# Craftsman Lt1000 20hp runs rough



## Bella1000 (Jul 8, 2020)

Have a used craftsman Lt1000 i picked up cheap. It ran great first 5 times and now after engine runs for 10 minutes it runs a little rough and the choke has to be on a bit to get it to run right. Also the choke cable seems like its frozen but only after it gets hot. When cold the cable is nice and free. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Seems a carb cleaning may be in order.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

The 20HP on a LT1000 is kind of unusual. Most of them came with a 17.5 Intek. An engine that will start/run fine for 10 minutes, but then starts to act up, is full operating temperature related. That's usually either a weak magneto, a valve adjustment, or the engine is overheating 

The performance improvement with the application of choke, usually means the engine is running lean, but that doesn't always mean a carburetor problem. 

Something you might want to check since it's used.... Pull the cooling shrouds and check for a mouse nest that is causing it to overheat. Take a look at your spark plug and if it looks like this, there's a good chance there's debris under the cooling shroud causing it to overheat.


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## Bella1000 (Jul 8, 2020)

Bob Driver said:


> The 20HP on a LT1000 is kind of unusual. Most of them came with a 17.5 Intek. An engine that will start/run fine for 10 minutes, but then starts to act up, is full operating temperature related. That's usually either a weak magneto, a valve adjustment, or the engine is overheating
> 
> The performance improvement with the application of choke, usually means the engine is running lean, but that doesn't always mean a carburetor problem.
> 
> Something you might want to check since it's used.... Pull the cooling shrouds and check for a mouse nest that is causing it to overheat. Take a look at your spark plug and if it looks like this, there's a good chance there's debris under the cooling shroud causing it to overheat.


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