filter, flow looked good so reattached the fuel line to carb started it up and could see fuel in the filter was dropping, looked like it was sucking gas faster than the fuel from the tank refilled the filter. Sure enough the filter emptied and the motor stopped. Once again I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and gas immediately came pouring out. So no signs of anything plugged.

I thought about this and thought maybe a vent in the carb is plugged and stopping the flow of gas from the tank. So I put a brand new carb on, lower the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb. But this did not help once the fuel filter got empty it died. So I have been through the electrical with new coil, spark plug and fuel system with new carb, fuel filter, blowing fuel line out all the way from just before fuel filter into tank, made sure tank is venting, and verified fuel moves freely through gas line and fuel filter by disconnecting fuel line from carb.

I don't have a clue what else I can do and why fuel does not flow through the line when connected to the carb. After the fuel filter empties out and it dies, by letting it sit fuel drips very slowly from the tank into the filter and it will start till the fuel filter is empty. Any ideas?
I have a question. Does this mower require battery power to run the coils.
If It does I would check to see if the power supplying the coils has a resistance build up. I have a craftsman GT 6000 land tractor and when the main fuse blows it will kill the mower.
 

TxBeeman

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I had this same problem on my John Deere Ztrak. Turns out that there was crap getting into the fuel line near the gas tank.

I pulled the fuel line apart at the fuel filter and took my air compressor and blew air backwards through the line, clearing the debris.
 

slomo

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What most people need to do before they buy a new carb is to get you a set of torch tip cleaners and clean every port in the carb.
Tip cleaners are highly abrasive. Not recommended on soft brass jets. Unless you want more air or fuel to flow. Not a typical way to clean a carb.
 
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Have a small craftsman riding mower with a problem that is beyond me....

Problem: It runs for 10 or 15 minutes then stops running then it wont start. I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and it will strat but will only run for another 10 or 15 minutes then stops running

What I did to try to fix? I had thought it must be the coil going bad seemed when it warms up it quits, sits for a bit cools down and it will start again. So I replaced the coil and spark plug still same problem so I turned my attention to the fuel system. Next time it quit I looked at the fuel filter and it was empty. I thought ok must be fuel tank outlet, fuel line plugged, or vent for tank plugged. I drained tank (it looked clean inside tank bottom). I ran a wire down the tank outlet then blew air through the fuel line into the tank. I also thought it may be a vent problem just to be sure I drilled a small hole in the tank cap and put a new fuel filter on. I then put new gas back in and disconnected the fuel line from the carb. Fuel flowed through the fuel line and filter, flow looked good so reattached the fuel line to carb started it up and could see fuel in the filter was dropping, looked like it was sucking gas faster than the fuel from the tank refilled the filter. Sure enough the filter emptied and the motor stopped. Once again I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and gas immediately came pouring out. So no signs of anything plugged.

I thought about this and thought maybe a vent in the carb is plugged and stopping the flow of gas from the tank. So I put a brand new carb on, lower the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb. But this did not help once the fuel filter got empty it died. So I have been through the electrical with new coil, spark plug and fuel system with new carb, fuel filter, blowing fuel line out all the way from just before fuel filter into tank, made sure tank is venting, and verified fuel moves freely through gas line and fuel filter by disconnecting fuel line from carb.

I don't have a clue what else I can do and why fuel does not flow through the line when connected to the carb. After the fuel filter empties out and it dies, by letting it sit fuel drips very slowly from the tank into the filter and it will start till the fuel filter is empty. Any ideas?
Try using a gallon jug or something for gas --- you may be picking up debris from the tank or water in the gas settled at the bottom as water is heavier than gas. Nothing ventured nothing gained right?
 

DollarBill

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I didn't read all 7 pages of replies so I apologize if this has been offered: Back in the 70's I had a single cylinder Kohler motor with same symptoms as OP. Worked on it for several days - Final resolution was exhaust valve guide was coked up. Engine would run long enough to get hot, block would expand and hold valve open. Let engine cool, normal valve action returned until engine warmed up again.
 

Steve15

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I had the very same issue with my craftsman with a Kohler engine. When I removed the fuel filter and replaced it with a shut off to problem went away!
 

Quackter

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Have a small craftsman riding mower with a problem that is beyond me....

Problem: It runs for 10 or 15 minutes then stops running then it wont start. I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and it will strat but will only run for another 10 or 15 minutes then stops running

What I did to try to fix? I had thought it must be the coil going bad seemed when it warms up it quits, sits for a bit cools down and it will start again. So I replaced the coil and spark plug still same problem so I turned my attention to the fuel system. Next time it quit I looked at the fuel filter and it was empty. I thought ok must be fuel tank outlet, fuel line plugged, or vent for tank plugged. I drained tank (it looked clean inside tank bottom). I ran a wire down the tank outlet then blew air through the fuel line into the tank. I also thought it may be a vent problem just to be sure I drilled a small hole in the tank cap and put a new fuel filter on. I then put new gas back in and disconnected the fuel line from the carb. Fuel flowed through the fuel line and filter, flow looked good so reattached the fuel line to carb started it up and could see fuel in the filter was dropping, looked like it was sucking gas faster than the fuel from the tank refilled the filter. Sure enough the filter emptied and the motor stopped. Once again I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and gas immediately came pouring out. So no signs of anything plugged.

I thought about this and thought maybe a vent in the carb is plugged and stopping the flow of gas from the tank. So I put a brand new carb on, lower the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb. But this did not help once the fuel filter got empty it died. So I have been through the electrical with new coil, spark plug and fuel system with new carb, fuel filter, blowing fuel line out all the way from just before fuel filter into tank, made sure tank is venting, and verified fuel moves freely through gas line and fuel filter by disconnecting fuel line from carb.

I don't have a clue what else I can do and why fuel does not flow through the line when connected to the carb. After the fuel filter empties out and it dies, by letting it sit fuel drips very slowly from the tank into the filter and it will start till the fuel filter is empty. Any ideas?
First thing I would do, when it stops running. Pull the plug wire and either have another plug or a spark tester, make sure you have fire. Use a pair of pliers, don't burn your fingers, and go easy because the clip can come out of hot plug wire pretty easy (some styles).

You can't always trust new parts.

Does the engine seem hot when it quits?

Does the starter turn hard when you try to restart when it dies?

There are many potential causes, a lot of them have been touched on by others.
 

georgPru2

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Have a small craftsman riding mower with a problem that is beyond me....

Problem: It runs for 10 or 15 minutes then stops running then it wont start. I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and it will strat but will only run for another 10 or 15 minutes then stops running

What I did to try to fix? I had thought it must be the coil going bad seemed when it warms up it quits, sits for a bit cools down and it will start again. So I replaced the coil and spark plug still same problem so I turned my attention to the fuel system. Next time it quit I looked at the fuel filter and it was empty. I thought ok must be fuel tank outlet, fuel line plugged, or vent for tank plugged. I drained tank (it looked clean inside tank bottom). I ran a wire down the tank outlet then blew air through the fuel line into the tank. I also thought it may be a vent problem just to be sure I drilled a small hole in the tank cap and put a new fuel filter on. I then put new gas back in and disconnected the fuel line from the carb. Fuel flowed through the fuel line and filter, flow looked good so reattached the fuel line to carb started it up and could see fuel in the filter was dropping, looked like it was sucking gas faster than the fuel from the tank refilled the filter. Sure enough the filter emptied and the motor stopped. Once again I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and gas immediately came pouring out. So no signs of anything plugged.

I thought about this and thought maybe a vent in the carb is plugged and stopping the flow of gas from the tank. So I put a brand new carb on, lower the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb. But this did not help once the fuel filter got empty it died. So I have been through the electrical with new coil, spark plug and fuel system with new carb, fuel filter, blowing fuel line out all the way from just before fuel filter into tank, made sure tank is venting, and verified fuel moves freely through gas line and fuel filter by disconnecting fuel line from carb.

I don't have a clue what else I can do and why fuel does not flow through the line when connected to the carb. After the fuel filter empties out and it dies, by letting it sit fuel drips very slowly from the tank into the filter and it will start till the fuel filter is empty. Any ideas?
Have you checked the valve lash? On the old propane fueled engines, when the engine got hot, after about 15 mins or so, the engine would die. Turns out the valves were set too tight due to wear, and needed adjusting. After setting valves to specs, engine started and ran- and stayed running!
 

fatback

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I had a similar issue on a Murray, found a high resistance to ground. Ground from battery to chassis appeared clean non-corroded but removed bolt and wire brushed.....worked fine after doing this.
 
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