New-to-me Wd45 low rpm

After shutting down tractor, carb and gov arm return to max throttle position.

There’s a large dent, watermelon could sit down in it, in the underside of the oil pan. I see oil lines running to the governor. Maybe there’s a correlation there?

Thank you sirs, I really appreciate your time and knowledge

Edited by OldManLarry - 04 Oct 2025 at 11:45am

DrAllis, thank you. I’ll get that spring in the correct spot. It’s currently just dangling from the gov-carb linkage arm. I’ll check back in after

With the hand throttle at the highest rpm setting, should the govenor arm/linkage at the carb be fully engaged against the carb pin?

Do you have adequate fuel flow to the carburetor?

Points look good. Light gassy smell when it dies. No smoke from exhaust

With the hand throttle wide open, the governor/carb linkage SHOULD NOT be against the stop pin on the carburetor. That would be akin to you holding your accelerator pedal on your car to the floor while standing still. It will blow up !!!  This is what a governor does....keeps the RPM within a certain range and opens or closes the throttle as needed depending on the load the engine is being subjected to. Governor springs never "wear" out. They can break and when they do you have no hand throttle action whatsoever. When was the last time this tractor did run right ??    Or is the new carburetor an effort to get it running after many years of sitting around ??  Do two things. #1. remove the air cleaner hose that connects to the carburetor and let it breathe fresh air (for testing). #2. I don't care how you've got the carburetor adjusted. Do it my way. Open the "L" shaped main jet 3 full turns (for testing) and see if these two things have any bearing on performance.  Lastly, I assume there was a time in the past where it did run fine. So, with that in mind keep your hands OFF the distributor and changing the timing. It was fine. It still is fine. It cannot change itself.

Dr Allis-

I appreciate the insight on the system. I’ve been working to educate myself. Sitting, full throttle should produce 540-600ish rpm at the pto. Same under load, but the governor should be increasing fuel volume if my understanding is correct? Brush hog seems pretty slow, I don’t have a way to time it.



It last ran well “before the flood”, about 8 years ago. Supposedly had an engine rebuild in the not too distant past, pre-flood.

I believe I have clean fuel, see previous post about fuel system.

I’ll try your recommendation and report.

And I’ll keep my hands clear of the distributor 😁

Thank you sirs!

WF owner wrote: Just to eliminate fuel flow being your problem, disconnect the gas line from the carburetor and let it run into a container for a minute or more. Check to see if flow diminishes as time goes by. It's very common for the inlet of the sediment bowl to partially plug with rust and debris from the tank. It may not be your problem, but it's possible.

Edited by wjohn - 18 hours 2 minutes ago at 9:41pm