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314 Caburetor tuning

833 Views 13 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  rwmeyer, 
I
I bought this 314 it ran fine but needed a little tuning to be right. Did not idle, ran with some choke and choke cable did not go all the way back in.
He told me that the motor was new when he purchased the machine and as clean as it is, i would agree.
I tuned the carb, via instructions, sounded great and got a pretty good idle, seemed fine. This is also missing the filter, which I just received.
So I left the side tin off and went out to mow so I could monitor it closely., did a pretty good job, but after a 1/2 hour or so, I noticed some sparks flying off the left side by the muffler. I ran it back to the barn imagining a lose wire, but found the muffler was cherry red.
Is there a specific trick to tuning these things?
Also, I noticed that when I got into taller grass, the mower slowed like belt slipping. I am missing the front shield with guide tension, so I gave it a couple turns and it helped. Now, would this cause the issue I am having by being to tight?

Thanks in advance!
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martincom
When I had a 314, which was near 20 years ago, I also had idle issues. What I found was the throttle shaft and main body throttle shaft bore had worn so much, it was leaking vast amounts of air. This was making the idle excessively lean. I found there was a kit for this in which a new throttle plate shaft, plate screws, and bushings for the main body. You drilled out the main body to accept the new bushings.

I wouldn't think there would be enough air leaking around the shaft, at mowing speed, to cause it to lean out where the exhaust was becoming that hot. I'd start by checking the timing.
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martincom said:
When I had a 314, which was near 20 years ago, I also had idle issues. What I found was the throttle shaft and main body throttle shaft bore had worn so much, it was leaking vast amounts of air. This was making the idle excessively lean. I found there was a kit for this in which a new throttle plate shaft, plate screws, and bushings for the main body. You drilled out the main body to accept the new bushings.

I wouldn't think there would be enough air leaking around the shaft, at mowing speed, to cause it to lean out where the exhaust was becoming that hot. I'd start by checking the timing.
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Thank you. I should have prefaced this with I was told the engine was new when he bought it. It does look good, carb looks like brand new, so figured he was on the level.
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R
Run it on the rich side of the sweet spot for the carb adjustment. (As far out as possible before it starts running poorly. )
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R
Indy, I can't help with cherry red muffler, but I can help with mule belt tension!
Remove front grille and observe pulleys on mule. When belt is first installed and no tension applied, the pulley on the right (from front of tractor) is towards the rear of the tractor and the left pulley is towards the front of the tractor. As tension is applied, the pulleys move towards each other. Proper tension is when both pulleys are even/side by side. You will also see that your belt now comes straight down to each pulley, thus giving longer belt life.

I've had 4 tractors since '82 with mule drives and NONE had a tension label! Bob
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rydplrs said:
Run it on the rich side of the sweet spot for the carb adjustment. (As far out as possible before it starts running poorly. )
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Ok, so I understand fully.
1. Main fuel (top of carb) comes out 2 turns
2. Idle adjustment (angled on the side) comes out 1 & 1/4 turn, Is this the one I run rich?

I just don't want this thing heating up again.
And, thank God I had the side cover off to monitor or it may have been worse and hoping I didn't mess anything up.

Thank you much!
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R
I wouldn't worry about idle mixture adjustment. Kohler spec is (I believe) 1250 rpm for idle. At this rpm, engine will REALLY rock around and most likely break your engine mounts! Set idle speed (the screw on the side of the carb resting against throttle linkage) until engine smooths out/stops rocking & rolling. Without a tach, this is roughly 1800 rpm, maybe more, and this positions the throttle plate so your running off of your hi speed mixture screw. Start & warm engine, turn idle speed up and the readjust main fuel (hi speed mixture) as ryd explained. You could also readjust idle mixture, but I think that's not important. Bob
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indy680 said:
Ok, so I understand fully.
1. Main fuel (top of carb) comes out 2 turns
2. Idle adjustment (angled on the side) comes out 1 & 1/4 turn, Is this the one I run rich?

I just don't want this thing heating up again.
And, thank God I had the side cover off to monitor or it may have been worse and hoping I didn't mess anything up.

Thank you much!
Click to expand...
Set them both rich.

The turns you quote are just starting points, I have seen up to 2.5 on idle and 4.25 on the main jet.

Let me find the procedure
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Kohler recommends different starting positions then Deere. An aftermarket should be a copy of the kohler carb, not the walbro


The tuning procedure starts on page 39.

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Well, finally got the 314 tuned, seems fine, no cherry exhaust.
This thing did not have an air filter prior, but now it does. I think this helps.
I got to mow a little, but I have been under the weather, so I didn't last long.
I have the mule adjusted, seems right, but when I hit longer grass a little to fast, it stops the mower!. I stop, back up and it comes back.
Would this be from the mule belt or possibly the mower deck belt? I really don't want to tear into it right now, but I may not have a choice.

Thanks again for all your help.
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It could be either belt! You'll need someone to help. Remove front grille and have them walk alongside of and just in front of the tractor. They should be able to see when/if the pto belt stops, BUT! It's still possible the belt is turning with the pto but the mower pulley is slipping! Remove top covers/belt covers on deck and have them observe what's turning on the deck. I'm guessing the tension arm on the deck is not moving properly or the spring is shot. Bob
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I went to start it the other night, nothing! No Click or sound. I'm not sure where to start with this dude. I do have 12 volts.
Possible key?
Possible solenoid?

I will have to test out some pieces to see whats happening more certain.
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indy680 said:
I went to start it the other night, nothing! No Click or sound. I'm not sure where to start with this dude. I do have 12 volts.
Possible key?
Possible solenoid?

I will have to test out some pieces to see whats happening more certain.
Click to expand...
Test your way along the purple wire. That’s the start signal wire.
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R
The 314 wiring is pretty simple... and here it is:
785136

There're only 2 interlocks to prevent cranking, Neutral start and pto switch. Verify hydro lever is in neutral and pto switch is "Off". Move hydro lever about 1/2" to right then move slowly back to left... you should here "click" when hydro lever trips neutral switch. Set meter to volts, connect one lead to ground and other lead to a terminal on neutral switch, turn key to "Start", should read 12v. Connect meter to other terminal on neutral switch. turn key to "Start"... should get 12v. Connect meter to solenoid purple wire, turn key to "Start"...should get 12v.

You'll probably find that pto switch is bad, replace with AM34289. Bob
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