Hustler sputters and losses power randomly under load

[ender85]

Hello,
Note that this mower has a 23 HP Kawasaki and it does puke oil quite a bit. Mower was running perfectly for hours, then all of the sudden started sputtering and almost died, but I cut off blades and stopped the mower and engine idle returned to almost normal(seemed like RPM's were less by sound). I let it cool down, then it seem to run fine again until it got hot. Same thing sputtering and loss of power(also seems hotter than normal). Changed plugs, changed oil and filter, power washed engine to remove oil(from engine puking oil). Ran OK for about 10 minutes then started sputtering again. Instead of turning it off, I lowered engine throttle to see if it would smooth out. It did, so I slowly increased the throttle while moving slowly until it was running again. This worked and had no issues for the entire rest of the cut. So long story short, sputtering starts randomly even from cold engine start. I can't seem to finesse it back to running normally using the throttle. What would be a good way to trobbleshoot it from this point?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Bigeasy1]

I seem to have the exact same problem ??? please let us know if you find problem.

Thanks

 

[The Chairman]

My guess is that you're got a bit of water in your gas tank that sometimes gets pumped to the carb/injector. After a gas fill, dump in a cup of alcohol. It is miscible in both gas and water, so with all the bumps and vibration of mowing, it will allow the water to be burned through your engine safely. Yeah, a lot of alcohol isn't good for some of the rubber components found on a few mowers, but this will be gone as soon as you run through the tank, so no worries. On your next fill, go ahead and change the fuel filter.

 

[slomo]

Hello,
Note that this mower has a 23 HP Kawasaki and it does puke oil quite a bit. Mower was running perfectly for hours, then all of the sudden started sputtering and almost died, but I cut off blades and stopped the mower and engine idle returned to almost normal(seemed like RPM's were less by sound). I let it cool down, then it seem to run fine again until it got hot. Same thing sputtering and loss of power(also seems hotter than normal). Changed plugs, changed oil and filter, power washed engine to remove oil(from engine puking oil). Ran OK for about 10 minutes then started sputtering again. Instead of turning it off, I lowered engine throttle to see if it would smooth out. It did, so I slowly increased the throttle while moving slowly until it was running again. This worked and had no issues for the entire rest of the cut. So long story short, sputtering starts randomly even from cold engine start. I can't seem to finesse it back to running normally using the throttle. What would be a good way to trobbleshoot it from this point?

Thank you in advance.

Oil fouled plug, valve adjustment, clean cylinder cooling fins, clean carb and flush the fuel tank are just a few. Verify that pesky carb solenoid is working proper.

 

[hlw49]

Sea Foam works well for water in the fuel system. When I get one in with water in it I siphon the water out if I can or drain it out. I then replace the fuel filter and spray Sea Foam deep creep into the filter before I reconnect the fuel line and never have to clean the water out of the carb. Sea Foam Good stuff.

 

[MParr]

When you buy gas, add Seafoam, StaBil or some other type of fuel stabilizer to your stored gas. You evidently have trash or water in your fuel. Remove and replace your fuel filter. Do this with the engine completely cold. You will want to pull some of the fuel from your mower’s tank. Do this from the fuel line going to the filter. Install a new filter with the arrow pointing in the direction of the fuel flow. I’ve had the best luck with the large Kohler brand fuel filters.

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