Paul in Edmonton
Member
The last couple times I tried to use the tractor, it had trouble starting. The last time it didn't start at all, but I didn't have the time or tools to mess with it. So today, when we were heading out to the cabin with lots of time, I brought the tools...
I started by putting a charger on the battery. Then, I pulled all the plugs and cleaned them with a propane torch. And since the plugs were out, a compression test seemed like a good idea. 90-30-90-90. Bad valve?
To make things interesting, though, I put the plugs back in and tried starting. Surprisingly, it started very easily (when I pulled the choke for a fraction of a second). Seemed to run smoothly, too.
When I finished mowing, I let the engine cool off, and retested the #2 cylinder. 90 psi. Do sticky valves become unstuck in a running engine? Or is something else going on?
On the bright side, the replacement radiator (that I installed back in the spring) seemed to be doing its job nicely on its first real test on a warm day. Previously the engine would overheat within 20 minutes, and the oil pressure would drop under 5 psi. Today, I mowed at full throttle for close to an hour--no overheating at all, and for much of the time the oil pressure (at full throttle) was around 20 psi, although by the end it had dropped to 10.
-Paul
I started by putting a charger on the battery. Then, I pulled all the plugs and cleaned them with a propane torch. And since the plugs were out, a compression test seemed like a good idea. 90-30-90-90. Bad valve?
To make things interesting, though, I put the plugs back in and tried starting. Surprisingly, it started very easily (when I pulled the choke for a fraction of a second). Seemed to run smoothly, too.
When I finished mowing, I let the engine cool off, and retested the #2 cylinder. 90 psi. Do sticky valves become unstuck in a running engine? Or is something else going on?
On the bright side, the replacement radiator (that I installed back in the spring) seemed to be doing its job nicely on its first real test on a warm day. Previously the engine would overheat within 20 minutes, and the oil pressure would drop under 5 psi. Today, I mowed at full throttle for close to an hour--no overheating at all, and for much of the time the oil pressure (at full throttle) was around 20 psi, although by the end it had dropped to 10.
-Paul