Noob here...

[Petrolero]

Greetings Forum Lurkers! I've just acquired a 2005 757 Ztrak to take the 6-hours (F525) out of mowing my 4 acres. Got this thing from a local JD dealer, used, with 770hours. Looks to be in pretty good shape but I'm seeing where maybe some of the maintenance hasn't been done rigorously... Said unit is supposed to have been serviced by them but they didn't provide much in the way of back records, just some from last year... Specifically, I didn't see any fresh grease on the zerks and while the oil is fresh, the filter ain't... Also, no telling when the tranny was serviced last. I'll take care of all of that. What records they did provide show that the carb had 'debris' in it last year. Now I'm wanting to check compression values... What is a normal range? I notice that when I engage the PTO and am running down the yard with this thing, it's RPM is down quite a bit from the unloaded condition... Just wondering if the dirt in the carb has caused an issue... Is there anywhere online for me to access a tech manual so I won't have to bug you-all for this stuff??? Thanks, Petrolero

[twocycle]

Hello, and welcome!

Here is a online owners/service manual for your mower....... Introduction

[Petrolero]

Thanks, twocycle, I had found this resource but it doesn't list things like compression, etc... I visited the dealer today and he tells me that compression should be about 60-70# and shouldn't vary between cylinders. So now I go test... Thanks! Petrolero

[Petrolero]

Ok, just got back from checking the compression - and boy am I glad I did! Both plugs were finger tight!!! And this machine was supposed to be serviced by JD 8-(

On the good side, compression in both cylinders was close to 85# 8-).

The plugs had carbon on the threads where leaking was happening... Makes me want to keep checking stuff... What else is loose???

[Petrolero]

Most Helpful Lurkers:

After the preceding work - and due to some of the issues highlighted by the forum, I've now removed the cowling from the front and cylinder areas and indeed found mild accumulations of greasy dirt plugging off some of the fins. After cleaning said areas as best I can to include degreasing and hosing off with the garden hose, I've got things more or less reassembled - save a largish spring which I can't remember where it came from... But I'll track it down. Now the issue:

I discovered that the governor was maladjusted, being adjusted to the point where there is no play in the mechanism at all. After firing it up again, I see why. The governor does not work and the motor wants to rev... If I hold the governor over, it's fine. So - the governor is shot in this thing - Kawasaki, BTW.

How hard is it to get to the governor and repair? Undoubtedly this is the reason why the machine bogs down when the blades are engaged and running down the yard.

Thanks in advance,

Petrolero

[Mark / Ohio]

Could that spring you have been the back tension spring on the governor? Maybe it had already come loose and fell out while you were working on it?

[Petrolero]

Hello, Mark!

Basically, the arm on the governor was adjusted so that there was zero room for the governor to work. Without the rod going from the governor to the carb, the governor shaft and arm would turn about 20 degrees or so. With the rod attached, zero movement - the arm was adjusted on the shaft so as to keep the carb fully off throttle at the governor plate. So I adjusted it so that it had full throw. I would think that the governor shaft should pull the throttle towards the closed position at high RPM's but there is no apparent force on the shaft doing that. This is why the machine won't idle back... So after looking at the governor and associated parts on the diagram (helpfully provided above), I'm puzzled. What moves the plate? Is it air being pulled past it or magnetic or what? As to the spring I have left over
it's a few sizes too stout to be associated with the carb or similar. There is a spring on the rod that connects the governor arm with the carb. It is present and accounted for.

Curiously the last service it had before I bought it was in October. The symptom was "won't throttle down", and the service was, 'Governor out of adjustment, adjusted Governor'. Well - he adjusted the governor so that it wouldn't work at all... I'm thinking that this is prob. why the mower got traded in, it started losing power - because the governor isn't working.

Any ideas appreciated...

[Mark / Ohio]

Looks like by John Deere parts catalog you probably have a Kawasaki FH721D. I found a service manual for it and the governor adjustment starts on page 20:

FH601D FH641D FH680D FH721D KAWASAKI SERVICE REPAIR MANUAL 99924206002 pdf free ebook download from www.mymowerparts.com

Direct download:
http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Kawa...9924206002.pdf

It looks to use centrifugal force pushing little steel balls outward to create the movement. Governor operation is based on such minute forces it does not take much of a mis-adjustment or a spring not of proper tension for whatever reason to keep them from working.

[Petrolero]

Mark!

Thanks ever so much... Let me apply this material and see what happens...

Thanks again!