x380 bogging down and dying

[ness5223]

I've got an x380 John Deere that will bog down and die randomly when I'm mowing. Mabey I'll get and hour, most of the time I get 10 minutes. If I kill the blades and push up the choke I can usually get it back to the garage before it completely dies. No pattern to it happening if I'm going uphill or down, cutting long grass or short, cool outside or hot. Sometimes when this happens if sit with the choke on and no blades I can slowly pull it back until it will idle smoothly again. After that most of the time I'll get a minute or two worth of driving to get it back to the garage, sometimes I'll be able to cut as if nothing happened.

When I open the hood the fuel filter is empty or with just a bit of fuel in it. When you look at the filter when you're cranking it you can see it fill up with fuel but after you stop it drains back to being 95% air.

So far I have:

Checked the line going to the filter: If I pull of the connection to the filter and move it lower than the tank gas pours out freely.
Replaced the filter
Pulled off the line leaving the pump and hooked on a hose going to a bucket and the pump pours gas into the bucket when cranking.
Replaced the pump (it came with the filter so I figured may as well)
Removed the gas cap
Checked the engine for grass/debris making it overheat

Video

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bertsmobile1]

It really sounds like a fuel starvation problem both in your description & in the video
Considering what you have done so far it sounds like the supply is fine so that leaves the carburettor itself
three things come to mind, in no particular order
1) blocked air vent to the float bowl it is one of the holes in the side of the carb
2) fuel boiling in the carb or fuel lines
3) carb solenoid failing

 

[ness5223]

Thank you very much for help. I replaced the carb solenoid. Watched a few videos to try and grasp how a carburetor works. If I understand it right, that hole on the side of it goes back to the gas tank and is there for ventilation? I took off the gas cap and with my air compressor tried to blow into the line leading to the tank. Took a few seconds and the line swelled up a bit before I could hear air coming up in the tank. I take it that means there's some crud in the line? Should I replace the lines running back and fourth from the tank?

The thing that caught my eye when this started was that there was almost no fuel in the filter while the engine was running. After the solenoid, clearing the line, and a short test mow, the filter was full of gas with just a small bubble of air. Then today after a full mow it's back almost empty. Would it be that whatever I blew out of the line into the tank just got itself back in the line and until I clean it this won't really go away?

I got this second hand and for how old it is it only has 40 (well more like 50 now) hours on it but is super grimy. I wonder if it was just left to sit with gas in it for a few years.

Thanks again, very much appreciated!

 

[bertsmobile1]

There are 2 connections to the fuel tank
One supplies the fuel via the pump.
The other is the tank vent that allows air to enter then tank to replace the fuel .
To comply with EPA requirements that vent now goes to the manifold usually so it is a closed loop and fuel vapours can not escape to the atmosphere .
The vent connection is usually in the manifold just past where the carb bolts on to it
I have never seen a vent direct to the carb
Some pictures would help because I can not visualize what your are describing .