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I got a kholer 15 HP craftsman. A few weeks ago I drained it to put it away for the winter but I decided to take it back out. It wouldn't start. The starter worked but it wouldn't turn over. The pre filter was dirty so I cleaned it but that had nothing to do with it. Anyway after a while of trying it if started up perfectly and has been working since. I dont know if I did something or not but I was wondering if anyone knows what might have happened. Now I think that there was old gas left in the Carb and it had to pass through before getting to the fresh gas. If you know, please reply. This is the first winter I have had to store the tractor.

You say you drained it, what about the fuel tank and line, what did you do with them? did you run it dry?? gas a few weeks old won't cause any problems. Are you in an area that got the snow? where do you keep the rider if in a shed what is it made of?"

I drained the fuel tank but I didn't run it clean. Right now I keep the tractor in my garage but before I kept it outside with a tarp over it. I will be getting snow soon in my area

Sounds to me that it just took a bit of cranking to get the fuel thru the fuel pump and carb and to get it going, sometimes when we serviced new machines to run for the first time they took a lot more time than you would think they would need. The reason I asked about where you keep it is I have seen people have similar problem when they keep mowers in metal sheds and it has rained heavily in the past few days, those sheds act as a green house and the humidity inside them is very high, it can cause the ignition or the plug to go to ground until it sits outside for a while and drys off then they start right up.

Oh OK that makes sense. Thanks for your help. Would it be OK if I left it outside with a tarp over it?

if that is the best situation you have better than out in the open. where in joesy are you i'm from bergen cty

OK I'm from Essex county

Do you know of any ways to keep the tractor safe in the winter without a shed because the snow usually piles up on the tarp and water seeps down. The tractor gets soaking wet.

boston said:

Do you know of any ways to keep the tractor safe in the winter without a shed because the snow usually piles up on the tarp and water seeps down. The tractor gets soaking wet.

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I usually take a large piece of plywood and lay it over the top. A tarp and some bungee cords completes the, uh, gift wrap.:ashamed:

OK and should I take the battery out? The only things I would normally do is empty the gas tank and run it dry for the winter.

Yes take the battery out and put it in the garage, if you have a charger put it on it every 3-4 wks,

OK thanks for your help

Also, is it bad to tow continuously with my tractor? I have plenty if HP for it but I was wondering if it was bad for the transmission.

boston said:

OK and should I take the battery out? The only things I would normally do is empty the gas tank and run it dry for the winter.

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Yes. I usually take the battery out and put it on a battery tender.:smile:

Is it bad to tow something like a trailer continuously with my tractor? I have plenty of horsepower but is it bad for the transmission?

boston said:

Is it bad to tow something like a trailer continuously with my tractor? I have plenty of horsepower but is it bad for the transmission?

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Don't load your trailer too heavily, keep good grease, gear lube, whatever it calls for in there, and you should be okay. Avoid big shock loads to the tractor, this is what kills them quickly..:frown:

Is it bad if the deck of the tractor rattles and makes noise while I'm turning or at certain times when I'm driving it?

boston said:

Is it bad if the deck of the tractor rattles and makes noise while I'm turning or at certain times when I'm driving it?

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Are you talking about when you've got the mower deck engaged? They should normally run pretty smoothly after a couple seconds of engagement. If the whole thing is shaking like a wet dog, you may have any or all of the following problems:
Damaged mandrels for the mower blades
Bent quills in the mandrels
Bent, opened, or pinched pulleys on the mandrels
Worn or damaged belt driving the deck
Rusted belt tensioning arms, missing springs
Bent mowing blade (s)
deck cracked or damaged where mandrels attach

The shaking definitely doesn't sound good.

Get that checked out ASAP!

When the blades are engadged I hear the rattling and vibrating a lot of the time but more recently, when I'm driving it without the blades going, the whole deck vibrates and rattles when I turn or in different positions of the front wheels. The blades on it are new. Besides that, usually when I'm driving without the blades going, I hear a loud knocking sound coming right from the belt. When I look at it, it seems pretty loose on the pulleys

boston said:

When the blades are engadged I hear the rattling and vibrating a lot of the time but more recently, when I'm driving it without the blades going, the whole deck vibrates and rattles when I turn or in different positions of the front wheels. The blades on it are new. Besides that, usually when I'm driving without the blades going, I hear a loud knocking sound coming right from the belt. When I look at it, it seems pretty loose on the pulleys

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Time to start looking closely at the whole underbelly of the beast;
Crank pulley
idlers
tensioning springs, (if any)
missing/broken clips, pins, etc.
Push/pull on everything with the engine off, and see what doesn't look right. Then, fire it up and see what's going on as well.

Everything looks normal but I realized that when I turn left the front of the deck scrapes the front left wheel. It seems like the deck gets too close to the wheels. It really gets jammed into the wheel, which makes the tractor slow down and bang as if a stick was wedged in the deck scraping the ground. This only happens once in a while bbut the vibration happens often.