Troy bilt XP mustang 50 running erratic

redmanriggs40

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Hello I'm new to the forum ..I have a troy bilt xp zero turn that will start but when I start cutting after a short while the engine starts running erratic . It did it the last time I cut grass and just added some sea foam to it and after 5 or 10 minutes it ran perfect
however after the gas ran out ..I started using non ethanol gas only and didn't add any seafoam to it , started cutting grass the other day and it ran fine no skip or anything , a couple of days later it cut for a while then started skipping and running erratic ,
I changed the fuel filter on it bc it had the original one on it and looked clogged so I figured that was the problem , and checked the air filter, and spark plugs- negative still running erratic ..I've done all the small checks except for cleaning the carburetor. Could someone please help me out on this problem? Its so frustrating all I want to do is cut my grass ...thanks in advance
 

bertsmobile1

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Next time you mow & the mower plays up, remove the fuel cap.
problem goes away = blocked air vent.
Problem stays, remove the fuel line form the pump and blow backwards through the fuel line.
Problem goes away, remove the fuel tank & clean it .
 

redmanriggs40

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If its a blocked air vent then is it just from the fuel cap itself ?
 

bertsmobile1

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If its a blocked air vent then is it just from the fuel cap itself ?

Yep it is usually in the cap.
If there is a thin line from the top of the carb that goes down to a T joint then up towards the tank, you have a Californian model with a non vented cap
 

ILENGINE

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The latest EPA requirements made them all not vented caps starting about 2012. Either a low vacuum line from the top of the tank to the air cleaner intake. A line from the top of the tank to a charcoal canister, that either pulls vapors back into the tank as fuel is used, or a low vacuum line to draw the vapors from the charcoal canister, or in the case of some pushmowers, the charcoal is in the fuel cap.

The problem with the charcoal canisters is if raw fuel contaminated the charcoal powder it turns into a charcoal brick, and will no longer vent.
 

bertsmobile1

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Thanks for that.
we don't see many of those set ups down here ( yet ).
Only on the Toros with kawakasi's
Thanks for the heads up on the canisters I would have never found that one out on my own.
 

ILENGINE

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Most of the canisters I come across are fitted on small horizontal engines. Like 5-8 hp engines used on pressure washers, tillers, water pumps, and gas powered chemical sprayers. If used on rough terrain like a chemical applicator in the back of a UTV the sloshing of the fuel enters the vent line on top of the tank, and will soon show symptoms like a clogged fuel cap vent.
 
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