Kohler engine knowledge Wanted

[jsefcik]

I have a 1972 cub cadet was my grandpas he had it since 78, i have cleaned every part of that tractor, ( gas job) but when it comes to winter it and pain in the a** to start,i dont like ether, so i take off the air filter and spray some gas in the carb and usually fires up after about 3 times,
oil and everything is extremly clean



any guesses why its a pain to start sometimes???

[Zeus]

How is the compression? New rings?

[mattyzip77]

Why is it you ask all kinds of questions on a spud gun forum besides stuff about spud guns????

[jrrdw]

One cylinders are cold natured to begin with, add the cold season and that's 2 things working against you.

4 things you can do:
1: Have a good fully charged battery.
2: Depending on the temperature use a thinner oil 40F and below use 5W-15 instead of 10W-30.
3: Keep it full of fresh gas.
4: Use a warmer, it don't matter if it's a dipstick type or magnet.

What model number is it?

[Technician1002]

All 4 stroke gas engines require;
1 Compression
2 Fuel
3 Air
4 Ignition

Any one of those in the improper amount can cause hard starting. One hint is the starts after spraying fuel. Has it been sitting for a long time, like from last year with last year's gas in it? Parts of the gas may have evaporated or it may have gotten water in it, and a fresh shot of fresh gas gets it started.

As mentioned above, the wide temperature range of air cooled engines mean larger tolerance parts which tend to have poor compression when cold. The compression issue can be compounded by "Easy Spin" vavle timing that can be found on many engines. They spin easier at low speed, but require a higher speed pull to start them.

[jsefcik]

All 4 stroke gas engines require;
1 Compression
2 Fuel
3 Air
4 Ignition

Any one of those in the improper amount can cause hard starting. One hint is the starts after spraying fuel. Has it been sitting for a long time, like from last year with last year's gas in it? Parts of the gas may have evaporated or it may have gotten water in it, and a fresh shot of fresh gas gets it started.

As mentioned above, the wide temperature range of air cooled engines mean larger tolerance parts which tend to have poor compression when cold. The compression issue can be compounded by "Easy Spin" vavle
timing that can be found on many engines. They spin easier at low speed, but require a higher speed pull to start them.

yes it was sitting for about 4-5 months, i was wondering if seafoam would be benefical to my engine?

[stuffbuilder]

I'm willing to bet it has to do with the gas sitting for so long. If the problem only occurs when starting up after a long time with no use, its probably because of certain gas additives evaporating like Technician1002 said. An engine that old probably wasn't designed to use the 10% ethanol gas you find at most gas stations. Maybe consider finding a station that sells 100% gasoline or adding some fuel stabilizer before storing it.

[jsefcik]

I'm willing to bet it has to do with the gas sitting for so long. If the problem only occurs when starting up after a long time with no use, its probably because of certain gas additives evaporating like Technician1002 said. An engine that old probably wasn't designed to use the 10% ethanol gas you find at most gas stations. Maybe consider finding a station that sells 100% gasoline or adding some fuel stabilizer before storing it.

nothing around my area sells 100 percent gas ( i wish ) and what i do now, is start it once a week to keep everything moving an i do have a fuel addivtive in right now

[velocity3x]

any guesses why its a pain to start sometimes???

Have you checked the gap in the magneto with a feeler gauge? Excessive gap will cause a weak or no spark.

[jsefcik]

everything is well maintained, new gas, its all been clean i swapped my battery at homedepot last night, starts like a champ now!