Engine cuts out while mowing on slopes in one direction only. Lawn tractor is a Sears 917.270812 19.5hp opposing twin. When mowing with the uphill side of the slope on the left side of the tractor it runs fine. When going in the opposite direction when the uphill side of the slope is on the right side of the tractor it cuts in and out. When running on flat ground it runs perfectly. It would appear that I have a carburetor float issue. Without tearing the carburetor down and only looking at a carburetor diagram it appears that the float is hinged on the front side of the carburetor rather than on one of the sides of the carburetor. Apparently the carburetor is not picking up fuel when the carburetor is tilted towards its left side. Not knowing the passages in the carburetor body I can only guess that the pick-up may be to the right side of the carburetor body and the carburetor float is not allowing enough gas to remain in the float chamber to supply fuel to the pick up. Has anyone experienced the same issue?
Yes it is a common problem
And yes it is a float problem
No it can not be fixed unless your float is out of adjustment ( rare but does happen )
Because of the dangers of careless mowing along slopes the engines are designed specifically to work best going up & down slopes
So either alter the way you mow or go over to a fuel injected engine .
This was a bigger problem on the singles .
One way the engine stalled & the other way there was reduced oil flow so the engine siezed .
Horizontal crankshaft engines do handle slopes better than vertical shaft engines but there are no new residential mowers with a horizontal shaft engine .
I have a Craftsman 2003 GT5000 that just started doing this, but only when deck is engaged?
If right side is higher then the left, the engine and deck cut in and out. But, if I drive same slope with just the engine running it runs fine????? So, I can mow the slope in one direction, but not the other??? Had it since new and did not start doing this until recently?? Got, to be something with fuel delivery under load.. Anyone else had this problem? One barrel carb. has only one main jet..and simple float. Wondering about governor that sits in crankcase?
Under load you are using the main jet
Without the blades you are running on the idle jet
Water in the float bowl can cause this
Debris in the fuel tank can cause this
Exceeding the tilt angle can cause this
Also check the fuel outlet and see if the problem goes away when the tank is full
