Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: caravanmike
This mower has had a hard life. It mows 2/3 of an acre in the mowing season once a week.
It's hard to kill a Tecumseh engine. They usually don't get much love, but they have full pressure lubrication (though no oil filter) and are very easy to service. The most common issue with them is dirt getting into the main carburetor jet. It's a simple job to clean that out, or if it just doesn't run right, get you an Oregon carb off Amazon or eBay for 20 bucks. Parts are easy to find and reasonably priced if you have a local shop who services Tecumsehs.
I will say that I've never had to replace an ignition coil on a Tecumseh engine, but it sure does sound like that's the problem here. You should be able to confirm that by checking spark at the plug immediately after it shuts down. If there's no spark then, but you get spark back when it cools down, it's very likely the ignition coil.
thanks! this is my third tecumseh mower, usually the decks rust out or crack on me. and i end up harvesting the motors for other good decks from neighbors.
but next week when i mow again i will be mowing with my sparkplug socket in my pocket ready to go to check spark, if it stalls again.