Couple issues need some idea's

[stvski80085 132]

The engine was just rebuilt.  Only has about 30-45 minutes of run time. Starts right up and sounds great.  I noticed once I started trying to Mow grass with the rebuilt deck it's pushing oil out of the governor.  I am going to check the breather setup Friday when I have time.  It's not smoking and runs great.  I drove it around seemed to all work well.  Then I put the mowing deck on.  Just for your info this deck has all new spindle bearings and idler.  Moves free by hand.  No issues with the deck itself.  When I engage the deck it seems to start fine and when I throttle up and try to drive it's bogging down randomly.  No pto it's perfect.  I adjusted the pressure on the clutch plate a bit thinking it was slipping.  It did this like 5 times and I should have grabbed a video.  I will Friday if needed.  I am thinking I have something with the PTO not right.  Not sure what would cause the motor to bog down and die under load like that. Here are pics of the clutch and setup.  Just trying to get idea's from the professionals here.  Someone has had to have this happen to them.  Thanks in advance for any idea's.

Steve

[wallfish 17,464]

4 minutes ago, stvski80085 said:

pushing oil out of the governor.

Excessive crank case pressure is pushing the oil out. Yes, check the breather.

 

Is the engine bogging down or the deck is bogging down?

[stvski80085 132]

Engine will bog down until it dies unless I turn the PTO off.  Then it takes it a bit to recover back to normal running rpm.  It's really strange.  No smoke and responds really well until using the pto.   When the pto isn't engaged I can spin it and the mower deck with ease.  I can also drive in every gear as long as I want no issues until PTO is used.

Edited April 8 by stvski80085

[wallfish 17,464]

What's that extra spring doing connected to the governor? There should be an OEM torsion spring that connects the disk to the arm.

Remove that spring and set the governor according to the manual.

Carb adjustment could be a culprit too

Edited April 8 by wallfish

[stvski80085 132]

I was wondering about that spring too but it was working so I didn’t mess with it.  I will take a look at that too.  

[ineedanother 1,377]

13 minutes ago, wallfish said:

What's that extra spring doing connected to the governor? There should be an OEM torsion spring that connects the disk to the arm.

Remove that spring and set the governor according to the manual.

Carb adjustment could be a culprit too

Agreed, and also agree with checking the breather assembly. Oil issue could be due to incorrect assembly or something like sealant blocking the drain hole in it if any was used.

[wallfish 17,464]

2 minutes ago, stvski80085 said:

I was wondering about that spring too but it was working so I didn’t mess with it.  I will take a look at that too.  

With the engine off, the governor arm should be keeping the carb butterfly on full open. Then the gov kicks in to close it when it starts.

 

Maybe find a way to put the engine under load without the deck operating. Like driving up a steep hill. That would indicate if it's the deck or simply something when the engine is under load.

Does the engine run fine at high RPM without the PTO engaged or the deck spinning?

 

A bad plug wire will fail under load

 

 

[stvski80085 132]

I won’t be able to really dig into it until Friday. Had to just push mower it. Lol. I will check all these things Friday.  

[wallfish 17,464]

13 minutes ago, stvski80085 said:

I won’t be able to really dig into it until Friday. Had to just push mower it. Lol. I will check all these things Friday.  

Ahhh man, that sucks! Seems like you just got'er ready to mow the grass too.

Some of the other guys will chime in too and they'll figure out how to get you going

Edited April 8 by wallfish

[stvski80085 132]

I think the previous comments may be on the right track. Now that it’s been pointed out I was also thinking mechanically from the pto to the deck it seems perfect.  New belts bearings etc.  that governor spring and adjustment may get me close. Then the carb may need some work too.  The way it acted didn’t seem like the deck was causing it.  I’m open to all suggestions but will work through the list until I get it.

[Blasterdad 3,025]

A couple of things I noticed, It's kind of hard to tell but the needle bearings in the PTO bell look worn flat, but maybe it's the grease making it look that way. I've never seen a compression spring inside the PTO either.

The clutch plate retaining clip doesn't look right on the right side in the picture. It doesn't look like it's in the groove.

The negative wire from the points looks suspect too. I've never seen one routed behind the upper PTO bracket like that before. 

[squonk 42,457]

Yes points wire routed wrong.  May be pinched.  Pto disc retainer not in it's groove.  Ditch that spring.  Make sure it's not overfilled with oil.

[Achto 28,692]

A bad condenser can cause your engine to bog down under load too.

[peter lena 9,075]

@stvski80085  how easily does the  PTO  / deck  drive belt  rotate the  deck spindles, by hand  ?  also notice the irregular , pto lever rod , mounting ends , wide gaps , fighting against itself , very typical . would not be surprised if there is a related  spindle bearing issue,  there are  12 related , mule  drive bearings / deck bearings  , all of that adds up to a lot of resistance , to any motion . looks like a number of issues , also when ever I add a spring to a cable issie , I use super lube , hydraulic  oil , as the cable slide assist , and attach any spring to , the linkage mount  swing point , usually having it assist , closure  ? that way the spring assists , total  movement , don't even know its there  , but linkage reaction ,is total . also notice that pto outer swing arm , clip , could use a spring  to frame to stop buzzing noise . also lube as I go , pete 

[biged77 113]

If it is a random thing it might be the seat switch.  Make sure it is being actuated when you push the seat down manually.  You can hear a slight click when it does. 

 

I have had a similar problem to yours when the switch is just barely actuating. Just moving around in the seat can cause the engine to cut out (but only if the PTO is on).  

[stvski80085 132]

So the bearing on the pto is good.  I think grease maybe making it look flat but it's good.  I will work through the list below so far.

1. I did see where I need to route the points wire and will reroute that. It's not pinched at all though. 

2. I also ordered a new pto saftey switch and will put the new one on.  It looks a little rough so just swapping it.

3. Check breather is put together correctly.  I did read that if the rings haven't seated yet that could be why it's building pressure and pushing oil out govenor.  One guy said it took a few hours of running and went away.  (That is just what I read)

4. Remove the spring and reset govenor.

After this I will see how she runs. Could need some carb adjustment still but we will see.  I have an aftermarket carb as backup if needed for testing.

I know the pto levers need some work but it does function correctly.  It's on the list after I get running right.

Edited April 9 by stvski80085

[Blasterdad 3,025]

 

The spring in the PTO doesn't belong in there either.

 

[Gasaholic 254]

32 minutes ago, Blasterdad said:

 

The spring in the PTO doesn't belong in there either.

 

 

On some of them it does, if it has the little stub pin screwed into the end of the crankshaft to keep it positioned. 

[Blasterdad 3,025]

17 minutes ago, Gasaholic said:

On some of them it does, if it has the little stub pin screwed into the end of the crankshaft to keep it positioned. 

Learn something new every day, none of my 's have it...

[stvski80085 132]

My diagram shows the spring.  I checked.  Also this tractor has no seat switch.
 

Edited April 10 by stvski80085

[Gasaholic 254]

10 hours ago, stvski80085 said:

My diagram shows the spring.  I checked.  Also this tractor has no seat switch.
 

Yes, the spring was only there for a few model years, it was meant to give a more positive separation of the PTO clutch from clutch plate when disengaging PTO.  If the spring is there, you also want to make sure the thrust bearing and two thrust washers are present - They will slip over the locating "pin" (Basically a bolt with the head cut off and a screwdriver slot to thread it in to the crankshaft) and then the spring seats on that and up against the stub shaft of the PTO.  If the thrust bearing set is missing (2 washers that have a flat roller bearing in between, so 3 parts there, the stub pin and spring are the other 2 parts to that system) I do not recommend the spring be reinstalled until they are present, otherwise the spring can hang up or weld itself to the crankshaft and mess up the PTO bearing. 

This would date your tractor into the 1970's, AFTER they redesigned the PTO lever (that'd be their first version of the "current" design up until they changed it to add the little return spring from the cam plate to the half hoop instead, and then later a bit of engineering change eliminated the need for that, as well.) and before the CPSC stepped in making the seat safety switches a requirement (Which actually was a common sense addition, IMHO) 

[stvski80085 132]

Yes, It's a 77 b-80.  The bearing and washers are present.  Greased well.

[stvski80085 132]

On 4/7/2025 at 7:48 PM, wallfish said:

What's that extra spring doing connected to the governor? There should be an OEM torsion spring that connects the disk to the arm.

Remove that spring and set the governor according to the manual.

Carb adjustment could be a culprit too

So I don’t see a spring on the governor shaft.  Should the governor spring be pulling right or left.  I ordered a new arm that has the spring attached.  Just trying to get it running right.

[stvski80085 132]

ok,  spring is on the arm.  The spring in the picture is hooked to the little arm #69  in manual.  (8 hp kohler).  I'm confused because even a guy I'm watching now on youtube has a spring like this too.  Turned a little more then mine but I have seen it on others too.  If I take that spring off then it seems that the arm I'm talking about above wouldn't be needed.  Just trying to clarify.

 

Edited April 10 by stvski80085

[wallfish 17,464]

21 minutes ago, stvski80085 said:

ok, I looked at the manual and it looks like he hooked the spring to the arm that maybe the throttle is supposed to be hooked too.  I guess nothing hooks to the small arm which is #69 in the manual? 8 horse Kohler.

Post a pic that isn't so zoomed in so we can see all the linkage and the carb

If you remove the governor arm from the shaft you should see the tortion spring and how it connects the disk to the arm.

The governor tries to close the carb whenever the engine is running and it's the throttle cable which pulls on the spring to open the carb via the link from the arm to the carb to make it run faster.

Edited April 10 by wallfish