LT2500-50D Will not stay running

J

jaxontheweb

Member
Engine quits after starting and running for 1 to 2 minutes. Fuel in filter and in bowl after it dies? Let it sit for 5 minutes or less and it cranks and the dies after 1 to 2 minutes again. Put new fuel pump and checked the filter and it still does the same. It is stored indoors. Shows no sign of water in the clear filter. It did something simular last year and I replace the fuel and ran well till sitting for a month or two this winter? Open to suggestions! Planning on draining all the fuel and starting over again but thought that someone might have some thoughts about what is happening. Thanks in advance for all suggestions.
 
Hello J.,

Fuel tanks sweat inside with temperature changes and moisture collects. This happens in your storage jugs also. It is best to keep all tanks totally empty or nearly full when stored. Adding a splash of rubbing alcohol will help break down small amounts of water.

Also, grass and chaff make their way into fuel tanks over time, and this stuff will block fuel line nipples and pick up tubes long before it gets to the fuel filter. If there is a right angle in the fuel pickup tube, that is a perfect place for debris to get trapped and block fuel flow. Stopping, allows everything trapped to relax so a little fuel can get through. Then when you restart, the process repeats itself.

I suggest you inspect all fuel lines and pick up tubes and blow them clear with compressed air. If the soft fuel hose lines are aged, they should be replaced. Fuel lines often fail from the inside long before outside visible damage can be seen. Only use bulk (branded) fuel hose from a parts store. Online (Amazon, eBay) unbranded fuel hose is garbage, it will swell, get soft, split and fail

Next, remove the fuel bowl and clean it, because water will just sit in the bottom and block fuel so it cannot get into the carburetor jets
 
Replaced fuel pump after one of the hose connections broke and replaced some of the hose. The fuel looks clear in the filter and both tanks. I let fuel run from the filter to the carburetor for a minute to see that it got past the filter. The fuel in the tanks looks clear and uncontaminated. Will try to find out how to get to the fuel bowl on the carb I was able to drain the fuel bowl using the screw on the bottom of the carburetor. Still no continuious running of the motor.
 
jaxontheweb said:
Replaced fuel pump after one of the hose connections broke and replaced some of the hose. The fuel looks clear in the filter and both tanks. I let fuel run from the filter to the carburetor for a minute to see that it got past the filter. The fuel in the tanks looks clear and uncontaminated. Will try to find out how to get to the fuel bowl on the carb I was able to drain the fuel bowl using the screw on the bottom of the carburetor. Still no continuious running of the motor.
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Sorry, just draining the bowl through the drain screw hole will not be enough. The carburetor needs to come off, and the main jet has to be cleared out along with cleaning the bowl. There is a blockage inside.
 
Do you know for sure it is a fuel related problem? Try squirting some Gum Out carb cleaner in the throat of the carb when it starts to die. If it keeps running it is a fuel related issue if not Ign.
 
I had a John Deere RX75 that had the same symptoms. Turned out that the float bowl was not filling fast enough to keep the engine running. When it shut down, fuel slowly refilled the bowl and then it would run for another minute or so until the bowl was empty again. In my case a novice wannabe mechanic (who goes by Oddjob) had replaced a perfectly good fuel filter with a new one that was too fine for a gravity fed system. You could have a coil that is beginning to fail, but I’d suggest pulling the fuel line off at the carb and see if gas is free flowing. If it is, then take the carb off and see if the float valve is fully opening. That one minute operation is the amount of time it takes to run a float bowl out of fuel.
 
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