Husqvarna YTH 2348 - Bringing it back to life

[SamB]

Yeh...feel that way 'bout real old Harleys, Indians and Triumphs...

I understand, I had a Harley Panhead, 1951 FLH. Chrome springer front end, low riser ape hanger bars. fishtail pipes. Linkert carb. Beautiful bike, lots of chrome, Easy Rider style. Worked on it all the time.
A good friend wanted it. I sold it and bought a brand new Honda CB750 Four. Took a while to getting used to going that fast that quickly. It never needed a wrench on it, except points and plugs. I did miss just standing around with my HD friends admiring their bikes at most any gas station.
p.s. I also had a Triumph 650 Bonneville. Pushed it home more than once.

 

[Timtoo]

Beneford did you get the Husqvarna going?

 

[benaford]

Beneford did you get the Husqvarna going?

Yeah, here's my latest update. Once I replaced the fuel pump, vacuum tube and battery, I attempted to start with no luck. I pulled the plugs and checked them again and I could definitely see them firing. On a whim, I adjusted the coils down closer to the flywheel and re-installed the plugs. Boom. Started right up burping out gunk and smoke - all that old oil and water that had collected in the cylinders. After a few minutes, the smoke died down and it was running decently. I tried to throttle down, but there was no response. When I looked, the linkage had come loose where it connects to the carb. I reconnected the linkage, but still no response to moving the throttle back and forth. I realized there was a lot of slack in the throttle cable, so I attempted a few different settings and then tightened the cable back down, but I just can't figure it out. I don't know where the throttle cable SHOULD be at Choke or Min Throttle. I need some kind of a reference in order to get it set up right. Any help in this area would be super.
Here's a short clip I took of the engine running

Next steps are to figure out the correct throttle cable settings to control engine RPM, attempt to get the tractor to drive and then I'll start putting the deck back together and assessing it's ability to cut grass. Still quite a ways to go, but it feels great to at least know the engine runs and seems decently healthy.

 

[SamB]

Yeah, here's my latest update. Once I replaced the fuel pump, vacuum tube and battery, I attempted to start with no luck. I pulled the plugs and checked them again and I could definitely see them firing. On a whim, I adjusted the coils down closer to the flywheel and re-installed the plugs. Boom. Started right up burping out gunk and smoke - all that old oil and water that had collected in the cylinders. After a few minutes, the smoke died down and it was running decently. I tried to throttle down, but there was no response. When I looked, the linkage had come loose where it connects to the carb. I reconnected the linkage, but still no response to moving the throttle back and forth. I realized there was a lot of slack in the throttle cable, so I attempted a few different settings and then tightened the cable back down, but I just can't figure it out. I don't know where the throttle cable SHOULD be at Choke or Min Throttle. I need some kind of a reference in order to get it set up right. Any help in this area would be super.
Here's a short clip I took of the engine running

Next steps are to figure out the correct throttle cable settings to control engine RPM, attempt to get the tractor to drive and then I'll start putting the deck back together and assessing it's ability to cut grass. Still quite a ways to go, but it feels great to at least know the engine runs and seems decently healthy.

What I do is put the lever on the full choke position, then loosen the cable clamp at the carb and move the housing and center wire toward the carb until the carb choke butterfly is closed , then tighten the housing clamp. Moving the throttle lever should now go from full choke to full throttle.

 

[benaford]

Ok, newest issue. I got the throttle to semi-work. Engine would start, throttle up and down. Good enough. I put the mower deck back on, fired it up and to my surprise, everything was functioning as intended. After about five minutes of mowing, the engine seemed to rev a little bit and then it died. Would not start again. The starter engages for a couple of seconds and then shuts down. Really weird.

Edit: I went back after 30 minutes and it fired right up again. However, now the engine is surging, not running smoothly like before. What could be the culprit?

 

[benaford]

After some more research, I'm starting to suspect the governor could be the culprit. When I was cleaning up the engine, I removed the gov. linkage and didn't take note of how it was indexed in relation to the gov shaft that runs into the engine. I'm thinking that when I re-installed everything, I didn't have the correct gov setting. I'm not sure how the governor system works, but I have noticed that the mower seems to run 'hot' and even at the lowest throttle setting, it feels like the engine rpms are too high. Explains why I'm not getting much throttle response. Question is, how can I know where the gov shaft needs to be rotated to when I put the linkage connector back on the gov shaft?

 

[benaford]

Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I've come this far so I might as well see it through. I found a couple of videos on Youtube detailing the ins and outs of adjusting the governor. After some tweaking, I got the engine to respond to movement in the throttle. That issue seems to be good to go now. Went ahead and mowed the yard that day and got about 30 min into the job when the mower lost power and died again. Opened the hood and immediately noticed oil/grime covering the left side of the engine, mostly around the valve cover.


I suspected the valve cover seal might be leaking so I removed both covers and ordered new gaskets. Should arrive this week. I also decided to drain the oil and do a complete oil change while it's down. (Have never actually changed the oil in this tractor.) I also plan on adjusting the valves while I have everything pulled off. Never done that either. I did notice that the breather tube (brand new) has a split in the gasket where it mounts inside the valve cover. The more I consider all the possible scenarios, I think it's likely that I cut the breather tube when I was putting it in and that compromised the seal allowing oil/fuel to spray out while the engine was under load.



More to come...

 

[davis2]

Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I've come this far so I might as well see it through. I found a couple of videos on Youtube detailing the ins and outs of adjusting the governor. After some tweaking, I got the engine to respond to movement in the throttle. That issue seems to be good to go now. Went ahead and mowed the yard that day and got about 30 min into the job when the mower lost power and died again. Opened the hood and immediately noticed oil/grime covering the left side of the engine, mostly around the valve cover.
View attachment 69197View attachment 69198

I suspected the valve cover seal might be leaking so I removed both covers and ordered new gaskets. Should arrive this week. I also decided to drain the oil and do a complete oil change while it's down. (Have never actually changed the oil in this tractor.) I also plan on adjusting the valves while I have everything pulled off. Never done that either. I did notice that the breather tube (brand new) has a split in the gasket where it mounts inside the valve cover. The more I consider all the possible scenarios, I think it's likely that I cut the breather tube when I was putting it in and that compromised the seal allowing oil/fuel to spray out while the engine was under load.

View attachment 69199

More to come...

I'm watching. Keep working at it!

 

[bertsmobile1]

When you put the new rocker cover gaskets on smear the engine side with bentonite grease ( the smelly tan/ brown wheel bearing grease ) so they will strip off clean next time.
One step better is to coat the other side with a sealant , I like to use Hylomar

 

[benaford]

While I was waiting for the gasket covers to come in this week, I bought a feeler gauge and adjusted the valve clearance. I changed the oil and filter and installed a new breather tube. Today, I put in the new gasket covers, buttoned everything back up and attempted to start the engine. However, now I'm not getting any ignition. Spark seems fine (engine fires with starter fluid but immediately dies). I pulled the fuel line from the carb and it's really not getting any fuel to the engine. I just don't understand - I just replaced the fuel pump, filter and all the lines. How could it already be clogged? Is there any way the fuel pump could have gotten fouled up by the oil spraying out of the leaking gasket cover? I can pick up a new fuel filter locally, but if it needs another pump, I'll have to order that and wait. I'm wondering if there's anything else that could be causing a no fuel situation other than a fuel pump going bad.