Riding lawn mower problem

Posted by Jack on August 4, 2007, 5:19 pm

I have a Poulan Pro riding lawn mower. It has just started having a
problem that I need help diagnosing. It is some kind of a fuel
problem and is related to the position of the mower while cutting. My
land is sloped and, when cutting the following happens.
If I am cutting across the slope and my left side is on the downhill
side of the slope, the mower gets plenty of gas and works perfectly.
If I am cutting across the slope and my right side is on the downhill
slope, it slows down and seems to lack power. It almost slows to a
stop. The fuel pump is mounted on the left side of the engine. Any
thoughts about what is going on will be appreciated. THanks

Posted by Doug Miller on August 4, 2007, 6:00 pm

(Jack) wrote:

>I have a Poulan Pro riding lawn mower. It has just started having a
>problem that I need help diagnosing. It is some kind of a fuel
>problem and is related to the position of the mower while cutting. My
>land is sloped and, when cutting the following happens.
>If I am cutting across the slope and my left side is on the downhill
>side of the slope, the mower gets plenty of gas and works perfectly.
>If I am cutting across the slope and my right side is on the downhill
>slope, it slows down and seems to lack power. It almost slows to a
>stop. The fuel pump is mounted on the left side of the engine. Any
>thoughts about what is going on will be appreciated. THanks

My first thought is that you probably don't actually have a fuel pump. Riding
mowers typically have gravity fuel feed. If it did have a pump, it is unlikely
that you could still drive the mower on any slope steep enough to affect fuel
delivery -- however, this can happen with gravity fuel feed if the slope is
steep enough, and a clogged fuel filter will make it worse. Have you tried
changing it?

My second thought is that the slope may be steep enough that the hose from the
fuel tank to the carburetor is above the level of the fuel (and thus you're
getting air in the fuel line). This can occur either with pumped or gravity
fuel feed. It's also much less likely to happen if the tank is full -- had you
noticed whether that makes any difference?

If the slope *is* that steep, you probably should reconsider your mowing
pattern.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Posted by Jack on August 4, 2007, 5:59 pm

Thanks for the reply. I am almost sure that I have a fuel pump.
Also, this is a new problem and I have had no problem mowing this
sloped land for the past 2 years. Generally I start off with a full
tank. The fuel filter was changed recently. I did manage to almost
run the mower out of gas a couple of weeks ago and you may be right
that I have air in the line. How would you go about purging a fuel
line of air? THanks again for the reply.

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:00:27 GMT, spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller)
wrote:

jplasater@NOSPAMjuno.com (Jack) wrote:

>>I have a Poulan Pro riding lawn mower. It has just started having a
>>problem that I need help diagnosing. It is some kind of a fuel
>>problem and is related to the position of the mower while cutting. My
>>land is sloped and, when cutting the following happens.
>>If I am cutting across the slope and my left side is on the downhill
>>side of the slope, the mower gets plenty of gas and works perfectly.
>>If I am cutting across the slope and my right side is on the downhill
>>slope, it slows down and seems to lack power. It almost slows to a
>>stop. The fuel pump is mounted on the left side of the engine. Any
>>thoughts about what is going on will be appreciated. THanks

>My first thought is that you probably don't actually have a fuel pump. Riding
>mowers typically have gravity fuel feed. If it did have a pump, it is unlikely
>that you could still drive the mower on any slope steep enough to affect fuel
>delivery -- however, this can happen with gravity fuel feed if the slope is
>steep enough, and a clogged fuel filter will make it worse. Have you tried
>changing it?
>My second thought is that the slope may be steep enough that the hose from the
>fuel tank to the carburetor is above the level of the fuel (and thus you're
>getting air in the fuel line). This can occur either with pumped or gravity
>fuel feed. It's also much less likely to happen if the tank is full -- had you
>noticed whether that makes any difference?
>If the slope *is* that steep, you probably should reconsider your mowing
>pattern.
>--
>Regards,
> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Posted by Oren on August 4, 2007, 6:23 pm

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:19:00 GMT, jplasater@NOSPAMjuno.com (Jack)
wrote:

Clean the fuel cap vent, or loosen the cap a tiny bit.

--
Oren

"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."

Posted by Jack on August 5, 2007, 10:38 am

That makes sense. I went out and cleaned it out. How did you come up
with that?

>On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:19:00 GMT, jplasater@NOSPAMjuno.com (Jack)
>wrote:

>Clean the fuel cap vent, or loosen the cap a tiny bit.
>--
>Oren
>"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."

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