Rusty, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

What? A friendship with the folks at the "Funny Farm"?
Naw, just too much of being in a hurry-trying to beat the rain, as i was working mainly outside today. I'll say this:"We are having a bumper crop of acorns this year!" The squirrels are quite busy, gathering their nuts! Those acorns can keep ya awake all night! they sound like rocks dropping on the roofs! And, we have a tin table on the back deck, and it really sounds off!

That was a favorite saying of my Dad. Rusty. Is it a Best Generation thing from WWII?

No, it's a Pennsylvania Dutch expression.

Well, i got that tractor back again! And, it was the same problem. Then a thought occured to me. What about the elctric solenoid on the fuel bowl???
I removed it, and found it was stuck! I cleaned it up well, made sure it is working, then installed it, put everything back together, and it runs.
When the owner called, and after i told him about the valve, he asked if i could install a new one, and i said i could, but---
About 3 years ago, i priced one at the local mower supply shop, and was told they cost, at that time, around $85! Anybody know how much the list price is for them now?
I have a used one here, so he may get it instead of a new one. This one was on a running engine that went "BANG" from lack of oil!

If it's a Kohler (I don't think you said so far), I recently saw several websites asking in the neighborhood of $105 USD.
So it would pay to try a salvage mission before replacing.
If you got it clean enough to work, it's probably good for a while. Your friend/customer can make it last better if he uses some stabilizer, and a dab of Marvel Mystery Oil (or equivalent lube) in all the fuel he feeds it.
What do you think are the chances of that happening?? :^)

I definitely agree with Mownie Rusty , knowing you for the meticulous individual that you are , a little fuel conditioner lube and your customer should be quite happy with the cost savings you are trying to pass on to him. Heck if it begins to fail again , perhaps give it another cleaning and lube or if he insists replace then with an new unit ?

ANother possibility would be to tech the customer to idle down before he shuts down the tractor and then defeat the solenoid/valve permanently.

Isn't it there just to stop the backfire when shutting down the engine?

I suppose the primary reason for the fuel solenoid is to prevent the afterfire bang. It also could be said that a properly working fuel solenoid reduces the volume of unburned hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere, but I think that aspect is just a "consequence" of how the solenoid quells afterfire.

I need some help from some other "seasoned citizens" on this:
I don't remember the backfire/afterfire being so prevalent in the days of my youth.
Seems to me that we were always able to just shut off the engine (which meant in some cases, bending that springy metal tab over to touch the exposed spark plug cable) and we never had to worry about getting blasted.

But my dad and uncles always shut the throttle to idle speed before killing the ignition, and that's how I was taught to do it.

But I also remember you could buy 103 octane rated "High test" at any gas station, and regular grade gas of the day was around 97 octane (no such thing as "mid grade" or "plus").
Did the incremental reduction (since the early 1970s) in pump gas octane ratings (made possible by gov mandated lower compression engines AND elimination of tetra ethyl lead from the formulae) finally reach the point where it was guaranteed to produce an afterfire bang every time the engine is shut down?
Lower octane fuel ignites at lower temperature than high octane fuel.
Anyone want to share their memories (please, only if your birth date is earlier than say..........1955)....:^)

How about putting ten gallons of gasoline in the car, for around 2 bucks? When i worked for the Gulf Oil co, at the gas stations, folks'd pull in and hand the guy a buck, and get close to 5 gallons!
In 1947, 4 of us took a trip to California, took the southern route, in my brand new 47 Pontiac! Each took turns paying for gas. Bought our own meals, and shared a motel room. Each took $200, all came home with money left over! Visited relatives, saw every tourist trap, and a lot more, had a great time! Try that today! $200 won't even get ya out of yer home state, let alone visiting most of them!
Make ya feel any better, reading this? Oh, my birth date? September 14, 1924! Which made me a good candidate for Army service in WW II, which i did!
Enjoyed every minute of it, until the land mine went off, and took my left foot with it, indirectly!
Now, the Drs. are trying to get me to settle down. I have too much work, to settle down. They can wait for winter, when i can sit back with a cool one, and enjoy life!

Mownie: The Lower Compression Engines and Lower Octane Fuel (With or without Ethanol) of today and Engine Timing & Air to Fuel Ratio's (EPA ) Combined have a Synergistic if not Direct Effect within what your experiencing. I too was taught the Proper Pre-Shutdown Technique you have advised , even back as a teenager driving the tractor back on the farm..lol . The Old Diesel Tree Farmer with the Gas Pup Engine had a very different and more involved Starting and Shutdown Format , but that's another Story from a even Earlier & Much More Simplistic & Reflective Decade. :)

Well, if at first you don't succeed, try try again! He took it and brought it back! But first, he mowed my back yard, about 150x175. After that he took it home. It ran well here, mowed and blew leaves, never missed a beat!
An hour later, he called and said it is missing, back-firing, and etc. Said it was "loping". Up and down when it was running, and when he tried it out in his yard, it was running terrible, with the missing, the jerking and all! I thought it was the governor doing the loping effect.
Tomorrow, it will get a new coil, the carb will be cleaned thoroughly, and a new spark plug, and just maybe the fuel valve on the carb bowl. My son sez to add some octane booster to the fuel. And also, a shot of MMO, too.
And then, i suppose he'll try to blame the bad bearing in one of the deck spindles on me, too. HA! But. i'm saving that for another time! This tractor is one of the dark green models. it isn't new, nor nearly new, and has had a hard life. But, i'll persevere. Thanks for the advice. Rustyj

All that fuel had to go somewhere. Methinks a lot of it dribbled down through the carb, into the cylinder, past the rings, and into the crankcase.

Check the oil level. If it's overfilled, you'll know for sure where the fuel went. At theat point, change the oil or risk engine damage.

Peace.

Marco

Well, he was supposed to clean out the dead grass and other sediment under the flywheel cover. Today, i took that cover off---and nothing had been done! Full of grass, mouse droppings, and detritus! And, flywheel was rusty! And, he had taped up the coil to plug wire, so i installed a good used ignition coil, cleaned the fly magnets, added some fuel additive, cleaned out the mouse nests, put it all back together, and now it runs and drives like it is a new one. i ran it for an hour, gathering the leaves in the back yard. Worked good-nary a miss or stumble!
Also, do you suppose he parks it under a tree, or just out back, in the high grass? Wouldn't he think that leaving it to sit out in the rain, what with the louvers in the hood, and the open flywheel screen--that just maybe water could run into the works? (No, i guess not!)
What the heck-he, and lots of other folks think, that they can let the lawn tractor set out in all kinds of weather, just like they do with their car, or truck!?