|
Hank, John pretty well covered the stuck valve thing. As soon after you start it as is possible [when the problem occurs] run a compression test to see if you have a compression loss due to a stuck valve. ~You might want to make sure the choke is opening completely [if the pins under the cover on the side of the choke are jumping over, the choke could be partially closed with the choke knob all the way in]�. [common problem] ~Make sure there is no water or ice in the air cleaner cup. If there is you might be wetting a plug out right after starting. ~Run the tractor until it�s hot then park it & pull both spark plugs, then let it sit a couple of days, then have someone crank it & watch for liquid to be spit out the L/H cylinder. [maybe it�s taking coolant into the L/H cylinder] ~Can you control the engine idle with both idle needles? If so are they at about the same amount of turns out? If you have problems getting the L/H idle needle to change the idle quality suspect a problem in the carb idle circuit. ~If all the above checks out OK you could still have a spark problem. While the problem is occurring you might want to put a voltmeter on the ign coil�s ignition switch side & verify you have 6+ volts while running [ballast resistor by-pass starting system], or have 12+ volts on the early non resistor non by-pass starting system. You might have a failing ignition switch or ballast resistor connections causing low coil voltage. [somewhat common problem] ~If you still haven�t found anything, take an old spark plug wire & cut it about 4� from the plug end, then strip the outer insulation back about �� on both ends of the cut ends, then slide the cut ends into a piece of tight fitting clear plastic tubing with the wire ends about 1/8� to 3/16� apart. Then install on the L/H side & start the tractor in the dark [or dark area]. If you have a good bluish spark with it misfiring your problem is either farther into the engine or you have a bad spark plug. If you see a poor spark while the problem exists you have something wrong with your distributor/coil/cap�.
| 
