# JD277AWS engine oscillates and tranny noisy



## Roger2561 (Mar 10, 2008)

Hi all, :wave:

I'm new to this forum. However, I have had experiences with other sites but, they can not offer any help and I hope you can. 

I have a 2000 John Deere LX277AWS (All Wheel Steering) lawn tractor. It is powered by a Kawasaki 17hp twin cylinder gas engine. In mid-summer of 2007 the engine began oscillating when operating at slightly below full throttle. Generally, to save gas I lower the throttle to a bit above idle when I'm emptying the bagger, or doing some other chore. I ran carb cleaner through the gas tank, through the summer hoping it would rectify the problem, but it hasn't made any difference to the operation. The engine continued to oscillate through the lawn mowing season. The engine runs great at full throttle when mowing. All ideas will be greatly appreciated. Also, the tranny (HST) is noisy when operating in reverse and it lacks power when trying to run backward uphill. The tranny noise sounds like a squeal sound...The oil level is full. Does anyone know if there is a filter in that type of transmission that may be the culprit? Again, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Roger


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Most likely a restricted pilot jet is causing this problem. The pilot jet can be removed without taking the carburetor apart, but you will probably need to take the air cleaner assembly off. Clean it out as well as the ports leading to it with some spray carburetor or brake cleaner and blow out the passages with compressed air and that should take care of it. If not then the carburetor may need to come out and be cleaned out to remove the restriction that is causing your problem.

You can look at an exploded view of a carburetor at the Kawasaki site at www.buykawpower.com


----------



## pyro_maniac69 (Aug 12, 2007)

the squeeling might be a belt, but I haven't worked on an all wheel steer, so I'm not sure what type of drive system they use


----------



## Roger2561 (Mar 10, 2008)

30yearTech said:


> Most likely a restricted pilot jet is causing this problem. The pilot jet can be removed without taking the carburetor apart, but you will probably need to take the air cleaner assembly off. Clean it out as well as the ports leading to it with some spray carburetor or brake cleaner and blow out the passages with compressed air and that should take care of it. If not then the carburetor may need to come out and be cleaned out to remove the restriction that is causing your problem.
> 
> You can look at an exploded view of a carburetor at the Kawasaki site at www.buykawpower.com


Thanks for the info. on this carburetor. I'll give the pilot jet cleaning a shot. One more question - what's the solenoid thats on the bottom of the carburetor do? Does one remove it to clean the carburetor if I have to go that far? Again, thanks for all the information. I appreciate it very much. Roger


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

The solenoid on the bottom of your carburetor, shuts of the fuel supply to the main jet when you turn the key off. This helps prevent the big bang that sometimes happens when you shut off an engine. If you take the carburetor apart to clean it, then I would also take the solenoid out as it may need some cleaning as well.


----------



## Roger2561 (Mar 10, 2008)

30yearTech said:


> The solenoid on the bottom of your carburetor, shuts of the fuel supply to the main jet when you turn the key off. This helps prevent the big bang that sometimes happens when you shut off an engine. If you take the carburetor apart to clean it, then I would also take the solenoid out as it may need some cleaning as well.


30yearTech; Thanks for your help on this project. I'll be spending some time working on it Saturday (heck, it's still winter here, snow still on the ground) and I think you're steering me in the right direction. As for the solenoid; I never knew that. I have quite a bit of experince working on the older engines, so I was completely lost when I saw the electrical connection at the carburetor. As soon as I get it running again, I'll post my results. Thanks again for the help. Roger


----------



## Roger2561 (Mar 10, 2008)

pyro_maniac69 said:


> the squeeling might be a belt, but I haven't worked on an all wheel steer, so I'm not sure what type of drive system they use


Pyro_maniac69: I guess I would suspect a belt if it squealed in both directions but, it happens on reverse only. Not knowing these machines that well, I'm guessing there is a valve for the forward operation and a seperate valve for the reverse operation. Perhaps one of them is staying closed and not allowing fluid to flow easily. That's just a guess, though. Thanks for the thoughts, though. Roger


----------



## Roger2561 (Mar 10, 2008)

Hey 30yearTech -Cleaning the carburetor did the trick. I couldn't believe the junk on the bottom of the bowl. I have ordered a tune up kit (especially a new fuel filter) from John Deere for this unit. No doubt I picked up some junk and it got through. Thanks for the help. Roger


----------

