300U dying out

If the tractor's been sitting around unused for a few months, check the air cleaner. I have a 300U, and the squirrels were kind enough to fill the air cleaner with hickory nuts. I'm lucky I checked before trying to start the engine.

I think I'd clamp an inductive timing light on the fat coil-to-center-of-distributor-cap wire. If the strobe ceases when RPMs start to fall off, then there's a spark problem. I think it's unlikely, but it's so cheap and easy to test you should probably do it.

Mark W. in MI

Recommend removing the 1/4" pipe plug drain from the bottom of the carburetor. You should get a continuous, SOLID stream of gas about the diameter of a pencil out of the drain opening.

However if you get just a spash of gas that tapers to a dribble there's a fuel restriction somewhere.

First try cleaning carb the inlet screen. (Disconnect the fuel line at the carb then remove the large brass fitting on the carb the fuel line screws into. The screen is inside the brass fitting and should come out with it.)

If that doesn't do it, drop the carb bowl (you can do this with the carb still on the tractor...). Be looking for a plugged float needle valve, float level set to high, the float hanging up inside the bowl, etc.

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Only if you are certain it's not a fuel flow problem would I start messing with the ignition!

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