mhourigan1
New member
I have a Cub Cadet RTZ 50 that was purchased in 2011. It has 130 hours on it. Towards the end of the mowing season last year it started sputtering when I had the blades engaged and going up hill. There was debris in the gas tank so I cleaned it out and it seemed to run fine after that. Then it started sputtering out again, usually after I had been mowing for about an hour or so. This spring I changed the plugs, fuel filter, oil and oil filter, and air filter. I mowed for about an hour and it would sputter going up hill with blades engaged. I searched online to trouble shoot and ended up replacing the ignition coils ($125 for two), fuel pump, and removed the carburetor and cleaned it the best I could. Now it sputters just by engaging the blades. Not running smooth without the blades engaged, but does run full throttle. If I back off the throttle a little with the blades engaged it stops sputtering, but as soon as I engage the transmissions it sputters. I pulled the plugs and they black, cleaned them off and checked that the ignition coils were working properly. A new carburetor is over $300 and don't want to spend that much if it's not going to solve the problem. Not sure what my next step is. I am willing to remove the valve covers, but not sure what I would be looking for. Any suggestions?
