Overheating, rough 1450

grandpas1450 · #1 04-10-2012, 11:25 AM

Hi all, I've been looking at the forums here and I'm really excited about the community of folks who appreciate these old lawn tractors. I'll give two versions of my first question, the short one and the long one.

The cub cadet 1450 with a 14 horse Kohler and a Walbro carb is running rough and overheating (at least I think overheating, spit vaporizes off over almost every underhood surface within 5 minutes of starting). The only problem I've found so far is the throttle on the carb seems to jump back and forth as it idles; I can smooth out how it runs A LOT by just holding the throttle in place with a pair of needle nose pliers. I moved the spring on the front bracket down one notch and it made it idle higher and helped a little, but its still jumping while idling. Will rebuilding the carb solve this, or is it actually wear on the body of the carb itself that would cause the throttle to jump while idling?

Long version: I'm taking care of my grandpa with Alzheimer's disease and it would mean the world to him if I got his old mower running. He grew up in the depression and he's always proud to say that he made the right investment the first time on all of his equipment which saved him money in the long run "Its too cheap, I can't afford it!". I think this definitely applies to the Cub Cadet, it probably has as much metal as a small car

Its been sitting for nearly 10 years and it amazingly fired up with some fresh gas and a battery. The first time I ran it maybe 15 minutes, it was vibrating and missing pretty hard and I shortly saw heat waves coming off the hood. I got worried it was running way too hot and parked it. Its also VERY loud. After letting it cool down I pulled the plug and it looks a little lean, vaguely grey, but I've certainly seen worse. Could it be the air/fuel mix causing this overheating? Is it really even overheating or am I just worrying too much? I also thought about timing, and I may try to dig around for a multimeter and use that method as I know there isn't a timing light around here.
Another point of concern, it doesn't start as easily as it did the first time, hopefully I didn't fry anything on the test start. Now once it fires I have to pull the choke out, and push it in, back and forth to keep it running for the first 3 or 4 minutes. Is this a familiar symptom?

Thanks so much for the help and advice.

-Jimbo

jbrewer · #2 04-10-2012, 11:44 AM

Great to get this Cub going again for your family.

There's a lot of smarter mechanics in this forum, but I'd look at two things early on:

1) Rebuilding the carb would probably be a good idea. Sounds like the engine may be running lean which would match the choke issue and the heat issue

2) Clean out the accumulation of grass/dirt and other flotsam that accumulates under and around the tins covering the engine. They can be removed with a few bolts, and a couple blasts with compressed air after that (or cleaning with a paintbrush) will do a lot to help the heat transfer.

Welcome!

John

CC1650Dave · #3 04-10-2012, 12:11 PM

Yeah, you almost certainly need to take that carb off and clean it up, and you most likely have mouse nesting in the fins. I'd start with John's advice.

TheSaturnV · #4 04-10-2012, 12:21 PM

You don't want to run this machine any more until you have done as Jbrewer suggests. All that sheetmetal surrounding the engine is mostly for cooling purposes, and critters love to convert the nice open spaces into multi-family living.

While mine didn't have any grass, hay or nests in the shrouds, it did have a pound or so of oil-soaked dirt and gunk clogging up the fins on the head. Ten minutes with a wooden scraper left a big pile on the floor. Don't overlook the head.

In addition to blockages in the cooling and exhaust, your carburetor settings could be too lean. It's best to run air-cooled engines slightly on the rich side. Again, don't be tempted to run it until you've been through the carb, cooling and timing and also not without the engine shrouds.

Great screen name BTW.

Methos · #5 04-10-2012, 12:30 PM

Follow the great advise already given and lets see if that fixes your problems. I think it's great your doing this for your grandpa. It takes a special person to take care of an ailing family member. My hat's off to you!

grandpas1450 · #6 04-10-2012, 01:32 PM

Thanks for all the great advice so far! Are these carbs hard to rebuild? Is it likely that some place like O'Riley's can order a kit? I didn't see any numbers on the carb when I cleaned it off, but I haven't unbolted it to really examine it closely yet. Anybody else experienced this jumpy throttle issue? I can try to take a picture of the actual part thats moving back and forth as the engine runs.

Methos · #7 04-10-2012, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandpas1450

Thanks for all the great advice so far! Are these carbs hard to rebuild? Is it likely that some place like O'Riley's can order a kit? I didn't see any numbers on the carb when I cleaned it off, but I haven't unbolted it to really examine it closely yet. Anybody else experienced this jumpy throttle issue? I can try to take a picture of the actual part thats moving back and forth as the engine runs.

Here's Matt's guide.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4376

If your high speed shaft is tight don't remove the butterflies.BTDT

CC1650Dave · #8 04-10-2012, 01:49 PM

I've been out of the loop for a while, but he did specify he had a Walbro carb - those aren't adjustable are they? And of course Matt's instructions were for a Carter carb, although it should be similar.

_DX3_ · #9 04-10-2012, 02:22 PM

TheIHMan · #10 04-10-2012, 02:43 PM

Dang DWayne, you must really like putting links in your post.