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I am having a heck of a time getting this machine to run right. It is on an old John Deere Gator, and the model of that machine has long since been scraped off and painted over. However, the engine is a Kawasaki FE250D-AS11. I am have a lot of trouble identifying a parts list for this machine.
The problem I am having is that it starts and idles amazingly well. However, if you feather the throttle it will run up to mid way, but when you get to 3/4 throttle it flat out bogs immediately. If you continue to leave the throttle at that position, it will die. I cleaned the carburetor as much as I could. The service manual for this engine is pretty useless. For instance, it tells me to turn the pilot screw in to seat and back out two turns for initial setting. This carburetor has no adjustable pilot screw. It threads in to seat fully, and the holes in in meter the mixture. The service manual is so generic, it does not help much.

I have gotten the machine to run really awesome by adjusting the choke cable to leave my choke about 1/4 choked when the cable is pushed in completely. At this spot, it runs to WOT with no issue. To me, this points to a carburetor issue in the high speed jet.

However, I cannot get that jet and nozzle out. The previous owner (or someone) attempted to remove it and were not successful. The jet slot is stripped, but not damage to the hole is noticed. At any rate, I cannot get it out to verify that it is clean without drlling and extracting which brings me to my next problem.....I CANNOT LOCATE ANYWHERE WHICH EXACT NOZZLE AND JET I NEED FOR THIS MACHINE. Online parts sites don't even list an AS11 type.

What can I do here? How can I get this to run right?? Any help is appreciated.

Here's a jet for the AS11 spec no, https://www.repairclinic.com/ProductDetail/1132504?i=2077
I think the deal is the engine was made specifically for that application and JD has the "Rights" to it, i've been through this muck before with the fe250 and fe290, and pretty much as far as the Carburetor is concerned parts from any other FE250D will fit.


did you try blasting the main jet and nozzle out with carb spray? also try finding a small wire or stiff object just smaller than that hole and run it up and down.
i also have the complete service manual for the FE series engine, if you need something out of it, just PM me.

No problem here finding the carb info for the FE250D-AS11.

And where do I find that? Also, please note 'main jet' at the bottom of your image. How does one determine which of the 4 is required?

I think, Aren't the numbers usually etched into the jet?

Most problems of this type are related to "stale fuel". Modern fuels go bad in about 8 weeks, ESPECIALLY if the machine simply sits in storage. The addition of ethanol, plus EPA changing the formulation of the base fuel, has radically altered the problems associated with gasoline. Your car doesn't display these problems because it has force-fed by "fuel injection", but a carb that depends on vacuum is a whole different beast when it comes to old fuel.

1. Try freshly purchased fuel.
2. If you feed all your mowers and lawn equipment from 1 main fuel can, then treat that can with a product called StarTron. The treatment will work it's way down the line and fuel issues will be greatly reduced in all your equipment.

Hope this helps.

There is only 3 main jets. .90mm 0ft-3000ft, .88mm 3000ft-5000ft, and .86mm 5000 ft and up if I remember altitudes right.

Scrubcadet10 said:

I think, Aren't the numbers usually etched into the jet?

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yes, I believe it is etched butI don’t think it’s readable.Someoneat some time tried to remove the main jet and did not succeed. They stripped the slot and scratched the top of the jet where the number is. I’m only eyeballing this part of the carburetor because it’s the only part I cannot clean. The jet is clear but the nozzle may not be which would starve it for fuel making quarter choke necessary for high speed operation.

the fuel is fresh but this type of malfunction, at least for me and my experience is related to carb being dirty. these new carbs don’t have adjustable anything so it’s imperative that all metering devices are functional. I may have just enough slot left to put my impact driver into it and pop it a couple times. It might free up but light I’ll have to drill the jet out and use an extractor. :/

Thank you to everyone for the advice and guidance. I wish I could clean it out without disassembly but I don’t have a sonic cleaner and I’ve never had any cleaner “dissolve” deposits without mechanical assistance from a wire or brush.

I've cleaned carbs on a stove top before, fill a small pot up with water, and add about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of lemon juice, bring the water to a low boil, let the carb boil for about 15 minutes. may be a little less. use a pair of tongs to tap on it and help knock any junk loose.
blow out with compressed air afterwards.
Remove the plastic or rubber parts before submersing.

I have gotten fresh fuel. Nothing changed. The only way to make this run right is to run it on about 1/4 choke, which I have been doing. The jet has been damaged due to previous 'mechanic' attempting unsuccessfully trying to remove it. It is possible that this is also the reason it runs poorly. Either there is dirt in it that I cannot remove without pulling the jet, or the jet is damaged and no longer metering correctly. Anyway, I'm going to try boiling it.

I also would like to simply replace the carb with a cheap chinese replacement, but I cannot find any. I obtained a 'gator carburetor' from amazon, but it does not look the same and I don't think I can make it work. Does anyone sell a chinese carb that will work on this machine? I can't tell you what model the Gator is because the tag is gone, all I have is the engine number which I have listed already. Gator is from mid 90's, 4x2.

I went ahead and boiled the carb for 30 minutes in citric acid. It cleaned up nice. Still had a problem. I think I found the issue though. Before, it only ran well when it was partially choked.

Without the air cleaner on, it runs perfect, unchoked.
If I put just the tube on the carb, it runs poorly unless I partially close of the tube with my hand.
With the entire air cleaner on, it runs poorly. Filter is new.

Here is the deal. The air cleaner has TWO holes. Inside the air cleaner there is a turbine looking baffle. Anyway, When you block off the one tube, closest to the engine, it runs great. If you open that and block the other one, it runs poorly.

So...I just blocked off the one intake hole. I think that hole was originally supposed to have a 'dust collector' attached to it which would essentially block it off anyway. It runs great now. I've never had an issue where too much air from the air cleaner was bad, but that's what it seems to be. **SHRUG**