Would a Briggs needing valve adjustment, lose power?

[sblg43]

My Pastor has a John Deere LA130 tractor with a Briggs 441677-0131-E1

He told me that after it warms up, it just doesn't have the power that it used to. He has some steep hills in his yard that he usually mows. But now he says that his mower doesn't have the power to climb the hills and actually rolls backward.

So I now have it here in the shop and find that it's a hard starter. My first instinct is that the valves need to be adjusted. The engine serial number suggests a manufacture year of 2007 and I am fairly sure that the valves have never been adjusted.

The oil has been changed on a regular basis and kept at the appropriate level. The engine is not overly dirty or caked with anything that would hinder the air cooling fins.

So I ask this: Would an engine in need of valve adjustment be lacking power?

[KE4AVB]

Though the engine needs a valve adjustment I believe you will find it not engine related at all to lack of pulling power; unless, it has completely dropped a cylinder. If it has dropped a cylinder that should show as lost of power when the deck is first engaged especially since it is a 48"cut.

Personally I think it is ground drive related.

[RoyM]

Is the engine losing speed when trying to climb? If it drops off and gearing down is required the engine has issues. If the engine revs properly but ground speed drops there is a problem in the drive.

[Fulltilt]

My Pastor has a John Deere LA130 tractor with a Briggs 441677-0131-E1

He told me that after it warms up, it just doesn't have the power that it used to. He has some steep hills in his yard that he usually mows. But now he says that his mower doesn't have the power to climb the hills and actually rolls backward.

So I now have it here in the shop and find that it's a hard starter. My first instinct is that the valves need to be adjusted. The engine serial number suggests a manufacture year of 2007 and I am fairly sure that the valves have never been adjusted.

The oil has been changed on a regular basis and kept at the appropriate level. The engine is not overly dirty or caked with anything that would hinder the air cooling fins.

So I ask this: Would an engine in need of valve adjustment be lacking power?

The short answer is yes, valve adjust. can effect power.

Now a question for you: Why haven't you just adjusted the valves from the get go? Easy enough to do, right?

[sblg43]

Now a question for you: Why haven't you just adjusted the valves from the get go? Easy enough to do, right?

Now that the snow is gone - I just took a minute to look over the tractor this afternoon.

Haven't taken the time to do anything except start it up and drive it around to the shop door.

When I get the time, the first thing that I will do is adjust the valves. Biggest problem is that I don't have any steep hills around and his place is an hour away.

[Walt 2002]

Got any good sized trees? Got any cars, trucks and a log chain?

Walt Conner

[Arkie]

IMHO: from the armchair.

If it gets so weak it start rolling backwards while the engine is running and in forward gear most likely you are wasting time looking at valves for now.

Fire it up and start driving. Notice the pulling force when cold and when hot. If engine is running and in forward gear and rolling backwards something in the drive train is slipping real bad. PTO or Xmission.

Bet it's a drive pto or xmission issue.
And some of them are not even JD's, they are MTD.
If it's anything other than the PTO, like for example a transmission slippage, get out the crying towel.

If you are going to get deep into the chassis you are probably going to need a SERVICE manual.

Safety warning: Watch out the purty Grn/yeller paint will hurt your eyes in the sunlight. It can also hurt a pocket book if very major repairs are needed.

[KE4AVB]

Come on it not like it is SST16.

I give it a 99:1 odds it is a $20 in parts fix considering the mower age.

[thomd51]

is it 2cylinder ? if it is try pulling one plug wire off to see if it makes a difference if not try the other one . always try the easy things first and don't take the engine apart until your pretty sure you know what's wrong with it . might have a bent push rod . TOM.

[Skywatcher]

Come on People

Think this one through. If this was actually an engine power problem, the engine would be completely stalling out, then starting to turn backwards as the tractor rolled backwards. I'd be inclined to start with the simple things first, such as;

Has a rear wheel been taken off to repair a flat tire and been put back on without the axle key?

Has the transmission belt condition and tension been checked and adjusted or replaced if necessary?

If unit has a hydrostatic transmission, is the oil level up to where it's supposed to be? Does the oil smell burnt?

As for the engine valves, from what I have gathered, the valves should be checked every 100 hours of operation and adjusted if necessary as a matter of course. When you say the tractor is a hard starter, does this mean that the starter motor has difficulty turning the engine over, or does it take a lot of turning over before the engine actually starts. Let us know what you find,

Sky