Brother has engine problems

Tractorkid1250 · Feb 22, 2018

My brother has a cub cadet 1250 which has some unusual engine problems. The engine takes forever to start, and when it does, it idles really low. After 30 seconds of running, the tractor starts dying out, so he has go full on the choke and immediately give it no choke to keep it running. After about 5 times of doing this, the tractor finally runs fine. The tractor constantly almost stalls, requiring him to pump the choke. He probably has a thread on here, but I want to help him. The fuel is gravity fed, which might be the issue.

dfbroxy · Feb 23, 2018

I am not one of the experts on this site, so maybe they will chime in later. For now Ill give you a few things to go based on my knowledge. If I say something simple dont be insulted, I dont know if your 8 or 80.

Check fuel filter or replace. If the problem persists move on to the carb. Take the bowl off. be careful when u do this not to let any loose parts falling out and getting lost. If the bowl is dirty it would be a good idea to take carb off engine and clean.
If bowl looks clean then check operation of float and needle. Even if they are operating correctly there mabe trash in the jet not allowing it to close or move freely so remove pin and take float and pin out and spray with cleaner. Make sure pin is not worn.
Reassemble everything and try to start. (BTW take pics of everything as you dissamble)

Post with your results and we will go from there.

Boobala · Feb 23, 2018

dfbroxy said:
I am not one of the experts on this site, so maybe they will chime in later. For now Ill give you a few things to go based on my knowledge. If I say something simple dont be insulted, I dont know if your 8 or 80.

Check fuel filter or replace. If the problem persists move on to the carb. Take the bowl off. be careful when u do this not to let any loose parts falling out and getting lost. If the bowl is dirty it would be a good idea to take carb off engine and clean.
If bowl looks clean then check operation of float and needle. Even if they are operating correctly there mabe trash in the jet not allowing it to close or move freely so remove pin and take float and pin out and spray with cleaner. Make sure pin is not worn.
Reassemble everything and try to start. (BTW take pics of everything as you dissamble)

Post with your results and we will go from there.

Great advice about taking pics ( saves headaches )

Tractorkid1250 · Mar 1, 2018

I forgot to mention that engine only starts starts to stall after you start it or put the engine under a load. I know that he removed the carb but I don't know what he did when he had it off.

Tractorkid1250 · Mar 26, 2018

We bought a 140 with a bad head gasket, and I noticed that the exhaust of the 1250 smells exactly the same as the 140, and they both only run with choke. the 1250 smokes on startup, so is this a sign that the 1250 has a bad head gasket?

bertsmobile1 · Mar 26, 2018

Tractorkid1250 said:
We bought a 140 with a bad head gasket, and I noticed that the exhaust of the 1250 smells exactly the same as the 140, and they both only run with choke. the 1250 smokes on startup, so is this a sign that the 1250 has a bad head gasket?

Quick & dirty test for a bad gasket is to run the engine for 4 or 5 minutes , turn it off & let it stand for 1 or 2 minutes then rmove the dip stick tube.
If smoke comes out very good chance of a blown head gasket,

Second give away is a rattle & roar when ever the engine is put under full load ( when you turn the blades on or start to move )

Finally there is oil leaking from around the head joint but that only happens when the gasket is blown to the outside.
They generally blow between the cylinder & push rod tunnel.

Tractorkid1250 · Mar 26, 2018

bertsmobile1 said:
Quick & dirty test for a bad gasket is to run the engine for 4 or 5 minutes , turn it off & let it stand for 1 or 2 minutes then rmove the dip stick tube.
If smoke comes out very good chance of a blown head gasket,

Second give away is a rattle & roar when ever the engine is put under full load ( when you turn the blades on or start to move )

Finally there is oil leaking from around the head joint but that only happens when the gasket is blown to the outside.
They generally blow between the cylinder & push rod tunnel.

I'll have him check the dipstick after running the tractor.
The engine cannot be put under full load, if comes close to stalling at about half throttle.
No oil leaks from the cylinder.
The tractor only runs with full choke.

The exhaust does smell weird though... is that a symptom of a bad head gasket?

Brother has engine problems

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