The few times I have had that happen, the valve in the bottom of the tank was clogged with old ethanol fuel residue. Enough fuel gets through over time where it will run till the carb and fuel line runs dry. And then while you are there scratching your head and fiddling with it, it will slowly fill back up and it will run again till the engine uses all the fuel again.

 

Just have to start checking fuel flow. Then start going back till you find the restriction. Take the drain plug on float bowel out and watch for good steady flow. If just a dribble you have issue there. Could also be plugged vent on cap too. Have also ran across spark plugs that would do this

 

Im no authority for sure and are having issues myself but it would almost have to be between the tank and carb.
Is the tank clean?
I " kinda" rebuilt my 6.6 but it was more like a refurbishing but I went new from bottom of tank to carb and have one of those see-thru filters and when I turn my fuel on/off valve on I can see the fuel gushing into the filter. I cant start it because Im injured and cant pull the strap hard enuf but it gets fuel for sure. Like G-1964 was saying I'd bet there's a restriction somewhere, piece of rust or something.
Good luck

 

+1 to the idea that it's a fuel starvation problem caused by a clog.

Steve has the recipe I always use. If you're getting restricted flow there, then you can debug it back to the tank. Per franklin, it could be a clogged inlet. Or a clogged float valve in the carb could cause that problem.

If you do get steady flow through the bowl, you'll need to look elsewhere. Maybe clogged jets or something else internal to the carb. But check the flow first.

 

Thank you guys. I will try again today. I have taken the carb apart and rebuilt and cleaned it many, many, times so I am hoping that isnt an issue. I made sure to use the spring that attaches the float to the needle to help pull the needle out of the seat to guard against sticking... I add Ethanol treatment to the gas to help counteract the negatives for what that is worth.
I did not clean the tank, since it looked clean - my mistake. I will try everything stated in the responses and really do appreciate all of your help.
Jeff

 

Gravely 1964 - what did you mean when you said "Have also run across spark plugs that would do that"?
Thanks again.

 

Bad spark plug on occasion will run till they heat up. 2 minute mark sounds about right. If you find fuel flow good. Try another plug for giggles. Im a small engine grease monkey. And you would not believe how many times it just needs a new plug. Same with my 80 some tractors at home. I keep 4 of each kinda plug handy around here.

To engage pto, put high low in neutral or close. Nudge forward and reverse lever either direction. While holding high low in neutral. When you drag the other clutch and wheels don't turn. It slows the shaft down to let it drop in. With one swift motion pull the pto engaged .

At the 11:22 mark here I do a good job show it

 

I also have one more question. It's a little embarrassing to ask but I figure if I don't, I'll never figure it out. How do you engage the attachments to the PTO?
I know about the in / out lever, but no matter what I do, it does not want to engage. I can't seem to get them to mesh. The grind terribly to the point that you can't hold it with your hand while trying to engage. I make sure the RPMs are as low as possible but the liver just bounces on top of the clutch to the attachment. Again, I appreciate any suggestions you guys have.

Jeff

 

If you have the short lever down where the engagement attaches, most people just kick them in with their foot. I never liked that, it still makes a awful crunching noise.

I have a trick I use and it never grinds or crunches. But you do need a spot that you can run the implement up against. Or if you had a large chunk of wood or something that would stop the tractor.

What you do after you just have started the tractor is leave both levers on the handle in neutral. Your high/low speed lever must be in neutral. Then take the forward lever and push it slowly forward, when the tractor is still cold, it will move even with the high/low in neutral. Leave the high/low in neutral and keep pushing the forward lever till the tractor stops against your stationary object. I usually find the corner of a building or a tree.

While still holding the forward lever forward (you can hear the engine loading down some) reach down with your other hand (I know it's a reach) and push the pto lever in. You will get little to no scraping.

When the oil is cold, the forward lever has a lot of force behind it, i have never tried a chunk of wood in front of the tires, it may work or it may not. But a building or tree works great. If you have been using the tractor and the oil is hot, it takes much less to get the pto not to grind. Usually when the oil is hot, all you have to do is put the high/low in neutral, and then press on the forward lever without a building or tree. If the tractor does not move when you do this, the pto will not grind.

 

Right. Low RPM, neutral, then give the PTO a solid shove. The first few times you do it you'll cringe, thinking there must be something wrong, but that's how it works.

 

Thank you guys for all of your help. I spent most of the day, but in the end it is finally running and running well! Turned out to be the filter screen in the sediment bowl.
After I was able to get it running, I was able to get the PTO engaged pretty easily.
Maybe you can help with one or two more operational questions..
1). When they say 'slipping the clutch', what do they mean?
2). When using an attachment like the brush hog, should I keep the machine in either high or low or can I switch on the fly?
Thanks again for as ll the help!

 

Thank you guys for all of your help. I spent most of the day, but in the end it is finally running and running well! Turned out to be the filter screen in the sediment bowl.
After I was able to get it running, I was able to get the PTO engaged pretty easily.
Maybe you can help with one or two more operational questions..
1). When they say 'slipping the clutch', what do they mean?
2). When using an attachment like the brush hog, should I keep the machine in either high or low or can I switch on the fly?
Thanks again for as ll the help!

I got rid of my sediment bowl as per advice on here and am glad I did. I didnt really need it with the see-thru filter I have, they seem to work pretty good simply because I can see fuel filling it up when I turn valve on.
Have fun!

 

Slipping the clutch means you are not locking the forward lever all the way down, you are just nudging the tractor forward with the lever. On the Gravelys with only two speeds, you have to do this often because the tractors are a little too fast sometimes. You would think it would wear out the clutch, but I do it all the time with no ill affects. Times I slip the clutch are;

1. When using the snowblower in deep snow. I will have to slip the clutch in the first pass, and then I will lock it in on subsequent passes, only taking half bites with the blower.
2. Using any of the mowers in very heavy grass. As with the blower, once you make the first pass, you can take half bites and not have to slip the clutch so much.

3. Pushing snow with the blade and bush hogging in unkown areas. In these instances, you can't see what you are doing most of the time. There can be hidden obstacles you may run into. The best thing to do in this case is not lock the forward lever in, but take your open hand and push down on the forward lever. If the tractor hits something your hand automatically lifts off the forward lever, saving you from breaking something.

 

And you can go from high to low to high again at will, even when under load. When my tractor was a regular L, I never used high except when pushing snow with the blade and the sulky. High seems to rob a lot of power from the tractor. I then converted my tractor to a LI, and I use high more often now.

 

I do have much experience using a Gravely, maybe not working on them but using them I certainly do and on most of the ones I used if not all if mowing a short stretch I pretty much had to do the "slip" method because there was no way there was room for locking the lever down unless I was mowing or tilling-up ground for raking and grass planting on a long-stretch then of course I would lock the lever down.
I can still remember as a youngster being glad when I could lock it down and just walk with it for awhile, it was like taking a break lol.