deere 345 throttle

mikehaugen · Jul 14, 2014

My mom has a 345 with 20hp kawasaki. The throttle constantly creeps down while mowing. I have mowed her lawn a few times with it and realized how annoying it is. Every minute or 2 you have to bump it up. Can't easily see the bottom of it because it is built into the dash. Before I tear into it, is it worth it? Is there even anything at the base to adjust, like friction discs or something? Is this a common issue? I'll probably talk to the deere dealer one of these days to see if there is a fix for it, but in the meantime I thought you folks may have ideas.

beenthere · Jul 14, 2014

Looking at the throttle mechanism under the "dash" there doesn't appear to be a friction adjustment. But may be worth a look at both ends of the throttle cable to see if something is loose or missing (i.e. broken part).

You can see the breakdown of the parts on jdparts.com if you want (free registration).

bruceatlam · Jul 15, 2014

There's a throttle plate down next to the carb. I don't recall any adjustment there, but that plate is the source of the friction to hold the throttle in position.

BBO · Jul 16, 2014

beenthere said:
Looking at the throttle mechanism under the "dash" there doesn't appear to be a friction adjustment. But may be worth a look at both ends of the throttle cable to see if something is loose or missing.

Some mowers have a spring associated with the governor linkage. Is it possible someone installed the wrong spring?
Or is it possible you have it adjusted to run the engine too fast?