Help! I have a 2003 Sears Riding Lawnmower. I thought I had a bad battery, but I have been able to jump start tractor with a battery charger. Would that be possible if the battery was bad? Mower works fine on all the flat parts of the yard, but stalls out when going uphill. Could that still be a battery issue, (due to not really having a full charge) or should I think fuel filter? Would spark plug factor in since the mower can be 'jumped'? I have cleaned the air filter. Thanks for any help--I totally appreciate it. Le

ballengerb1

You can jump a dead battery with a charger but it is better to use the cahrgere as a charger only. Try jumping from your car, if it starts then you probably do have a bad battery but that would not account for you problem of poor power going up hill. The battery has nothing to do with the lost power, it just gets the engine started. It is spring time so this may be your first run on the engine, right. Did you drain the tank last fall and start with fresh gas this month?

KeepItSimpleStupid

Fresh gas, new fuel filter, spark plug, sharpen the blade and oil change are all part of the tune up as well as clean and lubercate are all part of the spring tune up. Once this is done, we can be gin troubleshooting.

MOWERMAN2468

where are we with this one guys?

LeAnney

Thank you all. I have not replaced the spark plug, and after reading online about how much trouble everyone seems to have when they try to replace the fuel filter on Sears Riding Mower 917.273130--I decided against doing that. Seems like I should go ahead and give it the old college try before I bother everyone again. Also, seems we picked the wrong tractor--the consensus of opinion seems to be that Sears not only makes a crappy product, but seems they do not back it up with technicians who can help fix. Thanks again, and I'll do my homework and hopefully won't need your help again. Sincerely, LeAnne

ballengerb1

I would have to agree somewhat. I always used to buy Sears tools and tractors but have had several bad experiences. I think Sears is now more in for the service contracts than selling a great product.

LeAnney

Thanks everyone. When my husband was alive, I never had these problems...Ok, now I'm going to drain the gas from the tank, put in a new fuel filter and hope I've finally done everything that needed doing. When I drain the gas, do I just unclip the gas line from the fuel filter and let it drain into a bucket and conversely, do I reconnect before adding new gas into the tank ( as opposed to adding gas to a clamped off line, then reconnecting to the fuel filter then unclamping the line) ? Is there a way to avoid air in the line? I know my questions must be so basic as to make all you experts sit back and laugh, but the only way for me to learn is to borrow brain power from those in the know. Thanks so much! Le

ballengerb1

Don't worry about air in the fuel line, doesn't really happen. Your procedure is fine but if you can take the line off at the other end by the carb you will get a more complete drain. My spring rule of thumb is the first gallon of gas bought gets a dose of Sea Foam carb cleaner as per Sea Foams directions. This helps freshen the carb and gets rid of crud in the carb as wll as any water. This is just a new precaution since I have had too many spring start up issues in the past.

LeAnney

Where do you guys dispose of your old gas? Thanks, Le

ballengerb1

I actually put it in my car since it gets diluted with 20 gallons of fresh stuff.