John Deere 317 with kt17 s1 starting problems

mkamin927

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I have a John Deere 317 that started to run weird during the summer. It had very low power and was acting like it wasn't getting enough fuel. at first i thought it was vapor locked so i cleaned the carb and got it fresh fuel. but that didn't help, because now it wont start at all. i can't see a spark at the plugs either now. i had pulled and cleaned the engine because the fins were very gummed up and being the kt17 s1 i wanted it to stay as cool as possible. i can't afford to re power it.before i pulled the engine it would never level out for lack of a better way to describe it. after pulling it, it took time to dry, and then it wouldn't start on starting fluid. then we pressurized the tank and it would run for a little while but then die, but when we took the fuel hose off the carb the pump was still pushing out fuel. i have run out of ideas to try. can anyone help? has anyone had this issue?
 

mkamin927

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thanks for the advice i did check them and there working fine, obvious spark. i pulled and cleaned the carb again, but when i did i turned over the engine with the fuel line off, and no fuel came out. so i cleaned the fuel pump and put it all back together. now it will run but seems to backfire a bit. i need to adjust the carb still, will that help? and could the points also make it backfire like it is?
 

Rivets

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Yes, the bad points can cause backfiring. Were you able to down load the service manual? It has a great troubleshooting section.
 

mkamin927

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i was able to get the manual yes thank you. im probably going to replace the points and coil soon. i also want someone smarter then me at small engines to adjust the carb.
 

Rivets

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Read the manual, you can probably do it yourself. Good luck.
 
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