GT235 still stalls

[JBD]

Our JD GT235 started stalling after about 20-30 minutes mowing. Took it to the dealer, they replaced the PTO clutch and switch. Supposedly they mowed with it for 45 minutes, worked fine.
We brought it home, my husband mowed about 20 minutes, it died. Waited around 20-30 minutes, it starts again.
I remembered about venting the gas cap, loosened it. It didn't run a whole lot longer at a time but was able to start it again much quicker. At least we got the mowing done before it has to go to the shop again.
Any thoughts?

Last year we had some work done, I think on the carburator. Idiots at the shop hooked a hose up incorrectly and we had mutiple shop visits. Really inconvenient. Of course who is the idiot if we keep taking the mower back there.

 

[jhwentworth]

I'm not making excuses for your repair shop, but fixing a machine when it appears to be running correctly is tough. It would help speed the repair if you could determine whether the problem is fuel or electrical. These "run-and-die" problems are usually fuel related, so a good test would be to put a teaspoon of gasoline directly into the carb throat and then try to start the motor. Remove the air filter and pour the gas right in the carb opening. If the motor will then run for a bit, then you have a fuel delivery problem.
To check for electrical problems, remove the spark plug wire from the spark plug, then connect a spare plug to the wire and ground the plug on the engine. Is there a spark at the spare plug? If not, you have an electrical problem. There are a couple sensors that will shut down the motor if they fail (seat and reverse gear sensors are examples) by killing the ignition.

Does your GT235 have a Briggs and Stratton or Kawasaki engine?

 

[JBD]

Its a Briggs and Stratton engine. I agree its hard to find a problem when it works correctly at the shop. However it never really changed for us pre or post fix until I played with the gas cap. We're really trusting them to work from simple to complex in determining if its fuel, electrical or other. Yes, we'd be a lot better off to hand them more info up front which is why I kept mowing and re-starting the engine while loosening the gas cap. Hopefully it helps them with diagnosing the issue.

 

[Big_Lug]

I recently traded my GT235 in for a EZTrac 445, mine was a 1999 model with the B&S. The only complaint I ever had was if you put too much oil in the carnkcase it would spit it onto the breather and it would run crappy, b/c it didn"t have enough air to breath. Other than that I really loved the machine. Also the crappy plastic hood was a decision not to get another tractor style with John Deere. Make sure the feul pump is working right, take the hose off the backside of the pump and turn the engine over to see if it pumps fuel or not .

 

[old8nguy]

I have the same problem with an 14.5 BS IC. I put another carb on it and a new coil too. Still have the same problem. I'm thinking about drilling out the gas cap and see if it makes a difference. I just put a new drive belt and deck belt on it last year so I can't throw it in the scrap pile yet. Hope someone has some answers.

 

[Dale_Alan]

I believe the fuel pump is operated off of crankcase pressure. If you ever leave the oil cap off or real loose it will just spray out the oil filler pipe. Make sure the oil cap is tight so the crankcase pressure will operate the fuel pump diaphram and remove the hose to make sure it is pumping. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out. The gas cap vent sure would give you fits if it was c logged.

I have the 235 also with the cracked hood and I won't buy another mower from John Deere for this reason. A new hood is close to $300. This is not acceptable and I will not buy junky, cheesy, piss poor engineered, equipment no matter green, orange, or any color. This plastic hood is a joke.

Dale

 

[rayikeo2]

You are having the exact same problem I had with my LX279. Go buy a new gas cap before you mow any more. Do it now! If you do not replace the gas cap you will next be buying a new fuel pump which will cost much, much, more. A new gas cap costs $11, a new fuel pump can cost from $35 to well over $140 + labor to install. The vent gets plugged and it takes about 10 or 20 minutes to create a vaccum in your gas tank. The mower dies because it has run out of gas even though your tank may be nearly full. The fuller your tank is the less running time you will have before it quits running. This vaccum causes the fuel pump extreme effort to pull gas to the engine which will rupture the diaphram inside the pump. The pump will then start leaking gas which could start a fire and burn up your mower. If you can't find a cap, loosen the old one enough that air bypasses the cap to enter the gas tank (and leave it loose) to relieve the vaccum or consider venting the tank some other way. I thought about drilling a hole but that can cause problems too. The reason your mower re-starts after 1/2 hour is because the tank vaccum dissapates after the mower sets for a while. I learned the hard way. If you haven't replaced the fuel filter and air breather filter, replace those too. Your service dept should have done some of this already.

 

[rayikeo2]

JBD, You already paid for this service and parts that most likely you didn't need. ("Took it to the dealer, they replaced the PTO clutch and switch.") All these expenses for a $11 gas cap. I will be very surprised if you say this dealer was a John Deere Service Center as they probably have run into this same gas cap problem thousands of times. It can not be an isolated problem.

 

[rayikeo2]

I am very sory that JBD quit reading these posts before I posted his solution.

 

[jhwentworth]

I am very sory that JBD quit reading these posts before I posted his solution.

You have to accept that in these forums many people who post a question really want a $50 money-back answer for free. Your solution may very well be correct, many times a "run and die" problem is fuel delivery related, but the original poster seems to want someone to deliver the services of a local dealer at no charge.

 

[JBD]

I am very sory that JBD quit reading these posts before I posted his solution.

Actually its "her" solution and I appreciate the help. Unfortunately the dealer had already picked up the mower so it was out of the self-help realm pretty quickly.
Turned out to be (at least according to John Deere) something electrical that was being interrupted by driving on rough ground which we have plenty of. They couldn't duplicate it originally because they were on smoother grass.

Do I believe them... don't know but $90 part and no labor, it works just fine.
Did we get ripped on the first repair bill... probably but it is a 10 year old tractor so while not a necessary repair, probably one that was going to be needed in the near future. We did involve the regional Deere people so got a lot of attention on this one.

And to the poster who suggested people want a free solution, of course we do. Otherwise we'd consider the dealers to be godlike and never question them or their solutions or their bills.

 

[jhwentworth]

And to the poster who suggested people want a free solution, of course we do. Otherwise we'd consider the dealers to be godlike and never question them or their solutions or their bills.

Hey, I like free as much as the next guy!
The problem with diagnosing problems remotely is that the person trying to help can't know the accuracy of the problem description, or the technical knowledge of the person asking for help. Most problems are fixed by a process of elimination; that why I asked if you could determine if it was a fuel or electrical problem: both can cause a run-and-die. Many times it's a fuel problem, but a faulty seat switch can cause the same problem.

If your shop tends to throw parts at a problem without troubleshooting the symptoms you may want to consider another shop, but if there are no symptoms to troubleshoot it does make it hard to fix.