Tractor has been running perfectly. Was doing leaves and cutting grass and suddenly it started to loose power but then came back on then it happened again so I turned it off. Checked everything seemed fine. Oil was low put more in and went to start it it cranked but would not start, after turning off, it backfired. So I put it back in shed for a couple days . Went to start it it started but a lot of blue smoke came out and it sputtered a bit so instead of letting it run or get the sputter out I moved the speed lever to a crawl and shut it off guess I was in fear of a backfire. So Should I try to start it again ? And why did it suddenly lose power? Seat switch or what or low oil. If it was the seat switch it would not start at all right? Coil was replaced 3 years ago. Fuel filter has some gas in it? Is there anybody who makes house calls in Connecticut. May be an easy fix bringing in to these dealers etc is so expensive and just getting it picked up is a fortune. Plumbers can come with a truck why cant lawn repair guys??
#2
jmurray01
It doesn't sound good I'm afraid.
Power loss, low oil, blue smoke, backfiring... That tells me one thing - Piston Rings!
It sounds like your Piston Rings have worn down for some reason, and that is causing the following:
Power Loss = Lack of compression in the combustion chamber
Low Oil = Oil getting into combustion chamber and being burnt
Blue Smoke = Burning oil
Backfiring = Engine struggling to burn the oily fuel mixture
You should get a compression test done, and see how that comes out.
If the compression is low, then I suspect that I am right with the Piston Rings scenario.
If it is Piston Ring wear, then you will need to get the engine rebuilt, and new Piston Rings fitted. If you can do it yourself, it isn't that expensive at all, but to get a professional to do it would be costly because of the time needed to do the work.
Starting it again won't damage it any further, as long as you have enough oil.
You never know, I may be wrong, and if you give it a rev up for a while it may mysteriously sort itself out, I've seen that happen before.
MDJ,
There really should be a proper diagnosis performed on your JD. I'm a retired mechanic, usually very busy, but if you are not far from me maybe I could swing by and checkout your machine. I'm in Oakdale,CT. Oakdale is part of Montville. I do service calls for about 15 larger operators including several cemeterys in addition to doing lawn care for some folk and churches.
Mad Mackie in CT
I'm in southeastern CT, Danbury is to long of a haul with the truck at 10 MPG and 7 MPG with either trailer.
I mow, do odd jobs, some equipment servicing, on call to about 15 customers with larger machines including several cemeterys. Unless I'm on a machine, I'm just a mobile call away. Just finished a bunch of generators and this started during the hurricane.
Mad Mackie in CT:biggrin::laughing:
I would look at the choke plate in the carb to see if it is opening fully. With the engine shut off, I would remove the airfilter so you can see what the choke and throttle plates are doing when you move the controls for each. You may have a throttle/choke combination where you move the throttle lever to max to get the choke to close and when running you move the lever away from the choke position. In either case, you may have a broken cable or just out of adjustment. Vibration has a negative effect on machines and periodic readjusting and tightening of some things is necessary.
I gotta go and do a 50HR service on my Scag ZTR.
Mad Mackie in CT:biggrin::laughing:
As you have dug up an 8 year old thread to tack you problem on the bottom of. search the word "Surging"
There are thousands of replies and surging with a JD is the same as a surging Husqvarna as a surging Toro as a surging Murry as a surging Craftsman as a surging MTD
