Another bout with the 1641
 

Alright folks,

I plowed all winter with the 1641, and for the most part she ran pretty well. Wanted to hunt up and down a little while at lower power. I stripped most of the deck and prepped and painted it. New deck belt. Removed, and cleaned that pesky solenoid in the carburetor. Took the steering apart, tightened it all up(got it a little too tight, may need to readjust). I put her all back together tonight, and take a few laps. Runs ok. Fire the PTO, and she smokes. I let it run for a while, to see if it's just burning stuff off. I mowed for a little while, but kept losing power, and getting smoke. Engine would hunt up and down while PTO engaged, also. I did spot some fresh oil under the air filter housing, right near the hose that goes into air filter area.

Last year, she ran well with PTO engaged, and would hunt more without a load. I'll check around tomorrow, but thought I'd check back here also. Ideas?

Sooo...... what's your question?

You want to know where the smoke is coming from? Or the oil... or why the engine "hunts"? Your post reads more like a story than a question. :Unknown:

Sorry about that. I can't seem to figure out why it's losing power. I'm not sure if the smoke is related at all. When running the PTO, sometimes it will sound as if the motor is about to shut off.

I'd do a compression test on it. Just went through the same issue on a Vanguard that had a blown head gasket. Here is the thread.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=37590

Ditto to the head gasket.

Well, I was attempting to get down to the head, and it took me a little while to get all the metal free, after finding all the bolts. I opened up the carb again, and there was some more crud in it, so I cleaned it back up. It was pretty filthy under that metal, I've never had it all the way off, so I know I've never cleaned under there. I suspect that as oil has spewed all over, it really caused it to gunk up, and trap all that crap.

A few things I found... Some oil under the air filter (pic. attached). It also appeared that the choke had been bent down, and I don't think it could actually open up all the way. It would hit the metal bracket where the air filter mounts. I also picked up a fuel filter today, because mine didn't look too great.

I've put in a few pics just so you can see where I'm at.

I did find a crack in this tube attached to the air filter housing also...

Pull the engine out of the tractor. It's much easier to work on it on the bench. I'd be willing to bet that the cooling fins are packed full of crud and that it got hot from what I see in the pics. The black oily residue under the exhaust port is pretty good evidence that you have a blown head gasket.

Got the valve covers off. I'm away from computer with only my phone. Not entirely sure what to do next...

Well. I took the top part of that out, but haven't gotten the head free yet. I'm sure I'm missing a bolt or something. To be honest, im nervous as a cat, afraid I might be in over my head... I'll be consulting the manual this evening.