[JStergis]

Hey All-

Someone's bringing me up a Ford YT16 lawn tractor today or tomorrow with one issue on it that I'd like to grab some suggestions toward from people more small engine literate than I am.

First of all, some specs on this tractor. It's a pretty nice one:

5 Speed Peerless Tranny
16 HP Kohler Magnum Twin-Cylinder
42" 3 Blade Mowing Deck (PTO engagement)
22" Rear Wheels
Oil Pressure Indicator Light
Ampere Gauge
5ish Gal. Fuel Tank
550 CA Battery
...and of course, a big comfy seat

The tractor has brand new blades and belts, and a recently rebuilt tranny.


The thing starts quickly and purrs nicely...if it's pointed downhill or is on a flat surface. The second you put it with the hood pointing uphill, it runs really rough and idles down until it stalls, if you turn it back to a downhill setting, it usually goes back to normal.

It seems to me like it isn't getting gas when pointed uphill.

I have taken the fuel like off the filter and gas pours out in a quick, steady stream, so I'm sure the line from the filter to the tank is fine.

I'm not sure where to head with it, any ideas? I'd like to avoid attempting to mow my yard always pointed downhill.

Thanks,

Joe

FWIW, they gave me the tractor because they own a junk yard and someone just gave them a Ford LGT17H, so they don't need the YT-16 anymore. They say it ran flawlessly about a year ago, but the tranny blew something so it sat the rest of the year, and they just rebuilt that yesterday for me. It was left out in the snow all winter, and there was water in the line for what I'm told, and the gas that was in it was white in color. Hardly a speck of rust on the thing though, despite being left out in the winter it's in pretty good shape and definitely runs perfect, so long as you don't point it uphill.

[n2gun]

sounds like the carb to me the water in the gas may froze and messed it up over winter

[JStergis]

Okay, at this point if he comes tonight, I can't look at it as it'll probably be dark.

Carb is what everyone seems to be saying.

Could it be the fuel pump do you think? I think it'd be scary to call the New Holland dealer and ask about that.

I hope it's not worse than the carb.

Thanks,

Joe

[wacor]

Not sure if I missed this but did the gas tank get emptied?

Does the fuel line come out of the rear end facing end of the gas tank on the bottom of the tank?

If the tank has not been emptied I can see the problem possibly being water still in the tank. The water will go to the bottom of the tank. You go uphill and if the gas line exits the rear side of the tank water would go out with the gas. Would not take much to cause the problem either.

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by wacor

Not sure if I missed this but did the gas tank get emptied?

Does the fuel line come out of the rear end facing end of the gas tank on the bottom of the tank?

If the tank has not been emptied I can see the problem possibly being water still in the tank. The water will go to the bottom of the tank. You go uphill and if the gas line exits the rear side of the tank water would go out with the gas. Would not take much to cause the problem either.

Yes, the tank, line, and carb were all completely emptied after it was cranked considerably. If it were me, I would have drained it out before even cranking.

I'm not sure where the line hits the tank, I'll have to take a look.

Fresh gas was put in and it fired right up, but it has its uphill fits. Purrs like a kitten when it's on a flat surface or pointed downhill.

It's a beautiful tractor, and as soon as that engine is dealt with, it'll be perfect. There's barely a speck of rust on it.

[wacor]

How was the carb emptied??

Not taken apart??

You might consider taking the carb off and rebuilding it. Sometimes they can be touchy if you are gonna do it yourself.

What about a fuel filter? I assume that has been replaced??

Or did you take off the line on the carb side of it?? and did you try taking the line off with the tractor facing uphill? Sounds silly but just trying to rule out the obvious.

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by wacor

How was the carb emptied??

Not taken apart??

You might consider taking the carb off and rebuilding it. Sometimes they can be touchy if you are gonna do it yourself.

What about a fuel filter? I assume that has been replaced??

Or did you take off the line on the carb side of it?? and did you try taking the line off with the tractor facing uphill? Sounds silly but just trying to rule out the obvious.

By what he said, he emptied it with the bleeder screw thing. It wasn't taken apart by any measure.

Original filter was replaced, just for the heck of it.

It does get a steady flow up to the carb I think, never tried it uphill that I know if. I'll try that when I get it, which will most likely be tomorrow.

I'm pretty much riding on what I heard he did. I've heard it run uphill and downhill but have yet to touch it yet.

So, note to self:

try fuel line when not attached to carb uphill.

I'll give that a shot and get back to the thread. Any more suggestions are more than welcome, and I'll try them as soon as it arrives here.

Thanks very much,

Joe

[wacor]

If it is not hard to do I would remove the fuel tank and empty it.

then i would put in new gas with a little bit of "Heet" or the equivalent. not sure the formula but be sure not too much.

and replace the fuel filter regardless of how clean it looks.

[JohnWill]

Yep, that has all the earmarks of a fuel filter not being able to pass enough gas to keep up with demand when the engine is under load.

[JStergis]

It's arriving today, as far as I know.

My plan is to buy an air cleaner, oil filter, oil, and fuel filter almost immediately as I know it needs an air cleaner and probably an oil change, and the oil filter and fuel filter can't hurt.

Heck, the fuel filter could be the whole problem. If it arrives today I'll take a look at what has already been mentioned and I'll post some pictures for the heck of it.

[JStergis]

For those following this, here's some pictures of the tractor. I'll get to tinkering very soon and let you know what successes I have.

...in one of the pictures you can see my small disaster, been busy working on stuff and never picked it up!

The fuel tank in this thing is enormous...it has 2 gallons in it and registers as only 1/4 full on the fuel cap. Provided that's right, it's an 8 gal tank, which I doubt. My guess is about 5 gal. I'll probably fill it up before gas can go up in price any more, that way I've got gas to use for quite a while. From what I've heard, those engines aren't too thirsty.

The oil surprisingly looks to be light brown in color, so it must have had a change fairly recently. The air filter is horrible looking, so I'll replace that.

The fuel filter allows gas to pass through very well, I had a friend come up and tinker with it and he said it's a stuck float in the carb. It floods going downhill if the throttle isn't opened enough, runs pretty good on flat, and won't start or run at all uphill.