I need to get a riding mower

[WV460hunter]

Well, I got a Riding tractor. No more push mower. A friend of mine had a Craftsman YT4500 26hp 54"cut ( made by Husqavarna for Craftsman ) it was sitting in some weeds. I ask him about it said he was taking it to the junk. I said really .. He said unless you want it . I SAID YES !! I took it home put a new fuel pump, a starter solenoid sanded the armature in the starter/generator ,new battery, clean all the mice nest out from under the engine cover sanded the flywheel cleaned the carburetor out 3 seperate times, had very very old gas in the tank. Added white gas 2 things of fuel treatment and the rest fresh gas and believe it if not its running like a champ.

 

[Hvymax]

Good luck!!! What you found and did sounds reasonable!!!
gramps

PS I don't have the funds to buy lawn/garden tractors in the $600+ range anymore. Dealers are 40" away to begin with.

Sounds like it's long overdue for some real service. Replace the fuel lines and filter, clean and rebuild the carb, change the oil and filter, spark plugs etc. Then Seafoam and ethanol free gas. Ethanol destroys small engines.

 

[Hvymax]

I had to replace the engine on mine last year. The correct engine would have been $1,800 to $2500. I found a new engine for $500 but I had to make an adapter for the shaft but it's working again.

 

[GasGuzzler]

PS I don't have the funds to buy lawn/garden tractors in the $600+ range anymore. Dealers are 40" away to begin with.

My walk behind was $600. A good ZTR starts over $6K.

 

[WV460hunter]

I had to replace the engine on mine last year. The correct engine would have been $1,800 to $2500. I found a new engine for $500 but I had to make an adapter for the shaft but it's working again.

Dude where did you get those tires those look awesome !!

 

[Taterman]

Well I fixed the leaking gas line and changed the fuel filter, and it actually started up. It ran rough though and a couple seconds later a ton of white smoke started pouring out of the exhaust. It made it about 30' and then died and now it won't start at all.
I've only used pure unleaded with no ethanol. I used a little sandpaper on it and rinsed it with rubbing alcohol but still no luck. I pulled to spark plug again to try the original one again and a liquid dripped off of it. It didn't smell like gas but I don't know what else it would be. I'll check the oil and see if that smells like gas as someone suggested, but I watched some videos about taking apart the carb and there's no way I'd be capable of doing that.
Any ideas what caused all the smoke and why it won't start now?

 

[arfmel]

Rubbing alcohol is 30% water. If you got much of it in your fuel, that could be the problem.

 

[Actnbill]

It sounds like you have too much oil in it...... Have you added oil recently ??? If so, you can spin off the oil filter or use the drain plug and drain some of the excess oil out........ My neighbor did the same thing last year

 

[Dave P.]

As posted earlier....inlet needle and seat issue...allowing engine to flood. All that white smoke was the flooded muffler burning off
the fuel.
Other possible issue is MANY of the OHV Briggs singles had head gasket issues where the gasket failed between the cylinder wall and
valve chamber area of the block. usually they would run till warm then smoke like a Rosie O'Donnell.....not really what you're describing.
Your posts all pointed to the classic needle and seat issue.....carb cleaning and kit or OEM replacement time.
If you don't want to tackle the repair it's pay somebody to fix it, or scrap it and get something else....maybe new with a warranty
from a servicing dealer.

 

[Gopher]

Dude where did you get those tires those look awesome !!

I am interested in those too. They look like something off of a quad or side by side.
A local TSC has actual tractor tires in that size from time to time but I wonder how rough they would be on the grass.

 

[Taterman]

Thanks for the replies and advice guys, I appreciate it. I'll check the oil again, but I'll also try to find someone local to fix it. The grass is already very long and rain is coming.

 

[wildwilly]

I am interested in those too. They look like something off of a quad or side by side.
A local TSC has actual tractor tires in that size from time to time but I wonder how rough they would be on the grass.

As long as the ground not wet and soft they don't mark it but they do ride a little rough. I put them on my wife's mower we have some pretty good hills I think ones like those pictures would have worked.

 

[Hvymax]

Dude where did you get those tires those look awesome !!

Amazon I think. I googled the tire size and I think they were $20 each or something. Absolutely awesome for traction especially when dragging logs and stuff.

 

[Taterman]

Me and my wife were able to push the mower into the garage and somehow it is completely out of gas again. It's totally dry under the hose I fixed so I have no idea where it all went.
There was a sign a couple of miles down the road offering small engine repair so I went down the side street to the address and it turns out it was an Amish family. Seems odd the have someone that can't drive a car, work on an engine. He said he knows someone that can pick the mower up from me for $25 since we don't have a trailer, so I left my name,number and address with him and the guy is supposed to call me and pick it up tomorrow.
I have no way to reach them if I don't get a call tomorrow, so who knows...
Looks like I'll have to pay someone to mow in the next couple of days since it's getting long.

 

[WV460hunter]

Me and my wife were able to push the mower into the garage and somehow it is completely out of gas again. It's totally dry under the hose I fixed so I have no idea where it all went.
There was a sign a couple of miles down the road offering small engine repair so I went down the side street to the address and it turns out it was an Amish family. Seems odd the have someone that can't drive a car, work on an engine. He said he knows someone that can pick the mower up from me for $25 since we don't have a trailer, so I left my name,number and address with him and the guy is supposed to call me and pick it up tomorrow.
I have no way to reach them if I don't get a call tomorrow, so who knows...
Looks like I'll have to pay someone to mow in the next couple of days since it's getting long.

Someone steal your gas ?

 

[Hvymax]

Someone steal your gas ?

Ethanol eats fuel lines and gaskets.

 

[Dave P.]

Someone steal your gas ?

Nope, it's in the crankcase, muffler, and peed out on the ground where it was parked. Will be able to see the dead spot in a
few days.

 

[Taterman]

Ethanol eats fuel lines and gaskets.

I've only used pure unleaded. Not sure what previous owners used.

 

[bykerhd]

Your carburetor float may have stuck and allowed all the gas to flow in to the engine ?
Check your oil and see if itis thin and smells of gas.

 

[hittman]

My son just bought a Cub Cadet Z154 with Koehler 27 hp engine. They offered 48 months no interest too.
He just bought a property with almost 2 acres to mow so should come in handy.