Ron in Nebr
Member
Hi- first time posting on the Garden Tractors page, but just wanted some opinions....
Picked up a 1976 Ford LGT 100 tractor at a sale last weekend. It has a 10-horse k-241 Kohler engine. 42 inch deck.
The tractors in fair to good condition, looks like it"s been maintained.
Runs ok, but when I hit the pto switch, and especially when I get into any kind of "heavy" grass, it just pulls the engine down to what sounds like half of it"s free-running rpm"s. Just kinda holds there as it lumbers through the grass. Turn the PTO off and the rpm"s come up to normal.
I"m not a small-engine guy, but have been around auto engines alot. What I"ve done so far is- new properly-gapped plug, new points, new air filter, and adjusted the carb screws like it says on Kohler"s website(basically highest rpm under load, etc). Seems to be decent fuel flow out of the tank when I disconnect the hose at the carb.
The engine doesnt stumble or act like a lean misfire or an ignition misfire, it just slows down.
I finished mowing with a newer "Murray" I"d got from my brother with a 16 horse engine and it never showed any signs of slowing down or losing power.
What am I missing here? Is a 10 horse Kohler just underpowered for this tractor(it"s factory) or is something else wrong? Is the old girl just tired? No smoke so rings seem ok...with the air cleaner off a bit of fuel seems to blow out the intake side of the carb at higher throttle settings...maybe it needs a valve job? What else can cause a small engine to lose power if it"s getting enough air and fuel? Muffler doesn"t seem to be plugged either btw...
thanks!
Picked up a 1976 Ford LGT 100 tractor at a sale last weekend. It has a 10-horse k-241 Kohler engine. 42 inch deck.
The tractors in fair to good condition, looks like it"s been maintained.
Runs ok, but when I hit the pto switch, and especially when I get into any kind of "heavy" grass, it just pulls the engine down to what sounds like half of it"s free-running rpm"s. Just kinda holds there as it lumbers through the grass. Turn the PTO off and the rpm"s come up to normal.
I"m not a small-engine guy, but have been around auto engines alot. What I"ve done so far is- new properly-gapped plug, new points, new air filter, and adjusted the carb screws like it says on Kohler"s website(basically highest rpm under load, etc). Seems to be decent fuel flow out of the tank when I disconnect the hose at the carb.
The engine doesnt stumble or act like a lean misfire or an ignition misfire, it just slows down.
I finished mowing with a newer "Murray" I"d got from my brother with a 16 horse engine and it never showed any signs of slowing down or losing power.
What am I missing here? Is a 10 horse Kohler just underpowered for this tractor(it"s factory) or is something else wrong? Is the old girl just tired? No smoke so rings seem ok...with the air cleaner off a bit of fuel seems to blow out the intake side of the carb at higher throttle settings...maybe it needs a valve job? What else can cause a small engine to lose power if it"s getting enough air and fuel? Muffler doesn"t seem to be plugged either btw...
thanks!