I have an old JD 400 with 60" deck, I had a fuel line leak and just pushed it aside, now I would like to get it running. (it's been sitting for a year) Took seat and tank off, repaired fuel line, put it all back together. I have new fuel in tank and fuel at the carb. but the Kohler K532QS wouldn't start. Found a carburetor online (the ROP Shop) and installed it. It fires then dies. I have fuel, pulled the plugs and I have spark at both plugs. So, one plug is wet and black and one is not. I have checked the adjustment on main and idle jets, then set them per the JD400 service manual. Still fires the first time then dies. If I keep trying it might fire again then stops. Where do I start? I was told this motor is a repower, so how do I know if the tag on the side panel is correct? Any help with this machine would be greatly appreciated. Oh, air filter was not installed when I tried to start. I did have foam filter media covering the opening on the 90* intake. hey thanks again, I have no idea how many hours on this motor. Just retired, don't golf, garden is over, except my sprouts. I own to many old machines.
So, I went through the trouble shooting and have spark at both plugs. I have fuel in fuel filter, and it appears carb adjustment was wrong, too much fuel. Got it fired up and this thing's a monster. thanks again for the help, and the manual. I still need to work out some issues now with mower deck. Really too much tractor for my yard. My other machine is an old Dixie with I think the same motor. Love it, Thanks again, jrsnofive. too many old machines too cheap to buy new and from what I read here they just don't make them like they used too.
Help, I got that 400 running, but you guessed it the mower deck belt is broken, and you can't read the old no. Where can I buy an aftermarket deck belt? Deck mod. no. H060F, Ser. no. 370699M, the old belt measures 144" stretched out, Looks like an A belt but is that correct? I would think it would be a B belt. How about a parts list.
John Deer have all their IPL's on line .
You can not print or download the entire document but you can print out ( or print to disk ) a single page .
Once you have the belt number you feed that into the Gates interchange site and that will give you the specifications of the belt . gates catelogue when the page opens hit the red " vehicle parts Search" button which brings up a pop up search box
Hit the "Interchange" button on the right side they enter the JD part number
When you get a result ( usually a BR belt ) hit the belt number which brings up the specifications .
The Gates site is the only one I trust to be accurate and will not list a L or X or V series belt as the nearest A, B or M which a lot of sites do .
So I have an allergy to the internet, nothing ever works for me the first time. I spent a few hours looking last night and nothing. Searched the 400 and keep coming up with the M48444 belt approx. 144 " B belt. I bought an Amazon belt that is suppose to be 144 3/4 ", This belt will not work. Tension pully is tight to drive pulley and belt is will not fit over one pulley. Searched the H060F deck and John Deer site shows no results for searched number. I found an old work order (previous owner) from Reynolds and it shows the M48444
I would go back to the JD site and use the model numbers on the tag to search for the mower
On full size tractors the decks have their own part numbers and diagrams but on Lawn & garden tractors the deck is usually listed with the mower .
Well that part number comes up as a B 145
If the deck has a manual PTO then the belt will be loose but if it has a shaft drive or electric PTO then you will need to stretch the tension arm in order to get the belt over the pulleys .
thanks again, went in and found the tractor using John Deere 400 hydrostatic lawn and garden tractor. I didn't use john deere the first time. When I went to the mower it still showed the M48444, So I need to refine my search some more. But all the tractor parts are there. Assume , My tractor Model no. C400H ser 097305M.
Some of those decks run with belts tight enough to play a tune on them with a fiddle bow .
Remember you have to stretch the tension arm spring to get the belt on
V belts do not stretch very much they wear thin on the V edges
So a very old B section can get to almost the same thickness as an A belt of it runs for long enough .
The pivot point on most JD decks is greasable but yours might need to be pulled down & cleaned to allow full swing .
Other than that try removing the spring and see if the belt will fit without the spring on
If yes then it is a matter of stretching the spring , easy to say hard to do .
If no then you have the routing wrong or the wrong belt
Have you owned the mower since new ?
I have come across a lot of mowers where the owners decided the springs were too expensive so fitted all sorts of work around to save a few dollars without the thought that saving $ 30 on a spring could shorten the life of the $ 200 belt .
The same happens with pulleys, particular idlers .
Down here some original idlers are well over $ 100 and I for one will happily fit a cheaper one of a different size .
If this requires a different belt then I write the belt size under the seat or hood with a paint pen .
However I have been called to fix mowers that the DPO did not bother to do this and have come across all sorts of things like smaller pulleys on the blade spindles to make the blades spin faster in order to get a better cut .
This mower would throw rocks totally across the neighbours yard and into the next yard and it ate blades at a shocking rate.
Took a long while to sort that one out and in the mean time I had tried 6 different belt lengths to get one that worked
No, I bought from a lady friend who had spent a lot of cash at the Reynolds dealer here in indy. They should have replaced the belt. Guess it could have been worn out, I bought a 1/2" x 144" A belt and it fit good. I found other JD tractors with 60" decks and used their replacement size and it fits, but I thought it should have a B belt for the horse power and the M48444 was a B belt so. My previous life I worked with hydronic systems and fans (SMWIA test and balance) The B145 fit perfectly, I do need to grease the fittings. You never know what has been changed, I was told it has a repower Kohler so who knows. The local little league pushed an old Dixie off on me and it has the same motor. Of course it stopped running too. Too many irons in the fire, grass is growing. Thanks again.
#13
StarTech
The M48444 is not "B" (5/8, .625) persay as it is .660" wide. But I found that JD parts crosses are not always 100% as they sub pulleys at times or have the wrong serial number breaks.
So, I'm still trying to get that 400 running, So it appears that the fuel drains out the fuel filter, What's going on here. can't find a leak, Remember I did repair a leak in the fuel line to the pump and added a shut off valve ( for easy access). But I don't see a leak.
So, I drained the oil and thought it smelt like gas. Took a small amount over to the fire pit and sure enough it burned right up with a kitchen match. New oil new filter charged battery, fired right up after playing with the needle valves. When I shut it off that fuel was draining out of the filter into the carb. Guess the carb is coming off this time. Still can't cut grass with ti
