Ok, double check my connections here, but I THINK I have the hoses hooked up correctly. It has been working with this configuration, so I don't think the hoses are hooked up the wrong way. I did try blowing on the in/out lines and they seem to be free of obstruction. Is there any way that the valves being out of adjustment could cause the fuel pump to not operate correctly. I did adjust the valves, but it's possible my adjustments weren't correct. It was my first time to do that, so I'm definitely not great at it.
I dropped the fuel feed line into a gas tank and the mower fired right up and purred like a kitten. It all started coming together in my mind. Since the mower has been inoperable for so long, when it died while my son was mowing, my first thought went to all of the things that could have broken and I skipped right over the most obvious thing of all. On the bright side, I was able to discover a couple more leaks on the mower while I was troubleshooting. I also was able to change the oil, adjust the valves, replace the old valve seals and also learn a lot about how pulse fuel pumps work. So, now I'm waiting on the fuel tank fitting and grommet to come in the mail and really hoping that I'll be back in action.I know this is a couple weeks old- but couldn't stop reading your progress. Excellent.... Excellent work!! Super stoked for you to be back in business.I'm having a double portion of humble pie tonight. In my frustration with the fuel system, I started scouring youtube for information about pulse fuel pumps - trying to understand how they work and determine if that could be my issue. I found a vid of a guy pulsing air in the breather tube with his mouth, and (out of options) I decided to try for myself. Still no fuel through the system. Pulled off the fuel pump and blew on both sides to validate the check-valves and diaphragm. All good. At this point, I start to think there's a blockage in the fuel pickup inside of the tank. Looked under the seat and I saw streaks of grime on the chassis that seemed to be coming from the fuel tank fitting. Suspecting a leak, I pulled out the pickup and found that the seal that keeps it in the tank had corroded and split into two pieces. This was also allowing some fuel to leak at the fitting. And then... then it dawns on me. The mower was OUT OF GAS.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed reading. Tractor is up and running fairly smoothly now. Especially considering it's age and how long it sat out in the elements with no maintenance. Two weeks ago, I was mowing with it and noticed a grinding noise coming from the deck. I assume there was a stick or some other debris hung under the deck and kept mowing. The noise became louder and I began losing power when I hit longer grass. Shutting off the PTO made the noise go away and restored power so I knew it had to be something going on with the deck. Upon inspecting, I noticed the drive belt was begging to fray and smoke. I released the belt tension and attempted to spin the three spindles by hand. Two spun easily, but the third was completely locked in place - thus the smoking/fraying belt and loud noise. The spindle housing had locked up during mowing and completely failed. I removed the spindle from the deck and this is what I found:
Man, such a great idea. Mechanical things engage a part of our brains that seems to be falling asleep due to the solid state, electrical nature of so many products now. Something about the satisfying click of a ratchet driver in your hands or the smooth spinning of a freshly cleaned and oiled set of bearings is therapeutic in a way that some of us don't know that we need. Sometimes I like to give my kids an old tv or other appliance and just let them disassemble it down to all of it's pieces to see what's inside. Thankful my dad and grandfather did that for me, and I want to pass it along.