Cadet 80 reborn

[jmcmahon]

I mow a 1/2 acre with a walk behind not to bad, 10 yrs. ago a buddy got a new Riding mower, and got rid of his old Cadet 80 really nice condition so I bought it.

I would mow for 10-15 min. and it would stop running, did it 5-6 times let it cool down, and it starts right up, I did not want to deal with it so off to the shed it went.

10 yrs. later (I am getting older and a rider is sounding better) Took it out of the shed changed oil, new gas, and wala starts like a champ.
mowed back yard for 10-15 min. stopped running?

So I am going to fix er up, and figured this was a great place to start and tell my story.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Jim, could be a bad condenser. Could be a sticking exhaust valve. Could be a plugged vent in the gas cap. Will it restart right away or only after it cools?

 

[aschumacher]

Jim, a rider can be nice at a certain point in life. Lets go for the obvious...is the vent hole in the gas cap open ?

 

[kmcconaughey]

As a test for the sticking exhaust valve, run it until it stops, then listen closely as it cools to see if you can hear a click which could indicate a sticking exhaust valve. If this is the case try running it with some MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) in the gas. You can read up on MMO in the FAQ.

 

[jmcmahon]

Thanks for the response, It stops running, and does not start again right away, but after 15-20 min. it will start and run but not as long maybe only 5 min.

I will start off by checking the gas vent hole, also I did read about the MMO, and will give that a try too.

Thanks I'll keep you posted.

 

[jwildfire]

I've had this happen to two different lawnmowers with Briggs Engines. Both turned out to need new magneeto's. They are about $30-35 bucks at a lawnmower shop. Both mowers ran fine for the first 10 minutes or so, then died out while running fine. They would restart in about 15 minutes and run, but not as long for they were already hot. If allowed to cool completely, they would start without a problem, and run again for the 10 minutes. The magneeto is the laminated plates, shaped like a C that the spark plug wire is attached to under the engine/flywheel cover.