Scag Tiger Cub Warning

[maple city]

Just wanted to let you guys in on this...

We have a Tiger Cub with about 100 hours. Bought it brand new this year. We started having problems with the idle last week. It was running really rough. Took it in for service. The problem was that contaminants (grass clippings and 2 peices of small gravel) had gotten into the fuel system. It's fixed and running great now. Just wanted to let you guys know to be really careful when you re-feul on this mower. Don't sit your gas cap down on the ground and replace it. And don't leave the cap off too long because of the large fuel holes. Those holes are so big that airborne clipping could easily get in there.

Just wanted to let you know that with the Tiger Cub this could be a problem.

[jt5019]

I just bought a tiger cub 2 weeks ago after 3 hours it developed a bad idle it would go real high then drop.took it to the shop they said a little dirt got in the carb.Worked great untill about 21 hours then started up again took it back to the shop they said the carb was dirty again.We flushed the fuel system as requested and put 89 octane in it.So far its been running ok but it hasnt really been used do to rain.

[Lawngodfather]

Don't you guys have fuel filters on your mowers?

This would happen to any mower.

This would be classified as operator error.

[maple city]

Yes, we have a fuel filter on our mower!

We never laid the gas cap on the ground, we didn't leave the gas cap off while we were mowing, we didn't pick up clippings and gravel and sprinkle them into the gas tank of the mower. That mower is our baby and we have been very careful with it. We have followed all the service instructions provided by our dealer and the owner's manual. You can call it operator error if you like, but I don't agree.

I just wanted to point this out to other tiger cub owners to let them know that we had this problem and hopefully save another operator the $100.00 we dropped to get it fixed.

[jt5019]

Mine happend before i even got to put gas in it for the first time.The dealer checked it over and filled the tanks for me.So i guess its dealer error in my case.

[Lawngodfather]

So how did it get in there?

It didn't magicly find it's way in there.

Could have been in you gas can.

[sns]

I have the same model and haven't noticed any problems with the idle but, I have noticed it is a little harder to start than the other kawasaki powered equipment I own . I wonder how many people are having similar problems ? It would be interesting to see the assembly process for these engines and carbs. I can't help but wonder how the parts are stored before assembly, as well as the assembly process itself. The possibilities are endless...

[buddymarkley]

Thanks for the tip.

I would think the fuel filter would catch any dirt, grass or rocks before it gets to the carb.

But anyway this would be an engine design flaw not Scag what engine are you talking about?

There is one problem with the Tiger cub they tend to break the hydro pump belt, for some unexplained reason.

BUDDY

[Seascape]

gravel? or grit? None of this should make it to the carb from a tank. Im thinking this stuff was sucked in from the air element. Or more than likely while the element was being cleaned.
mike

[Elwood]

I think Mike just hit it.

[sns]

I wonder if these problems are with the 19 horse models that were on sale. Kawasaki made scag a deal on a "special" lot of these motors . Most of the time trash is cleaned out of a carb it comes from the fuel side not the air . If grit gets in the air side it usually goes right into the motor. With all models having a fuel filter I still can't help but think the motors came with the grit " installed" from the factory. These mowers are all basically brand new !

[maple city]

Ours is the 19 HP Kaw.

Mechanic at the dealership told us it was peices of gravel and a few grass clippings. We have no idea how they got there. I guess it's possible it could have been in the gas can, but I kind of doubt it.

[jt5019]

Mine is the 19 hp also.

[GrassMaster]

Hello Everybody:

I know this is Aggravating & Very Frustrating, but it Happens.

At My Shop we average 5,000 Repairs a Year & at Least 2,500 + Repairs are carb related, the majority of those repairs & I mean at least 9 out of 10 of those carb repairs is Fuel Contamination, Water & or Debris in the Fuel, sometimes just old bad gas from sitting too long.

I would say that the majority of the contamination comes from the gas cans (one way or another) & trust me you are not getting it at the gas station, because if that was true you would see vehicles all along the side of the road!

Some how it gets in the fuel can. In 5 years of Business I only had one time that I had Carb Problems, due to using metal fuel cans.

To help prevent it, always use plastic fuel cans, keep the Tops of the Spouts on the fuel containers at all times, try to never run your equipment out of fuel, try to completely empty those fuel cans & never use others gas.