Hustler Super Z dies after getting hot..help!

We have a Super Z, 30 h engine, 60 inch deck. Bought new in late 2007- always ran fantastic, no problems, just had to change oil, and blades every year.
suddenly, while mowing this year, it dies when it gets hot after mowing for a bit. Will not start back up until it cools off. Hubby cleaned filters, replaced the fuel pump, and re-ran the fuel line cause he noticed it starting to crack. Still dies once it's running for a while, after it gets hot. He took it back to the dealer, and they are stumped. They (and we) think it might be having a vapor lock, as it acts as if it's starved for gas so it just shuts down. They have even tried a seperate fuel source and it still shuts down. Supposedly they have been in contact with both Hustler and Kohler, but haven't figured out what the exact problem is.
Anybody have any ideas? I'm afraid this is going to cost us a fortune to fix, the dealer has had it since late Monday of this past week. Hubby has mentioned checking the carburetor, and they said they did that.
Our neighbor has a Hustler Z too, but his is a water cooled engine and he's never had a problem with it. Sigh. :frown:
Any advice will be appreciated!

Check the fuel line routing ... when he replaced it, if it gets any place that heat gets to it, you can get a vapor lock easily... check for heat shields missing or bent, and for any change in the original layout...

Air cooled engines need a lot of air to keep cool ... check that the engine is not Over heating because of obstructions in the cooling system... :smile:KennyV

Thanks, KennyV- we did check all the fuel line and also for any placement near heat- at any rate, the dealer has it now and they have checked everything and are still stumped.
It ran great since 2007, and most of this summer until the last 2 weeks when it started doing the dying after a short time mowing. We didn't change anything on it until it started to die, that's when we replaced a few things, checked the filters, re-ran the fuel line, etc. Gave up and gave to the dealers who have the time to take things apart and mess with it. And they don't know why either.

Please Post back with what they find.... It is going to be one of those obvious, (once located), problems.... But interesting to know for sure... :smile:KennyV

Thanks, I will. Hopefully we'll have a call early on stating they found the problem and it's fiixed! Then we just have to weather the bill.

Re: Hustler Super Z dies update:

Well, they have finally come to the conclusion that the carburetor must have sucked up something - hubby had run one tank dry before switching to the other tank. (which we've done before without problems) they have installed another carb but can't test it out until it stops pouring rain. Hopefully they can check it out by Saturday. I thought it had something to do with the carb, initially but they had not been sure at that time. Will let you all know if that solves it! Thanks!

hello if your mower runs fine until it gets hot and after it cools off and runs fine again til it heats up ? sounds like its a coil going bad

Re: Hustler Super Z dies after getting hot.update!!

Ok, sorry about taking so long to post a reply here, but the problem has been solved.. finally.
Turned out the carburetor was bad- luckily they had a spare in the shop and installed it- they had to wait until the weather turned nice again before they could try it out on the grass to make sure. They found a couple other things wrong with it, but that had nothing to do with the running issue- replaced the carb, and it has been running like new since. They think that when one of the tanks ran dry, the carb got something sucked up into it that took it out. I agreed to have some other things replaced, (starter was going bad too, so we had them replace) So, hopefully, at least some more years of use without any problems. Thanks to all who tried to help!:thumbsup:

Thanks for posting back. :smile:

I have the same problem. It seems odd that the carburator would have been trashed and not be a problem all the time. I replaced the coils, checked the fuel system, comp test the cylinders, and will try your solution. Did the service people say anything about the carburator?