Fuel Tank Has Been Invaded

[bartles]

Working on a LT1045, new to me. I was having fuel feed issues so after all the usual suspects were cleared, i.e. carb, fuel pump, flow from tank(trickle) I peeked inside the tank with my borescope and found trash from the fill cap sealing gasket and a fuel nozzle! This was a first for me.

I really appreciate all the help from the forum this year!!

Happy Thanksgiving,

bartles

 

[hlw49]

That is a commom problem with these mowers. I see it a lot. Looks like they would use a better material instead of rubber which dosen't hold up to fuel very well.

 

[Auto Doc's]

Ethanol absorbs into and dries the seal material because it is not designed for it. For the overall machine and soft fuel lines, I recommend you spend the extra money and buy only non-ethanol fuel. Ethanol fuel collects humidity which can be very bad for the carburetor internals as well.

Your current tank can be removed and cleaned out, then buy a new cap. I also suggest you replace the fuel lines with a quality brand such as Gates. Don't forget the inline filter.

Last but not least, check the inlet of the pulse fuel pump to make sure no debris got that far.

 

[bartles]

All good suggestions and reminders! I appreciate it!

bartles

 

[bartles]

That is a commom problem with these mowers. I see it a lot. Looks like they would use a better material instead of rubber which dosen't hold up to fuel very well.

 

[bartles]

Yep, I wish I'd seen the persons face when the gas can nozzle fell into the tank!

bartles

 

[CWatters]

I once had an issue where the mower would die after an hour. Turned out to be bugs bleached almost transparent blocking the outlet of the tank. It was crazy that it was so repeatable, eg 1 hour of use no problem then cough cough died. After a few mins it could be restarted but would soon die again. Next day or next week you could again get an hour out of it. You would think that fuel sloshing about would make it unrepeatable. Tried changing all sorts of things like the coils incase insulation was breaking down when hot. Then someone suggested draining out the tank and that solved it. I was using a 20L Jerry can to store gas and I think bugs were getting into the nozzle then being flushed into the mowers tank when I filled up. Now store the nozzle in a plastic bag.

 

[bartles]

Wow, now that's a tough one to troubleshoot!!!

 

[Auto Doc's]

I once had an issue where the mower would die after an hour. Turned out to be bugs bleached almost transparent blocking the outlet of the tank. It was crazy that it was so repeatable, eg 1 hour of use no problem then cough cough died. After a few mins it could be restarted but would soon die again. Next day or next week you could again get an hour out of it. You would think that fuel sloshing about would make it unrepeatable. Tried changing all sorts of things like the coils incase insulation was breaking down when hot. Then someone suggested draining out the tank and that solved it. I was using a 20L Jerry can to store gas and I think bugs were getting into the nozzle then being flushed into the mowers tank when I filled up. Now store the nozzle in a plastic bag.

The strangest one I have had was a John Deere Z 225 zero turn that had a manual fuel shut off installed at the top of the saddle tank. I could mow with it about 15-20 minutes and then it would gradually starve for fuel.

I did not notice the valve at first, but after watching close I discovered it was actually moving freely and shutting off because of the machine vibration. It was wild to see it actually happen. The valve was simply worn out.