# John Deere 111 - Weird Engine Cut Out



## kcnboise (Jul 6, 2015)

Hi all,

I have an early 80s John Deere 111 with a Briggs & Stratton 11HP 253707 engine. It recently developed an oil leak so I thought I was going to have to do a rebuild. I took off the crankcase cover and head and the internals looked to be in good condition (could still see the cross hatch on the cylinder wall from an earlier rebuild by the previous owner). I just replaced the crankcase and head gaskets. The only other thing I did was noticed the drive belt was loose, so tightened it to specs.

When I got it back together it fired right back up, but it was surging. I adjusted the fast idle, and that seemed to fix it. It runs like a champ sitting still in neutral, with the PTO off or on, but if I put it in gear and drive it, it will die within 50 yards, again either with the PTO off or on. When it dies it starts surging for about 30 seconds, then just shuts off like turning the key off, even though the key is still on. I can put it in neutral and turn the key and it will turn over once or twice, then fire right back up. After firing up it will surge, so I move the fast idle a fraction of an inch and back and it stops surging. All the aforementioned surging is with the throttle set on fast, it's barely present with the throttle on slow. It will die with the throttle set anywhere between fast and slow. I've let it run on fast for 30 minutes in neutral, and it ran great the whole time, so probably not a heat related issue.

I've checked the hole in the gas cap and put in new gas, checked for fuel flow right after it dies, checked all electrical connections, checked spark, ran it without the air filter, and ensured oil level was correct. What am I missing? It's driving me crazy!


----------



## kcnboise (Jul 6, 2015)

Anybody have any ideas?


----------



## BigT (Sep 15, 2014)

Safety switch


----------



## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

does this have a fuel filter?


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Adjust the governor(static adjustment),and if it has a fuel filter,make sure it's not a one-way,and installed backwards.
Usually high end surging(hunting) is caused by float adjustment, governor adjustment,or bent/damaged mixture needles.


----------



## kcnboise (Jul 6, 2015)

Thanks for the replies! 

Safety switch was removed before I got it...

Yes, it has a fuel filter, but the fuel line on the outlet side was plugged while working on the engine. 

Governor was adjusted properly when I checked it. No fuel solenoid or oil sensor.


----------



## Fredneck (May 25, 2012)

kcnboise said:


> Yes, it has a fuel filter, but the fuel line on the outlet side was plugged while working on the engine.


i'm not sure what this means. if the engine surges, only at high demand, while drawing fuel thru a filter, then the filter is one of the things i'd suspect.


----------



## real8deal (Dec 26, 2014)

Could they float be sticking thats what my farmall super m was doing runs perfect start driving shuts off i took the drain hole off then poked it with a flat head and it stopped doing that problem hope that helps.


----------



## BigT (Sep 15, 2014)

I agree with Fredneck......Your fuel system cannot keep up with the higher demand of running the PTO and moving forward. Your fuel filter may be the type designed to operate with a fuel pump?? Take the filter off as a temporary measure and see how she runs.


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Did the surging start AFTER you pulled the crankcase cover,or did it also do it before ?
If it did it only AFTER,then check the jets and passages in the carb,as it may have gotten some dirt in them,when the engine was tipped.


----------



## kcnboise (Jul 6, 2015)

jhngardner367 said:


> Did the surging start AFTER you pulled the crankcase cover,or did it also do it before ?
> If it did it only AFTER,then check the jets and passages in the carb,as it may have gotten some dirt in them,when the engine was tipped.


I was thinking the same thing, so pulled the carb bowl off last night and the bottom had loose rust in it. Looks like I'll be rebuilding the carb.


----------



## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Try just spraying some carb cleaner through the passages, and jets,first,and see if it helps. 
Carb kits can be expensive,at times.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

I vote tightening the drive belt, removed some slippage or changed the way the load is applied to the engine, thus now on the other end the governor is set too sensitive. 

Possibly your spec on the drive belt was too tight, or even loosen it up a hair on purpose to see if that solves the issue, then you don't have to muck with all the engine systems to diagnose.


----------



## kcnboise (Jul 6, 2015)

I finally had time to rebuild the carb. Fired right up and after adjusting the various settings it ran strong and cut grass for an hour without any problems.


----------

