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Surging while cutting tall grass? Are you sure that this wasn't just the result of a heavy load on the engine. Patches of tall grass will put a load on the engine, and will cause it to slow down. If you have patches of tall grass, it could seem like a surging engine. A general recommendation...

No idea. It was clear line, at least, when new. At the end of the season, it had yellowed. As I recall, pretty much all my competitors used the same stuff.

I use the same balancer Steve does, and balance my blades the same way.

A few years ago, I bought several Toro blades. I sharpen them a few times, but I swap them out for new when they get to looking too bad.

Thanks for the video. His 2700 sounded a LOT like my 2750, so I'm pretty sure my tach is good.

A few years ago, my mom, who was fairly knowledgeable on fuel and power equipment, had a trimmer that wouldn't start. I told her that it was probably bad fuel, but she assured me that it wasn't. The problem for her was that she and my dad used to run a gas station, and she was fairly...

I used to race go-karts, and we used 100% methanol. I had to replace fuel lines every season, as they would get rock hard by the end of the season.

Thanks for the balancer idea. The perception of high RPMs.... Yeah, I thought of that. The thing that causes me to think otherwise is the repair videos I watch. They all run the engines at about what mine is running now. 3200 is much faster than what those engines are running. Unless the video...

Doubtful on this engine. Yes, it's 13 yrs old, but it's never been stored outside. As far as I can remember, it's never even been rained on.

Is there a balancer out there that is better than the cones, but doesn't cost a fortune? I'm just a homeowner. I have several blades to maintain each year, but I don't have a need to balance hundreds of blades like a shop would, so I can't justify a top of the line balancer. It's definitely NOT...

My equipment fires up every Spring. I'm happy with my current practices. I can't say the same when I was using E10.

I've only recently acquired a small engine tach, and I never trusted the dealer who sold the mower to me, so I wanted to adjust it "per spec". But I really couldn't find the spec. The only spec I could find is the 19000 FPM spec. Is it cutting well enough? Tough to say. I have a riding mower...

Ok. My balance is one of those cheap cone things. So if blade balance is the problem, I may be limited to 2900 until I get something better. However, 2950 still just seemed to be fast. I watch small engine repair videos every so often, and 2950 seems faster than any of the engines I hear on the...

I know that the blade tip speed is limited by ANSI to 19000 FPM. Which, on a 22" blade, equates to 3299RPM according to my calculator. I recently bought a tachometer, and found that my residential push mower, with a 22" blade, is running at 2750 RPM. So I started increasing it. When I got to...

Ethanol will not destroy the engine, but it will affect the carb. The diaphragms and gaskets will become brittle over time, and if ethanol fuel is left in a carb over the off-season, there's a good chance the carb will need a cleaning or rebuild. It's good practice to use ethanol-free fuel. I...

Echo 2-stroke oil already has fuel stabilizer.

Hondas are known to surge when the pilot jet gets clogged. Watch this video to see how to fix that.

Thanks for keeping me from wasting my time on this.

I'm brand loyal on 2-cycle equipment. It's Echo or nothing. For 4-cycle equipment, it's a case-by-case situation. I won't buy single cylinder Briggs or Kohlers any more. I'm not wild about MTD products, but I own a Cub Cadet Pro Z. It's commercial, so it has better parts than the residential MTD...

Agreed. I bought a Cub Cadet Pro Z with a Kohler EZT engine. It had been used commercially, and was bought from an auction. No known history. It ran fine, so I just changed oil, filters and plugs. I used it for a half season. During the off season, I found that the cylinder cooling fins were...

That was kinda included in my comment. Children, neighbors, in-laws... all fail to treat your equipment as you do.

The secret to equipment longevity is to not let people who don't own it operate it.

I would 2nd (or 3rd or whatever) the recommendation for a Toro Recycler. I had an MTD riding mower with a 36" deck, I think, and I bought a Recycler to replace it when I moved to a property (around 1/3 acre, as I recall) with hills that were marginal for the MTD. I couldn't mow across the hills...

I have a Pro-Z 154S. There is a Z-Force LZ60 for sale nearby with a bagger. CC calls both of these commercial, and both have fabricated decks. Will this bagger fit my Pro-Z? If so, I'd be willing to buy the Z-Force, take the bagger, and sell the mower. The bagger for my Pro-Z is more than I paid...

Check compression with a tester. Check spark with a tester. Double check your fuel lines to make sure they're not reversed. If it's flooding, try this: Quickly Unflood A Weedeater Using NO Tools

Get a battery tender for every lead-acid battery that you don't use over the Winter. Also, mower batteries don't need to be disconnected for storage. Most cars are never totally "off". I.e. they always draw some current. If storing a car, then yes, disconnect the negative battery terminal. If...

^ This. I had this problem once, and it took me a while, but I finally figured out that the spool was on backwards. I wasn't the one who flipped it, so it took me a while to notice it. At that point, I didn't even know that it COULD be flipped. I guess this is so that the same spool can be used...

The OP DID say that the carb, fuel filter, & fuel lines were replaced. I'd look for an obstruction in the fuel tank. Disconnect the fuel line from the carb, and see if fuel flows out of the tank.

This is not my issue, and this information does me absolutely no good at all. But... this type of info is why I'm here. StarTech answered the OP's question, and a couple of more that the OP SHOULD have asked. Great response. Thanks, StarTech (and others) for providing this type of info.

That thin foam thing that goes on the outside of the paper filter... that's the pre-filter, and is supposed to be oiled. At least, on Kohler engines they're supposed to be oiled. If oiled & maintained properly*, it will make the paper filter last a long time. If over-oiled to the point that the...

A pre-filter should be oiled. A properly oiled pre-filter will catch most of the dust & dirt, and can be cleaned and re-oiled, which will prolong the life of the pleated paper main filter.

OK. I didn't know that. The shop manual for the engine on my commercial ZTR (engine DOM 2016) specifies 3600, so I thought that was still the norm. Thanks.

Doesn't pretty much everything get set to 3600 RPMs?

When I reinstalled the filter that started this thread, I used a wrench. I may have to remove the engine to get the filter off, but that's still better than a destroyed engine.

Do you still have bad compression on cyl 2? If so, have you checked the valve clearances? When you did the rebuild, did you use a new head gasket?

Ideally, I'd like for the filter to be tight enough for me to be barely able to loosen it by hand. I've found that point for automotive filters about 80% of the time. I already have 5 oil filter wrenches, but will need a 6th to fit this filter where it's located. My mower works great, but engine...

In my case, though, the filter WAS loose. The gasket was still in contact with the block, but just barely. I could move it with two fingers.

I can understand that this could happen, but the same thermal expansion & contraction occurs with automotive engines. And I've learned over the years to tighten automotive oil filters less & less, as it usually requires a wrench to get them loose. They are ALWAYS tighter when I take them off...

So... I should run a cold engine at full throttle to move the mower out of the garage to the driveway?

I've read the "Run at full throttle?" thread, but I have a couple of questions not answered there. And the thread's closed. My general approach is that it's ok to run the engine & hydros at low speed if they're cold and not under load. Is this correct? When I first start my zero turn, I let it...

Or you could remove the ethanol from a gallon or two, and use it just for winter storage. See this video.

The above oil filter was installed by hand. If this problem has only been observed when using air tools, that doesn't explain what I experienced.

Thanks.

What kind of oil filter wrench to you have that will fit a Kohler filter, and mate to a torque wrench?

So should I be using a different oil filter? If so, which one?

A couple of years ago, I moved to my childhood home, next door to my sister. It came with a 2000ish 48" Husqvarna lap-bar ZTR. It was taking me about 2 hrs for my yard, and another hr for hers. So I wanted something with a bit more capability. There are also a decent amount of slopes around...

Everything I have that doesn't get used or driven in the winter gets a Battery Tender. Better than a jump starter, as the batteries will last longer.

A cautionary tale about oil filters. I bought a used mower a little over a year ago. The engine had oil leaks at the valve covers. I fixed that and a few other things. Got it back together, changed the oil & oil filter, and used it last season. About an hour & 45 minutes per week. At the...

That's a bit surprising... the MTD P/N was on the parts list for my Cub Cadet. Thanks.

I have a Pro Z 154 with a deck belt that needs to be replaced. The parts list shows the P/N as 954-05013. When I search that P/N on cubcadet.com, I get two hits. One for that P/N, which shows as in stock, and one for 490-501-C094, which shows as the replacement for 954-05013, also in stock. The...