cub cadet 3185

[marberg50]

Always ran wheelhorse until they were bought by toro . Recently bought a cub cadet 3185 in very nice condition. It has the 18 hp briggs engine . The mower runs great for about 20 min then starts to cut out. I haven't tracked the problem down yet but am thinking maybe the fuel solenoid . Anyone have suggestions?

 

[Catherine]

:welcome:

Welcome to the forum!

I'm going to move your thread over to our Cub Cadet section to see if someone over there can offer advice.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Fuel solenoids are usually, works or dont work.

Slip an in line fuel tap in the line between the fuel tank & the first item in the fuel system ( pump or filter )
When it plays up remove the float bowl and turn the ignition off on to check the solenoid.
or
Try removing the fuel cap
or
Remove the fuel line & fuel cap then blow backwards up the fuel line

or thry the whole lot, one at a time & let us know what happens.

 

[marberg50]

Thanks . Already tried fuel cap with no improvement. Will give other suggestions a whirl.

 

[willys55]

I found a quick way to test the fuel pump on those was to remove the fuel line and place in a clean container like a large coffee can, remove the spark plug wires from the plugs and crank the engine over for a few seconds to see how much fuel comes out......should be able to put about a 1/2 inch of fuel in the bottom of the can in under 10 seconds.........if not suspect a weak or faulty pump.

Does it look like this one?

 

[marberg50]

Hi Russ I'm Marty Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure if my pump is an exact match but it is a vacuum operated pump. Will check it out sorta makes more sense than the solenoid.

 

[willys55]

if the pump checks out ok, then I would test the coil(s) some had two.........

 

[willys55]

my manners, Hi Marty and welcome to LawnForum

 

[marberg50]

Thanks doc will start with pump check.