Garden Tractor Info

These are some questions we’ve gotten in our e-mail about Sears -
Craftsman garden tractors. We see some here at our shop for repairs
and have repowered quite a few. It doesn’t seem as though there is as
much on the internet about the Sears and Craftsman as the other
brands. There is a Sears garden tractor Yahoo group, Here’s a link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thesearsgardentractorgroup/

It is a well moderated forum and the members and moderator there are very helpful.

Q: My dad has an 18 H.P. 1984 Craftsman garden tractor. It runs fine and mows very good. Recently using the mower, the electric clutch
stopped, the engine was still running. I turned the electric clutch
off and ran the mower a few minutes. I tried the electric clutch
again. It worked for about 5 minutes then stopdc again. The engine
was still running. This happened several times. I shut the engine off
and then there was no juice in battery to start engine again. I
charged the battery and the engine started and ran fine several times.
I started mowing again and same thing happened after a while, the
electric clutch stopped and the engine still ran. We cannot find any
naked wires or anything grounded out.

A: Take a voltmeter and hook it to the battery with the engine
running. Your voltmeter should read 13.0 to 14.8 volts. If it reads
less your charging system is not working. Try replacing the rectifier.

Q: My craftsman lawn tractor’s blade deck stays engaged at all times,
as soon as I start the tractor the blades are engaged.

A: Check if the belt clutch tightener is fully releasing when you
disengage your PTO. Also check all your belt guides and make sure
they are adjusted correctly. Also do you have the correct length belt
and correct width belt on your unit?

Q: I have a Craftsman 25 horsepower riding mower with a Kohler engine in it. The engine starts and runs fine, but the darn thing blows the 30 amp fuse and dies every time I pull the PTO knob to engage the
mower blades. I don’t see any bare wires shorting out anywhere. Any
ideas? Is it the PTO switch, or the ignition switch, or the electric
clutch? Just trying to figure out where to start replacing stuff.

A: You will have to locate a short within the circuit of the PTO
switch and the PTO clutch, you might need a new clutch.

Q: Is there a way to increase the performance of my new FS5500
Craftsman lawn tractor’s transaxle? Perhaps a valve that can be
shimmed up. Under heavy load it’s like pulling a harrow uphill, the
engine doesn’t bog down but the wheels don’t turn. I can back up, take
the hill at a lesser angle & it does fine. I plan on installing some lug tread tires too.

A: They have that safety feature built into the transmission because
the transmission will not hold up to a higher stress level.

Q: I own a Sears 14HP garden tractor and it is approximately 6-8 yrs
old. I have noticed that it runs rough at low speed. I have changed
the spark plugs but no change.

A: It could be a dirty carburetor or water in the carburetor. I
think you should try adjusting your valve clearance.

I get quite a few questions about Crafstman garden tractors and they have been a pretty popular brand over the years. We have repowered some and repaired some here at our shop. There is a Yahoo group/forum for Sears garden tractors. Joseph is the moderator and a pleasant, helful guy. If you check out their files and database sections there are some helpful guides for attachments. Following are a few Q&A’s we’ve answered about Craftsman garden tractors.

Q: We have a Craftsman Garden Tractor model # 917.257720. It stalls out after it warms up or is under load for a few minutes. We have given it a full tune up, replaced the gas filter, new carb, changed all the belts, changed oil and filter, adjusted carb.

A: You need to check out your ignition spark quality. I sounds to me like you have a bad ignition coil.

Q: Jim, I have a Craftsman tractor with a Kohler Command 20.5 hp twin engine. It runs fine cold and mows with no problem at all. When I am finished mowing (engine hot) and turn off the deck, the engine idle varies, like it is hunting for the proper speed when the load is released. It will run with this hunting idle until I turn it off. Once cool, it starts right up and idles smoothly again. Any idea of where to look to correct this problem?

A: Yes, that sounds to me like a carburetor air fuel ratio problem. In other words, the carburetor is running lean when hot. You can check this out by putting the choke partially on and then I would say your engine will smooth right out.

Q: I have an old Craftsman Lawn Wizard with a Kohler 20 hp engine. I have to replace the electric PTO, I guess it is the bolt in the center of the motor,however, everything spins when I try to remove the bolt, what is the trick to remove the pto?

A: To check your PTO clutch, put an ammeter in series with your PTO clutch and check your amp draw. It should be 3 amps or less. If it is more, you need to replace the PTO clutch.

The very easy way to get that front bolt loose is to use an impact wrench, it will come off without even holding onto the crankshaft.

Questions and answers from my daily e-mails. These are general repair or upkeep questions. I add these to most of the pages of our web site sorting them by topic and adding them to the page that fits most closely by topic. I promise not to put them on both the blog and the web site, each will be one place or the other. Of course not all are published, just the ones I think our web or blog visitors would be interested in reading.

Q: What is the best oil to use in the transmission of a 322? Type F auto transmission fluid? Low viscosity Hy Gard? The tractor is used almost exclusively for mowing at this time.

A: I used Type F Ford transmission oil and then switched to Dextron III when that came out. That also covered Type F in the Dextron III. The main thing is not to use Dextron or Type F in the John Deere 425, 445, 455, and the current X models as they have wet PTO clutches and wet brakes.

Q: I have a Toro 38170/CCR Powerlite snowblower that starts alright, runs for about ten minutes, and then stalls out to where you can’t restart it. If you let it sit and cool for about ten minutes it will start and run for about ten minutes again before stalling. Any ideas of what this could be? Any input is greatly appreciated.

A: Yes, it sounds like you are having problems with an ignition coil that is breaking down as it warms up, then when they cool they will start working again.

Q: My 22 hp Kawasaki runs rough when engine is cold and even after it is warmed up it has a little surge and lacks some of it’s power. I have changed the oil, the plugs, and adjusted the valves to .010, changed the primary breather, and have had no improvement. Any suggestions? Also I would prefer the torque of a diesel…is there much to converting? Are the John Deere 445 and 455 basically the same GT.? The fellow I bought this from used, rebuilt the engine and it ran great for about the first 40 to50 hrs. Another question: regarding the 54″ deck, the belt has a lot of flop in it and occasionally jumps off when engaging. the belt is new. Thanks for any advice you might have.

A: I would suggest you take a compression check on the engine and see how even they are to each other. If the compression is high and even, then check the intake system to see if you have any vacuum leaks. If that is O.K. maybe you’ll have to check into you fuel injection system.

It would be much cheaper to trade in the John Deere 445 for a 455 than to make the conversion you asked about.

With the belt problem, it sounds like you might have a bent pulley. If this is bent in on one spot it will make the belt get longer and shorter each turn of the pulley, therefore causing belt whip.

Links to our web site Questions & Answers about:

Repowering Garden Tractors and other equipment
Parts and Service
Garden Tractor Attachments
Hydrostatic Transmission Rebuilding
Tractor Cabs
Garden Tractors in general
Repowering Case Garden Tractors

Because I am a John Deere fan I check in on this Yahoo forum frequently: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JohnDeereGardenTractorClub/ Stan is the main moderator for the group and is also a lawn and garden tractor mechanic. Joseph also moderates this forum as well as quite a few of the other garden tractor forums. Both guys are very helpful and knowledgeable. Another good John Deere forum with a huge amount a good information is WeekendFreedomMachines http://www.weekendfreedommachines.org/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

The Case garden tractor Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/casegardentractors/ is a great resource. At the shop we have been combining two Case 446 garden tractors into one working tractor and repowering it. If you would like to check out the repower on the Case 446: http://www.jimsrepairjimstractors.com/case-repower-ingersoll.htm I told the owner I would find him an operators manual for the roto-tiller that came with them. I searched for quite a while and then asked on the Case Garden Tractor Forum. Within an hour at least two replies led me to where I could buy one.

Links to other brands of garden tractor Yahoo groups:

Wheel Horse garden tractors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wheelhorsegardentractors/

Yanmar tractors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yanmartractorownersgroup/

International Cub Cadet: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ihccubcadettractors/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ihcubloboyseries/

Gravely garden tractors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gravelyclub/

Simplicity and Allis Chalmers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SimplicityandAllisChalmersGardenTractors/

Bolens garden tractors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebolensclub/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BolensTractorsClub/

Massey Ferguson garden tractors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masseyfergusongardentractors/

I check into quite a few other garden tractor groups that aren’t brand specific and some that host classified ads and wanted to buy ads. This is just a sample of my favorites.