Okay, I have used this machine mostly for plowing snow. And right now we have a ton. Thank goodness for good neighbors! I disconnected the ETC and still the same. Then I drained about a cup of fuel from the carb and still nothing past idle. Thanks for the suggestions. What should I try next?

 

i would not discount the etc, just make sure there is about an 1/8" play in the throttle. if the vents were plugged it would have a rush of air or be under pressure in the tank. follow the carb vent lines up to under the steering to make sure they arent pinched off. have you taken the spark plug out and looked at it to see if its real wet and black w/ gas? try this, turn off the gas flow when its running and try to run it and if it starts to run good as its running out of gas in the bowl you know its a too much of a fuel problem. maybe the float is meesed up or like mentioned the main jet is plugged.

 

Tried to get bowl off of the bottom of the carb but there is very limited room to get to the screws. Even with the air filter housing and screws attaching the carb to the frame removed, I can't get enough leverage to get the screws off from the bottom of the bowl. Should I remove carb and if so how do I disconnect throttle cable and choke without causing myself more problems?

 

w/out looking at it, its hard to tell you how to do it. the choke should just be a 12mm nut where the cable goes into which is a plunger that slide out. as long as you dont mess w/ the cable settings on either you should be fine. the throttle cable should be able to rock the assembley where the cable hooks into forward and slide the end piece out. like i said w/out seeing it i really cant tell you im sorry to say. did you pull the plug out and see how it looked?

 

I checked the vents on the carb and they aren't pinched. I had checked the spark plug and it was a little black, dry and still new looking. I cleaned it with a wire brush and reinstalled. I just tried your suggestion turning the gas valve off and trottling it up every 5 seconds and it just continued to do the same (trying to dye after a slight increase in rpm's) until it ran out of gas. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

well if the plug isnt wey and running it out of gas didnt make it idle up then its not a too much of a fuel problem imo. if you try to pull the choke and run it does it run better? this would be a lean condtion if it runs better.

 

Is the problem only while in gear? Does it do the same when in Neutral or does it rev and run normal in neutral? Clutch issue?

 

You have to take the gas tank off to get the carb off, you can clean it without disconnecting cables , put a rag under it so you dont lose any thing as you take it apart, screws are really tight , use an impact screwdriver to get them loose.

 

The problem is in all gears and neutral. Going to pull carb and flush all the ports today.

 

Sorry to chime in so late here, but I'm more and more suspicious of the vacuum diaphram in the carburetor. I order for engine to rev up with the proper fuel mixture, the vacuum diaphram must rise and pull the slide and needle upward so you can tap into the fuel from the needle and main jet circuits. I'd say that maybe the hole in the slide is clogged and/or the diaphram has a hole or tear in it.