Recent content by bertsmobile1

IS the PTO a tight fit on the shaft ? US engines are in 1/8" incriments EU engines are metric and not exactly the same diameter So you may have been sold an EU metric clutch or even worse , one designed to power a Ditch Withch, Kanga or other earth moving machine where the PTO just powers a...

The whole point of unmoderated open public forums is that people can express opinions without interfearence , bias or prejudice from the forum owners. What is posted should always be taken at face value and judged on the strength of the arguement, not who is presenting it . I and every other...

Because Briggs buy their alternator stators in, they have so many it is not funny They use a colour coding system applied to the wires and the plugs So we know you have yellow wires what we need to know is the colour & shape of the plug that the wires from the stator go into . After that the...

Did you smell burning rubber as well ?

The faster the blade spins the better the cut

Always a problem working from text & images when the exact sequence of things is not stated. And I have seen Victas come in with the thank fallen 1/2 off. 2 out of the 3 mounting bolts missing & the customers swear blind it has run perfectly till last whenever. Pulling the mwer apart. I find the...

The only cross I trust is the Gates interchange site They used to list all of the applications for each belt but apparently dissabled this to make it harder for back yard ebay/amazon vendors to pretend they know what the are selling . A 4L belt length will be slightly smaller than an equivalent...

All that the PRIMER bulb does is PURGE the carburettor fuel system of air It is the equivalent of filling up the float bowl on a normal carb. It does not make the mixture richer or squirt fuel directly into the engine . So some where between the metering chamber ( Float bowl equivalent ) and the...

YEp. When they get old & start to slip I used to tip the old oil out & go one thicker I can do it down here in OZ cause it dos not snow so no need for very low viscosity oil Old leaky ( intenally ) K46 can run for quite a while when upped from the 10W 40 JD uses to 20W 50 . If yu fit a new pump...

Don't know. I have never tried it But degreaser & brake cleaner definately won't

Spray some degreaser into the clutch or some brake cleaner into the clutch, between the plates. Usually oil does not worry them

When I service a fully sealed tranny and do not change the pump / motor unit ( down here they are $ 800 - $ 1000 , about 1/2 the new box price ) I went up to the next highest base viscosity So I would advise to go to 10W 50 for your old box .

Does make a difference THe closer the coil is the earlier it will fire The further away the latter it will fire. The closer it is the higher the voltage the further away the weaker the spark While the spark strength is not normally a problem it can make starting difficult . I used to fit a lot...

This is exactly why I kept on recommending using patch cords to bypass switches and if necessary bypass wiring between switches . Stens stand by their products when bought from an authorised dealer and down here have always been very grateful when I found a defective product so send the duff...

Check the valve lash. They could be just far enough out of specs to give grief when hot . A valve guide could be loose OT the coil may have an internal break in the wire which just touches when cold You could also have a problem with the kill wire So take the blower housing off, remove the kill...

As luck would have it an oil pump came with the business. When Allpower ( stens distributor ) went down the toilet they sold off the stock really cheaply so I bought 10 more and sold all of them within a month to motorcycle riding mates with Pommie bikes. As for all of the PIA supposedly...

I would not like to jump to any quick conclusions. JD sell thousands of them each season & if there was a factory fault there would be another person here with the same problem on a daily basis . As was requested of Jeff909907 back in May . IF you want us to help you we nee to see the broken...

Did you loosen the tank mounting bolt yourself before you took the photo, or have you been mowing with a loose tank for so long that the governor rod has worn thin & broken. ?

Yes the wire that goes to the coil is a ground wire so the timing chip inside the coil is now burned to a crisp. If it is an 18 Hp Briggs then the engine number should start with a 35 through to a 44 The serial number could start with 10 which makes it a 2010 model.

Usually this is because the brakes are trying to stop the pulleys while the belt is still trying to drive them One foot on a bake the other on the accelerator doesn't make for a smooth ride. Worn beake pads ans loose bearings also give rise to similar vibrations.

Congratulation First time I have ever seen a broken diff Easy drop in parts but check the cylinder chest on both the pump & motor for gouges made by the shrapnel. If the magnets have been ding their job it should be fine. Otherwise Mulligans seem to be the best people for tranny parts

And double check the insulator between the fixed and moving arm on the points. More than one cheap set had the insulator missing or had a steel washer in there .

As the solenoid is not throwing out the starter pinion the obvious culprit is a short at the starter

Way too lean So you either have a blown gasket ( both sides ) or sticking valves ( both sides ) or a loose manifold

If you can rebuild a Lycoming and it flies, literally , then a mower engine will not cause you any grief, other than by worrying about the massive clearances and lack thrust protection & bearings . If it is a B & S then it will be dirt cheap as B &S parts are too cheap ( When you can get them )...

Always much better to test by bypassing than reading numbers which few actually understand and can be a sign of several different problems. Directly by passing the entire mowers electrical system with jumpers as you finally did is unequovial and generally faster . If the starter does not turn...

Simple test. Run a jumper from the battery - to the drain bolt or to the starter motor mounting bolt If the solenoid fire up & mower spins then the main ground cable is either corroded internally or has a bad connection If still no joy then ground the body of the solenoid on the top photo type...

Good place to start is to pull the engine apart first & see what is wrong . Then you can make an informed decison on your options. Most mower shops will not take it on because the labour cost is 3 to 6 hours and no one wants to pay that sort of money. Honda engines are substantially better made...

The quick & dirty test is to start the engine on carb cleaner sprayed into the carb. If you can keep it running for a minute or so with continual SHORT shots down the carb then the solenoid becomes the No 1 suspect.

IT is expensive take it out then ground it out the engine if it has a single wire . Turn the key on & off while watching it dance . If no tango give it a good spray with carb cleaner and work the plunger in & our with regular resprays to flush the goo out It is an EPA requirement that will not...

Or a loose spark plug or a loose muffler or the breather fallen off ( a bit harsh for that ) Pull the spark plug take photo & post . Blown head gaskets externally generally cause a lean burn so the plugs are near white

IF there is a spark and it wont fire with your favoutire startig goop down the plug hole then either the valves are no opening or the timing key in the flywheel is sheared and it is out of time.

Thanks for the close out and well done.

Excellent While worn switches should be replaced, you can put a small self tapper into the end of the plunger to make it depress that little bit more.

If you post the engine make and full serial number that will help to narrow down things. If the tag is still there but faded to the point you can not read it. take several photos of the tag at different angles Then drop the images into a photo editing app and play with the contrast A digital...

The seat switch Take it out of the seat & tie it down with some cable ties . Some Hoppers came with a delay to desensatize the seat switch

Only one thing more mind numbingly boring than cat videos Other peoples baby photos with silly captions

Thgere are 2 sets of safety circuits on most ride ons . One prevents the engine from cranking unless the brake is on & the PTO is off . This bit is common to allof them. After that some also require the transmission to be in the neutral position & / or the driver to be in the seat . No matter...

LT 1500 means nothing to a technican . Your mower could have been made by Murray, MTD, Husqvarna if recient and a dozen others if it is a bit older. We need the numbers off the sticker under the seat to give you detailed instructions You tested all these things ,,,,HOW ? If the starter motor...

No The diff allows the wheels to turn in opposite directions Clean the outside thoroughly I am a bit anal but I degrease, then soda blast then pressure wash then blow dry . Once dry prize off the FLAT rubber cup carefully tip it upside down and leave it a full day to drain Tuff Torque used to...

On the end of the axles is a spline with a gear. So you may have stripped one of those. The tranny is no a mower part so you will have to chase up them for tranny parts. Should be a sticker both sides rear on the tranny with the maker & model number . Probably a K 46 I gather this was a mower...

That is quite an old mower so the shift linkages are quite worn This is allowing it to only partially select drive which when put under excess stress allows the gear to drop out. So yes, fix the brake . There is no easy fix other than to pull the selector shafts out & replacing the worn parts if...

It is available from the link posted in my post # 2 from Sept 4 Right now Plano's web page is down . A lot of pages are down at the moment probably due to Covid related staffing issues . The deck is considered to be an item all by itself. It should have a part & serial number on it some where (...

It CAN be a lot of things bu I have no intention of posting 1/2 a service manual on the forum. This is particularly the case when 99% of the time the posted only gives us 10% of the story to work with . So time for the whole story put your chair in front of a table with a desk lamp shining into...

Remove the belts then remove the spark plug Try rotating the engine backwards & forwards If you can not then pull the rocker cover off. A sudden abrupt stop can cause a pushrod to jump off the rocker, fall into the engine and jamb it. It can do a lot more damage, buts lets be hopeful for now.

The mower does not care what is on the end of the PTO shaft , There are only 2 important things 1) It is balanced end to end and left to right , although it is the end to end that is critical 2) it is tight on the shaft After that you can fit any thing you like. The down side is the deck is...

So do I But easy things first

In that case look at the safety switches. Particularly an oil level switch if it has one. After that the reverse switch would be prime culprit Check that the transmission is still bolted up solid. Some times a seat switch can do the same thing If you have an electric clutch check the battery...

Things that cause this Burned belt Belt missing chunks Broken clutch spring Frozen idler pulley Collapsed idler pulley bearing Belt off rear pulley All of these need the deck to be removed and your eyes under there

Looks like I was wrong on this one The manual is called "Masport Rotary Mowers Servicing Manual " and some very nice person has uploaded to Manuals library . A little more complicated than I was remembering but basically the same. 'Heed the warning about draining the oil & fuel before you start...

Because they see it 20 times a day. The bag is there to catch the fresh wet grass clippings and is designed for that . Pulling up very thin long & light previously mowed dead grass clippings is a different matter We have swing back blades down here and the Hondas come with a 4 blade carrier ...

Take the spark plug out and see if you can rotate the engine by hand Either by pressing down on the debris scree or with a wrench on the bolt under the pulley

The bigger worry is why they have not rotted down to compost like they are supposed to do. Also they are very long which suggests that you are cutting too much grass off for effective mulching

The single blade ( Ex-Dixon ) design is not too bad but the twin blade deck is too shallow front back so the tension arm is too far forward causing the belt to run against itself . Then there is not enough stabilization of the deck fore / aft so you get violent belt snatching and the belt run is...

How does it stop ? Dead like you turned it off ( suggests electrical problem ) Splutters a bit like running out of fuel ( suggests exactly that )

Down here they are the RZ series from the RZ3016 through to the RZ4219 BF / 966582201 . After that they get electric PTO's

There are some Toros ( I think ) that use a common relay for cranking and for killing which is why I asked about a relay . I had a similar fault because this relay had failed and it caught me out because both trigger connections were used and they switched functions once the cranking stopped.

So you and I will just have to disagree. Viscosity , like a lot of other so called properties is a method of testing & comparing , not a measure of how the oil behaves in service. It is simply a time measuremant for a fixed quantity of oil at a fixed temperature to pass through a funnel which is...

I really try to avoid working on big box ZTR.s had nothing but trouble with a couple of craftsmans Got a customer with the biggest piece of trash Husqvarna with a manual PTO that eats 2 belts a season. I do hae a few JD EZ series and they tend to restore ones faith and a few of the steering...

I will not argue that if you are substantially modifing the engine then the original oil might not work as it should and the crank can end up becoming an effective slinger preventing the oil entering the passageway it was designed to flow through. But modifing a low power slow reving engine into...

The worst non cracked one I had come in was an engine that would not crank. The owner had changed the starter, solenoid & battery It would not crank because one bolt had backed out into the flywheel, ground most of the head off then bent far enough to prevent the flywheel rotating . Oddly...

Congratulations now you have made my brain hurt to. First question Have your tried it with the safety switches jumped on the orange & yellow open like I asked ? Second is the seat switch a simple 2 pin switch as shown in the diagram ? Third question is there a relay installed on the yellow wire...

Is it a single + trigger wire solenoid or a 2 wire (+ & - )

Learn some thing new every day Thank you

No where Masport print no manuals apart from IPL's and they are not made available to the public . I probably have done one but cant place it right now . From memory they put a full cover on so the blade carrier has to come off then the rear axel is rolled forward and the belt slipped over the...

Logert. On the web all people should be equal and anything posted should be considered opinion . That being the case when one needs to make a point one has to explain how they arrived at the point. This then allows skepitcs & dissenters the oppertunity to check what has been printed and come to...

And just a side note No Cubs down here fitted with defective Kohlers that I have ever heard of , just Husqvarna's and in that case the mowers came with either a Kohler ( YTH 4219K ) or a Briggs . And I too have a Kohler powered mower. It came from a customer who bought it from a cricket club...

No body has said there were no problems with the courage singe which became apparent after a considerable amount of time. If Kohler were the devil you like to paint them they would have said "Stiff Cheese, out of warranty go suck eggs " but no they investigated the problem then made good on just...

Reverse switches on a ZTR ?

Lots of reasons why the purge bulb will not fill. If it pops back quickly the suspect a broken fuel line If it does not seem to want to pop back suspect a blocked fuel filter in the tank/ blocked internal fuel filter / stuck check valve

I always love a conspiracy theory being tossed in because some do not take some ones line of arguement hook line & sinker. So yes there were some problems with the engine but Kohler made the effort to rectify them for a very long time after normal warranty had run out. I believe it was 4 years...

Way back in the dim dark ages, I studied Lubricants , cooling & cutting solutions for a 13 week term a part of a diploma course . So while I do not consider myself to be expert in any way shape or form I am always amazed at how passionately people whose only knowledge is what is written on the...

That is what I read it as , Murray & Noma made mowers under contract for other marketing companies , Mower companies & store brands, none of which they owned , as well as for themselves . At one time Noma also made mowers for all of the local brands as did MTD In fact it was not uncommon for...

Seat switch is faulty With the engine off and you in the seat the clutch should engage & dissengage as you push & pull the switch with a resounding klunk . If not check the plug , with some one sitting in the seat . Check both side of the switch as some switch the + side and others switch the -...

Excellent result. Just in time for your end of season service before you put it to bed.

You can not replace an A section belt with a B section belt. It is the same as trying to put a tyre for a 10" diameter hub on a 6" hub . You can only go to a stronger belts ( like Gates Garden Line )

Interesting I was under the impression that Murray was a major manufacturer of mowers for other people. They certainly made ride ons sold under the brands Victa, Rover, Pace , Parklander , Sentenial & some store only brands down here as well as plain Murray . The Murray master parts catalogue...

It puts tension on the front deck belt via a pulley on the left side of the mower & spring with a lifting ring on it. There is an idler on the right side that very rarely goes bad . I have earlier models near 20 years old in my service run and they are still running the original idler. The...

Take the blower housing off and pull the kill wire off Remove the spark plug and check that you get continuity too ground in the off position and open circuit to ground in all other positions including when cranking . If this is not the case then either the kill wire is shorted to ground some...

Doubt that Stanley will do this now when they could have bought the whole shooting match for 8¢ in the dollar last month. Not going to pay KPS 200¢ in the dollar now . Basically B & S as an engine maker is deceased. MTD will not use B & S engines any more for political reasons ( supposedly )...

The engine has a solenoid that shuts down the carb . It is spring loaded off so needs battery voltage to hold it open Engaging the electric PTO with a flat battery causes the voltage to drop and the solenoid to shut down the carb. So for starters you now need a new battery. Find the regulator /...

If the deck is dropping all the way down then the belt is not driving the blades usual reasons in the order I see them are the belt has fallen off the idler pulley, Idler pulley spring has broken fallen off or belt is broken.

Checked the fuse how ? got battery voltage on both sides ? If so check the carb solenoid for voltage when the key is on. No voltage there shows a power failure And of course did you reset all of the controls, brake on, PTO off ? More than once I have been called out for a dead mower only to...

Hopefully the OEM suppliers will now sell into the aftermarket supply chain so we will get bigger range of aftermarket parts . And yes you are 100% correct KPS will want their money back x 10 in a very short period of time but we will not hear about it till after they have sold down. Virtually...

Meters are the opposite to every other tool I use. All of the on site service tools are good quality domestic grade so when I loose one on site, no great financial loss . The Stahlwile , Sidchromes & Dufors stay in the workshop . In the workshop I use test leads with either a buzzer or lamp on...

On the subject of Bunnings , Miter 10 etc. You can take your old battery to one of those shops and try it in the display battery power tools. If they fit & the voltages are the same then they will go in the mower. Battery power tools are the biggest con job ever and a battery start petrol mower...

Not aware that there were electric only models but I don't see many newer mowers The battery pack is that same as used on Victa branded chainsawa , brushcutter & blowers . Victa make none of these things and they will most likely be rebadged Oregon tools as Briggs owns Victa and also bought the...

That is if all f the suppliers who have been stiffed are willing to supply parts and in these times that is a big IF . Hopefully Briggs will see the light and return Murray as a major manufacturer of store branded mowers ,naturally fitted with B & S engines exclusively thus becoming a direct...

Which is why you use Time Machine to restore your system . All Macs have a safe start so you can start them in UNIX then do a restore . This can not be overwritten or modified , it is hard programmed, it allows the machine to be turned on even if there is no hard drive fitted, although obviously...

Scrubbie makes good points I have just started to fit Loncin engines down in place of Briggs because my wholesalers are now stocking Loncin parts so I can fix them . HF will blithely tell "Oh Honda parts will fit " but try asking them what Honda parts do actually fit , other than filters ...

OHV & SV engines wear differently. On OHV engines the valve lash increases thus defeating the decompressor On SV engines the valve lash reduces due to wear on the valve seat so it effectively reduces the valve lash and reduces the compression period. When a SV engine shows signs of lumpy...

Battery is only used to power the starter motor and not needed for the mower to run. So just pull the rope A replacement battery from an alarm shop or electronics shop will be cheaper than the genuine Victa one . Battery from one of the specialists battery shop will be even more expensive.

It is not resolution, which is an instruction to the computer about how to display the photo that needs to be changed. It is they file size and the file format JPEG ( jpg ) is a compact file format sppecifically designed to make files small for the purpose of transport & storeage. IT is almost...

Yes

The big black thing at the back I gather is the mulch plug Isn't the mulch plug supposed to be removed when you are bagging ? Evry mower I have seen down here is set up that way .

SUrging is lean running Your problem sounds like rich running Never assume any new part is good, particularly carburettor Your symptoms co-incide with loose, fallen out or too big a main jet And or too high a float level Also an overly retarded engine can cause symptomes similar to flooding.

It is a bigger problem than many would think Those over 60 were taught why and roughed the numbers because the absolute numerical value is not important . Those under 60 worry about the difference between 1.2Ω and 1.3Ω which in many cases is the pressure on the end of the probe Those under 40...

Forget the multimeter Go back with some jumper leads The fastest & surest way to check battery connections is to bypass them, one at a time with known good jumpers . Start with a battery ground directly to the engine near the starter. Because ZTR wiring is exposed to the elements and in...

There are photo processing app for tablets as well as for computers. So you can do the same thing with your I-pad . While you are using a tablet, the forum is runnin on a mainframe computer, quite a big & powerful one , so you are still using a computer. The problem is the same though. You take...

Insufficient up draft for the type of grass and the length of the clippings Every lawn is different so it is just a matter of finding the combination of blade lift and cut height that works for your lawn. There is no such thing as "the Best Mower" it is a case of the "Right Mower " for your...

Even if you count the hours of sunlight, the sun rise & sun set that are not symetrical nor constant year in year out. They are an invention of man to put order into nature that is not there apart from the equinoxes which from memory also shift around a bit . The point was they are for all...

You have nailed it except for one critical factor The magnet size . There are 2 sizes ( $ if you include Vanguards ) So when you see an alternator listed as 5-10 Amps that is 5 with the small magnets & 10 with the big magnets. All stators are interchangable The other thing to veriify is the...

Basically you got the wrong switch On top of that you are suffering the calculator disease reading numbers that are most likely wrong and thinking they mean something Pull the plug and the switch out. On the back of the switch will be letters like shown here Usually B G M S A L but may be...

Sets are waste of time and carbon steel ones ever a bigger waste of time , money & the resources of the planet To do what you want you will need either a second tap & a bottom tap so there will be no threads down the bottom of the hole . Extreme care is needed as the holes run close to the hole...

Basically Perth to Eden . Naturally the exact places are secret til there is money in the bank but the proposed route was published last year for pre 1945 motorcycles. Spring Summer Autum & Winter are only accurate in a very small lattitude band in Europe and a smaller one in the America's . We...

Same rule for mowers as motorcycle & cars. Rings smoke WORST on accleleration Guides smoke worse on deceleration Smoke on start up is usually leakage into the combustion chamber while the engine is not running .

Down here Rover made several ride ons with push mower engines and a cut up to 28" Stiga in the EU make a ride on with bagger that runs a 140cc Briggs, also sold as Castle Garden & Mountfield Very common for reel mower fitted with a 4 Hp engine to come with a sulky over a 100lb roller back in...

The only country on the planet that decided that swing back blades were too dangerous to use on a mower is the USA The rest of the planet uses swing back blades so when you run over something hard, the cutting tip swigs back harmlessly ( for the mower not necessarily the blade ) out of the way...

And getting back to your previous post. The hone goes into the cylinder stationary it is rotated while moving up & down then turned off squeezed in and pulled out stationary. THis is very important in an alloy bore or as the rotating stone is removed it will chamfer the top of the bore and you...

As Star says I do buckets in the mower belts removed . A very quick job even more so because all the bolts face up so are easy to get at and all of them take a 10mm wrench / socket.

Because Honda use multi grade oil you generally get a little puff of smoke at start up. A lot of kawasakis do the same. Switch to strait 30 and it probably will stop doing it. One reason why Honda's always start so easy & reliably is the thinner oil when cold.

Spring was over a month ago when we got rain. The 4 seasons mean nothing down there. The local Black fellars had 9 for this region, but not for every year . Then what would they know, they have only been here for 80,000 years watching what happens. Obviously an overweight European with a toe in...

Not in the hands of an ameteur . You have to shove it in and pull it out very quickly without allowing it to go too far in or too far out . Getting a good hatch without taking too much material off requires quite a bit experience. Bad enough with iron bores but a disaster with aluminium bores

Workshop is on a friends farm on the rural outskirts of Sydney which is rapidly becoming large rural / residential House is in the mountains . When they changed the format we lost the location which is a problem because every one thinks all participants are in the USA So they advise people in...

On new Briggs with a gravity feed tank fuel can run into the engine if the float fails Fuel of course is not compressable so forcing the pston to compress a liquid will cause some thing to give On electric starts it is generally the head gasket On pull starts it is usually the starter BEcause...

Pull the flywheel bolt and check the timing key. If it won't start with fresh plugs and starter fluid / carb cleaner / fuel directly down the plug hole then either the spark is happening at the wrong time or one of the valves is not working. Usually a bad valve will go bang once and once only...

My commercial customer all use Honda trimmers both GX25 & GX 35 . he only complaint is the weight from those who refuse to wear the shoulder harness . The other thing to watch like a hawk is the oil level. I only fill them with 10W 40 against the recommended 10W 30

In that case you have not made the right connections . If you starter is a piggy back one you have to energise the solenoid to make the pinion throw out And the + connection has to be directly to the starter, not the battery cable .

Take the spark plug out & try again Engine spins freely usually means a failed compression release. Double check it is not bad wiring by hooking up the starter directly to the battery using jumper leads Hook the starter side + first to avoid accidentially shorting out on the engine. IF you...

Carburettor must be dissassembled completely then cleaned completely This may require boiling in a pot of dishwasher solution for a considerable time if you do not have access to an ultrasonic cleaner. Even then some take several hours to come good

It will make 5/8 of SFA difference going to the bigger or smaller tyres The bigger ones will put a little more stress on the drive and make the deck 1/2 higher at the back , so it will need to be leveled The smaller ones will tend to slip more readily , pul less stress on the drive and of course...

compressed air and a very long air duster Leaf blower with a narrow outlet in a pinch Most decks really do not benefit from deck scrubbing If the grass builds up there in use, it will do it the next time and the next time till eventually it gets to a point that the air passage prevents any...

If it starts fine and will happily idle for along time but dies the instant you increase the speed then either the timing is off ( check the fllywheel key ) or the carb is not flowing sufficient fuel. Check the solenoid is opening fully and double check that all passageways in the carb are clear.

I would be about the same price as the Hondas and no one would buy them. The biggest selling push mower dow here was the Victa 18" fited with the power torq 2 stroke engine with over 40% of all sales. Tier II pollution laws were coming in so Victa had NSWIT doing prototypeing of an tier II...

Looks like some one put a fork blade through the top of the crate > Lodge a claim against the carrier.

There is a filter inside the oil tank which may now be blocked by the water Off with the bar & clutch behind the clutch is the pump drive & pump and behind that is the oil pick up line & filter Remember the clutch is left hand hread

That would be good when it is ready & much appreciated Yes the mower is all 1/4" or 1/8" spades and the engines are everything but spades Just rewired the cranking circuit on 4015 Murray ( badged Victa down here ). A South African mob bought the only terminal factory down here decades ago when...

That is because when stone cold which is most of the time the oil strait 30W oil is twice as thick as the 10W 30 so you tend to get more weeping when stationary and more burning on start up But because most synthetics are ashless there is little to no tell tale smoke thus the need to be that...

It is all about brainwashing , cheapness , greed & ignorance . When any consumer item is new , people pay a premium price for it and are happy to do so cause they now have an automatic washing machine or air conditioning etc etc. Because people pay a fair price there is enough profit margin to...

Way back when people would pay a reasonable price for a mower, engines go fired up at the end f the assembly line usually witha light flushing oil about 1/2 full. This got tipped out filtered & reused . All this cost money so if you were too cheap to pay to have it done for you then you got...

Get some jumpers and a good battery ( use your car ) Hook one jumper from the + on the starter motor to the + on the mowers battery Engine should spin If not Try again with a second jumper from the battery - to a spot near the starter ( I use the drain plug ) Engine spins good = bad ground If...

Unless you are using teflon coated or chrome plated rings the bore has to be ROUGH The action of the rings running over the peaks weas the tops off but leaves to rootsThe roots hold the oil that actually makes the seal between the rings & the bore

Every mower, chain saw & tractor shop on the planet. Most keep both mower branded and general oils for mowers Sorry but that rule out Wally , Lowes & most auto stores The latter generally sell mower oils for higher prices than mower shops but people are brainwashed that NAPA will always be cheaper.

he biggest vunerability on a fully mac system is the microsoft applications, like office that run on it After that Java is the next biggest security problem. Problem is people do not set them up properly then do stupid things like click on a pop up window that says it is an automatic upgrade...

A warranty is not a guarantee to work, some thing that many have problems understanding The warranty means that you mower will be free from manufacturing , design , materials , parts & assembly faults As such a carb that has a loose or badly fitting butterfly, a auto choke that fails etc is a...

yes

From the top Just tie the unused wires out of the way Tape them over it ti makes you feel happy The grey wire will be battery voltage whenever the ignition is on so you do not want it shorting to the mower The stator in the photo is the diode rectified and the bottom end product so stick it in...

Sounds like an obstruction in the idle circuit to me causing surging So back off withthe carb and pay strict attention to the idle passages, both fuel & air .

Why they use round pin plugs on the main engine connector and flat pin plugs everywhere else has always mystified me . But I have a couple of flat pin crimpers so have no problems swapping over plugs. I did try to get my hands on a B & S and a Tecmseh grab box of connectors & interchange...

Just leave the plug empty You could wrap it if it worries you .

Change the drive belt If that makes no difference change the oil If that makes no difference then rebuild time Hydros have a very finite life.

Basically the same as the others I bought a 50 piece trade pack of the Briggs red's & whites when I stared 7 years ago and really only put them on walk behinds. Probably got 2/3 still left Bought a couple of 50 packs of the same filter shown next to it but with barbs on it and it is my go to for...

GEt some paper tape Pull the blower housing off and label every wire both sides of the plug. From there is it up to you I buy std 1/4" spade terminal plugs and rewire both engine & mower Remember the alternator needs a seperate plug which in turn plugs into the main mower plug Remove the kill...

Nup, Just good old gravity and vibrations.

If they are not through bolts then they are special self tappers unique to lawnmowers. Otherwise 3/8 UNC

Depends which particular alternator you have. If it has a rectifier then just the same as a car except you also need to check the DC recharge wire to ground for AC Voltage signaling a rectifier failure If you have the older diode system then you need to test is for forward & backward continuity

Way back, the landlord had 2 2000series Cubs ( runs 5 now ) One had a hood & one did not The one with the hood would run 1/2 hour to an hour then peter out till it got cold then it would be fine for another 1/2 to 1 hour. The one with no hood would run all day so we naturally looked at...

Take the board to an electronics repair workshop Work out what the full shooting match would cost you then ask them if it can be repaired for less than 1/3 to 1/2 the work around costs . If you have trouble finding one search circuit board repairs . Lots of techs out there repairing obsolete...

It is always the drivers fault Grass changes during the season and you have to change the way you turn to compensate for it .

It is just a production variation thing No 2 parts are ever identical so on some the holes for the jets will be a tiny fraction bigger , and we are talking microns here not thou Put them together with a O ring that is a couple of micron smaller and you have falling jets . Some can get pushed...

Being a side banger oil can only get into the cylinder 2 ways without major damage 1) past the oil scraper ring 2) down the inlet valve guide neither will be apparent from the crankcase After that here is a crack in the cylinder, moving valve guide , hole in piston and via the crankcase...

I have one cut in half length wise to show where the outlet is and how you get air trapped in the end. When fitting them vertical I fit them back to front Even then some twats argue that they can no work backwards One way paper ? I bought a gross of the Isreali duel sized ones so it will be a...

Ring in bore backlit Ring is always round so any where that is not round will show light under the ring. Essential for detecting pincushioning from bad boring practice.

Low grade for engine oil Perfect for heavy loads like crash gearboxes train gears, mining equipment etc. Disaster for any box with syncro cones

It is all about data mining and advertising from click bait As luck would have it I bought a Mac because my customers used them so I could pirate their really good A2 laser printer . One of the best decisions I ever made . Run an old one under Red Hat Linux , a not so old one under Debenam Linux...

From memory you need to be approved ( check that your are a real person ) then verrified from the email address supplied it took a couple of days

That is the sort of sound a pebble in the alternator makes , a broken magnet ( caused by said same pebble ) makes or a bit of stick stuck in the fan makes Do as Fish says Remove the flywheel if you do not see debris trapped inside the blower housing to check the alternator magnets DO not run the...

As no one has pot an answer to your other post would you be kind enough to go back to it and in the lower right corner there are 3 green words Report - Edit - Delete Hit the delete button to remove the thread In the previous post I forgot to mention, a piece of tissue ear the end of the impulse...

This is a classic debris blocking the tank outlet problem or vacuum lock First try to mow with the fuel cap loose so it can suck air down the threads but not slosh out fuel. If that does not work, when the mower stops pull the fuel line off at the pump & blow back up the line a good few lung...

Double ditto on Fish's post If the valve was bent there would be 0 compression and you would get gusts of air blasting back out of the carb If the valve is bent it will appear to wobble when rotated The valve has to be square on to the valve seat so it can seal , nothing else matters.

Firstly the impulse signal on a twin is a lot less than the impulse signal on a twin Twin tank set ups are known for debris getting clogged at the tap. So get some sort of spare tank, pinch it off your push mower if you have to . When the mower cuts out slip the alternative tank onto the pump...

Glad to hear business is going well, hope it stays that way

Set the valve lash to 0.030" and see what compression you get In operation the valve is supposed to rotate so bending is not going to be a good idea The only engines where the valve is square on to the head are side valves

You mean like British cars & motorcycles from 1945 through to 1980 ?

You don't move the transmission pulley or you will start to eat belts The std PTO shaft is a touch over 3" long so usually the Transmission pulley is over the PTO shaft but the drive pulley hangs past the end. You will of course need a much longer bolt . Most repair shops , as opposed to big...

The cam has a decompressor built into it. The starters are quite weak to protect the con rod So if the lash is too big the decompression does not work and the engine stops cranking at full compression

How did you go with manually opening the throttle slowly till it faultered ? You are really only left with things like a leak around the inlet guide or a cracked head

Stuck inlet valve , loose inlet valve seat are the first things that come to mind.

Adjust the valve lash to the minimum size of the spec ( they will be in MM not inches ) . If still no joy then new cam time.

Varies mower to mowe but most only have a 2" hole for the PTO shaft and 4" to 6" pulleys Flywheel can stay on but pulleys usually have to come off. In any case they have to come off in order to get the sump off but it is a lot easier to remove if not in the mower

It never fails to amaze me the greedy mark ups that make people look for alternatives If the factory sold to the wholesaler for the same price & they put a 100% mark up then they would be $ 4 / kit + tax, $ 5 if you add a freight fee .Then the dealer could do a 100 % mark up which would make...

Spend $ 15 on a red in line spark tester. Hook it up to the mower then go mow ( won't hurt the mower ) When the mower starts to die , watch the tester . If it continues to flash till the mower stops then the coil is fine & you have a fuel problem If it stops flashing well before the engine stops...

Jim. don't bother trying to make a double pulley. Mower wreckers and small repair shops like mine will have boxes full of them An older cast iron one will serve you better if you do not want to use an electric clutch . If you want to go the whole hog on speeds then slip a stepped pulley in...

Problem is India is an ex-Commonwealth country so they use the British system of inside measurements as we do in Aust . Roughly M & A section belts are 2" shorter inside and B's are 3" So Joe Sells Cheap finds a cheap supplier of belts in India and orders 1000 A 100's but he get 1000 A 98 (USA)...

I know Stihl own Zama but when the factory moved to China they became a part owner of the factory No one from the West can set up in China without a local business owning 50 % which of course keeps a good amount of the profits in China & prevents it becoming a slave economy . CTS is to old Zama...

What is Microsoft ?

After that slip the rocker cover off & check the valve lash.

Pix are reasonable quality about 1/2 a Gates Down side is they try to foister std A & B section belts are direct replacements for 4L & 5L which they are not Stens is also guilty of doing the same for some belts Rotary are always exactly correct and in a lot of cases they are Gates rebranded ...

If you don't change the oil every season then all of your work and money will be wasted . Eating high protien suppliments and vitamin tablets , all good things will not make you live one day longer. Putting avgas in your car won't make it run any better. However it is your mower so if traveling...

Doubling up on what Hammer has just said. Very first test is to pull the fuel line off the carb and see if the tank will hold 5 to 10 PSI, Most don't because the fuel lines are leaking where they pass through the tank or the carb check valve in the purge bulb is faulty Slip the return line off...

The hardest part is getting the engine pulley off to get the engine out of the mower. Expect to break an exhaust bolt . The only trick is setting end float which is done by varying the number of gaskets .

There is a standing joke down here about snakes Q: What should a wife do when she sees a snake ? A : Pull a 50 out of her wallet and ask hubby to go get a slab of beer Reason 80% of all snake bites are to the right arm of a man who was attempting to kill said snake 5% are to the left hand (...

Hope it goes well Which brand of belt did they supply ? There is a massive difference in mower belts and lots of cheap belts are exactly that , cheap belts made for the purpose of practicing belt replacement . Some belts are easier than others to replace but none are impossible . I found...

Drain port sizes are standard so any aftermarket drain extended will work If you have a Toro branded engine the it might be metric not Unified . As for the filter, it is a lawnmower not a Nascar top fuler. What is far more important is changing the oil every season, the filter is almost...

Nope an old ring is fine The very bottom of the bore will not be worn so you measure the gap in say 1/2 incriments to the bottom of the bore The gap should get smaller the closer to the bottom you get and the last 2 should be the same Now google "Ring Gap to Bore wear conversion " Lots of...

If it is a real screw on ball joint then it will be a standard engineering part. So measure the thread on the rod and on the bolt then check engineering supply companies . here is probably a cheaper one to be found but again for $ 30 not worth the hours spend trying to find one. Mcmaster & Carr...

On a lot of clutches the PTO switch is on the ground side of the clutch not on the power side It confuses a lot of people who find the concept of ground switching unreal

Sounds very much like the main jet has fallen out / come loose Or a valve seat has come loose

Well it is the sort of age that I seem to be specializing in but not a mower I am familiar with . Westwood were a UK brand so we did get some down here. All you need to do is get a double engine pulley. Then decide if you want to muck around with some levers & pulleys to clutch the collector or...

Can't help with the Billy Goat as I have no idea what engine is in there. As for the photos, Computers read phone files in a different way to phones Most phones use RAW format for the file and that makes the computer see it about 10 times bigger than it is he trick is to download the photos to...

If the battery has been run dead flat from a tiny draw item like the fuel solenoid or the hour meter it can take a very long time before the battery will take any chgarge . Automatic chargers will not recharge a battery that is totally flat Some times old manual ones will, the ones with...

When chasing up service information & parts for a concrete saw, I emailed Walbro as I could not find even genuine Walbro parts for it. The reply floored me. Husqvarna paid for the developement of the carb so they owned the IP for it and even Walbro were not allowed to make the carb or any part...

Resistance reading on battery cables are meaningless. That is why I went to the effort to ask you to use jumper leads More than once I have found a battery cable that was in several pieces Just 1 strand of wire .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001" diameter will give...

Cut the grass higher 2" to 5" is recommended and 4" to5" if you are ina dry region and do not have the time or water to soak the grass at least twice a week in high summer.

Most likely but not exclusively it could be floating debris in the fuel tank getting sucked into the outlet blocking it off. Next time it happens pull the fuel line from the item closest to the fuel tank and blowback hard through the tank. Problem goes away for another 20 minutes or so = trash...

Water will sit in the bottom of the float bowl, just below he main jet height for a surprisingly long time if you don't remove the bowl & drain it out.

It is there scrubby Take some photos of the tag in good strong sunlight Then open a COPY of each photo in your favourite photo editor. Play with the contrast settings and the numbers will jump out & bite you You may need to get some from different photos The dark area will respond better to...

I am no expert on B &S engines but very few of them have no decompression at all. Older engines had a funny cam grind & decompressed out of the exhaust . Start by jumping directly to the starter both with a ground & power cable. Been sitting out in the open could have internally rotted cables or...

No need to flood the forum with the same question It was already answered here

They are not independent . They are all joined together , usually at the PTO switch if you have electric PTO Otherwise the brake switch is a double switch The brake & seat are tied together so you can get off engine running and brake on to do things like mover trash & open gates But without the...

When it pays up, remove the fuel cap, pull the fuel line off as close to the tank as you can ( must be after the pump because it has a one way valve in it ) then blow as hard as you can down the fuel line. Problem goes away = debris in the fuel tank. Difficult for a workshop to diagnose because...

Depends upon the accuracy needed and the diameter of the bore For mowers , a good deep jawed vernier gauge will usually suffice if the block is apart. People get hung up on numbers what is important is the difference end to end , called taper & top to bottom ( on a vert shaft ) which is ovality...

Proper manuals cost a large amount of money to produce . Ever wondered why JD's are that bit more expensive ? The 917 prefix identifies Roper as the supplier Roper use AYP ( Husqvarna ) as their manufacturer so it will be done the same way Set the parking brake to get slack in the belt Remove...

The air cleaner is usually an engine part not a mower part So the obvious question is what motor is in there As for Face Book, stay of it period . Your life will be much better without it.,

Depends upon how deep your pockets are, how much free time you have & if you enjoy fixing things I would start with a leak down test , see this thread to confirm a blown head gasket. I would also dissassemble the breather valve and check it is working properly and not stuck And i would also...

As a rider of vintage , veteran & classic motorcycles, it is something I say almost daily. What oil you put in is no where near as important as the stuff you just took out and the frequency of doing it . Mower oils should be changed annually , at the end of the season after the last mow. You...

There is no number and generally plain compression tests are not done because they will vary according to the amount of valve lash The tighter the clearance the longer the decompressor holds the valve open for so the lower the compression reading. Kawasaki usually quote 65 to 95 A leak down...

That is a blown head gasket over pressurizing the crankcase Loosen the dip stick & it should not happen Could also be a a blocked crank case vent valve

First of all an appology, I got confused You had it right from the start. So that leaves a belt that is too long. It should be a gates 6606BR or equivalent which is a 5L belt 91.125" long ( outside measurement ) . Stens & Pix both sell a B section ( 5/8" wide belt ) for this application which is...

If the brake is external to the transmission then the brake is adjusted by turning the NUT in the center of the brake caliper. The adjustment on the brake rod that connects the clutch & brake is for balancing the action of the clutch & the brake so they are not working against each other.

There are two individual circuits that are not connected The cranking circuit and the ignition circuit The cranking circuit is a power circuit, connecting the battery to some thing The ignition circuit is a ground circuit and connects the magneto to ground which prevents it sparking . Where the...

Looks like you have the belt run wrong The other side goes through the clutching pulleys

Only if they have the same PTO shaft diameter & length. After that you have the muffler problem. They are part of the mower not the engine so you may have to get a bespoke one made.

That will be where the mystery green wire goes to Pull the plug and have a close look at the wire end and see if there are signs of a wire having been there

How & where did you adjust the brake ?

Pull the spark plugs off one at a time If the machine does not run exactly the same on either the left or right then you have a dead cylinder. It could be as simple as the valve lash being out of spec on one side. The rocker Support on these engines is a bit too on the frail side for my liking...

Yep, 2.5's or even 2's will do you fine , 3's will be too long .

In order not to slide each wheel must be turning at the correct speed for the arc it is traveling on. It is a lot trickier to do than most think and you must be driving on both wheels. Similar to turn on the spot without tearing up your grass both wheels have to be turning AT EXACTLY THE SAME...

Try to rock the blades see-saw style Any movement what so ever = new spindle bearing time or even worse, new spindle housing time if the housing is cracked around one of the mounting bolts or deck welding time, if it is a older deck and the deck is cracking around the spindle housings. If none...

d = diameter of the bolt so for an 8mm head bolt 3D = 24 mm Getting a 3D insert in is a lot more difficult that many would believe It has to be shorter than the threaded section of the original hole by 1 thread top & bottom ( if hole is through ). I mostly use 1.5's and 2's on push mower head bolts

Absolutely nothing wrong with your testing, in fact I would give you a very well done for it. Problem comes when people extrapolate the results to their own enviroment . We have compulsory seat belt wearing down here . I ran a small local delivery company using vans so the last thing I wanted...

Rule of thumb Std bolts get a std insert which is 1 diameter Medium strength bolts use 1.5 d High tensile bolts get 2 D When used in alloy go up one lenght .

The point is if I did the exact same testing here there is a better than average chance that my results would be different to yours The same tests done in Texas would give different results to being done in Alaska . I am at one with you, most of the goos are the proverbial snake oil . But the...

Dose it have a 2 pin seat switch or a 4 pin seat switch ? If it is a 4 pin the you are missing a complete wire A photo of the seat switch plug would be handy The new switch has a shorting link inside the plug to prevent You toob watchers unplugging or shorting out the seat switch to bypass it...

Thanks

Easy to be misled when you are in uncharted waters and as Zappa wrote Wisedom is the domain of the Wise A mythical creature long since extinct. I was trained in science so try not repeat anything unless I know it to be correct

If a blade is hitting something then the end of the tips will have polish marks where they are hitting Otherwise the only polished spots should be the cutting edge and the bend in the flute.

If you are an insurance salesman then they are great If you are a customer they are a fraud, all of the extended warranty are frauds not just Home Depot . Just a sneaky way to increase the retail price . If it don't break in the first few months then it is not a manufacturing defect so not covered.

Nice piece of work and thank you for sharing. Down side it is meaningless for any one else but you and the fuel you were using. There are so many factors that affect fuel quality that blanket testing like you have done is irrelevant . Factors include the age of the fuel you used before you got...

Take the blower housing off & start the engine Hold the governor link or arm which ever you can get to in a fixed position then slowly move it to speed the engine up If it runs fine then starts to miss & dies then turn it off and allow the engine to cool . Get a trigger sprayer or pump up bottle...

Engine make & model number please Won't start " Does not crank ? Cranks really slowly ? Cranks normally but does not fire ? Fires occasionally but does not continue to run ?

You get some one to sit on the mower and engage/ dissengage the belt while you watch what is happening from the left side . Do it over concrete / asphelt from the left side. If you are alone then set up a camera on some bricks & video it . I use a Go-Pro clamped to the side of the mower ...

While they keep the sticks & stones out , the vent in the cap will let dust in because it is not filtered. Then there is the problem of making sure there is no debri near the filler cap when refuling or on yout hands or cloths

I learned years ago not to trust numbers So I do as Walt suggested, break out the jumper cables to test the starter using a known good battery, then the mowers battery , then each battery cable . Too easy to get caught out with a surfaced charged battery with no actual power because all of the...

Because I too have to find these things, where did you dig that up from. I trolled through the 2010 belt catalogue but could not find a 36 "tractor built after the 90's

It comes back the profit to equity ratio. A totally meaningless measurement to a business but one that is used by managers to justify big bonuses

That indicates that the belt is a little too long and the pulleys are out of alignment . Once a belt has flipped then it is trash as it damages the fiber reinforcement . Try babying a 68 in a plain belt ( to save money ) for a while to see if it flips as well. If not then get a proper kevlar one...

A lot of what is in the web is out of date as things move very quickly It has always been a problem that nothing has a creation date so you have no idea if it is current or 20 years old unless there is a date in the text. Briggs are now bankrupt for instance. They are considering flogging off...

Sounds lke the auto choke is slightly out of wack so it is staying on for too long . Pull the air filter off and watch what the choke butterfly is doing when the engine speed drops & then increases You should be able to tweak it by bending the linkages.

You can take the switch out and screw a small self tapper into the end of the plunger to give it a bit more travel. Eventually the contact wear / burn away but I do this regularly, particularly to Murrays with clip in switches rather than the bolt on ones.

Actually the frame is identical to the frame used by AYP right down to all of the holes that have nothing in them and lots of AYP parts will also interchange with JD . It is previously stated, Most mower factories are just assembly plants putting a lot of bought in parts together to make a...

This is going to be difficult because the H4212 was never fitted with a 36" deck In fact very few Simplicity tractor mowers were fitted with a 36 " deck. I have a horrid feeling that some has retrofitted the current 36" deck from the ZTR range to an old tractor

On occasions I have resorted to heating up the reverse pedal and bending it up. I have also welded some extra length to the reverse then refitting the rubber boot and make a new bolt hole

When you were setting the valve lash did you check for the ACR bump on the inlet cam ? If not then the cam shaft is toast The fact that it is running too fast sort of confirms this as the broke bits of the ACR on the cam can get wedged into the governor or even break it. The 31 series seem to...

yes the wheels are toed in. They are geared so unlike a normal rider they can not be misaligned because a drag link gets bent And the gear is quite coarse so if it was out a tooth they would be pigeon toed big time. Your car wheels are also toed in slightly. It helps with the return of the...

Because I answered the first posting then when checking the forum this morning wondered why my reply that was there yesterday is not there today . Thus I either have to write the reply again or go back through my posts to se if it was a actually posted or check the OP/s threads to see if it is a...

When sites get rewritten companies often delete obsolete models. However most will happily sent you a PDF . They are just living in the past when web server space was expensive so priority is given to lush full colour adds & brochures. It is dirt cheap now days to run your own web server for...

The reverse switch itself is generally on the transmission near the control linkages. On occasions when replacing a tranny I have forgotten to plug it back in . This went unnoticed till it was drawn to my attention that the blades / engine did not cut out when reversing.

A bouncing pedal happens because something is applying & releasing tension to the belt. This can be a lump of debris stuck in the V of a pulley, a pulley with a flat spot or a duff bearing. An old belt with a chunck out of it can also cause pedal bounce. so that should not be your problem . If...

You can do it Not difficult Hardest part is removing the engine pulley . Kawasaki manuals are availible on line as a free download. Pars seem to be in short supply right now

Email Simplicity and ask them for a copy of your wiring diagram Make sure you include the model & serial numbers off the id tag on the mower When you get it post a copy to the forum & we can help you to connect it properly Nearly all of the connections are ground wires that end up at the coil...

Sorry to hear of your injuries and yes ride quality should be included but it would be highly subjective I think my rigid motorcycles ride excellently where as owners of very softly sprung bikes call it unrideable.

And just to be different , I see a lot of fuel tanks blocked by floating debris that floats away when the engine is turned off . And yes like Walt, I like to do substitutions like using an alternative tank to isolate where a problem is

No as there is no need to if you are aware of it co you can work around it . He is 50' higher than me , on the side of a hill that is heavily treed . We both raise seedlings ans swap them between us. His always fruit earlier than than mine but mine grow bigger fruit & fruit for longer. Then...

Bijiminy mentioned replacing the solenoid in post 24 I do try to keep answers relevant . The solenoid is an EPA requirement to keep engines within Cal emission regulations and not emitt any unburned fuel into the atmosphere. If you throttle down for 30 sec before shut down there is no after fire...

And Again I say Weather you have these sorts of carb problems is very dependent upon a stack of variables. My workshop is 400 yards from the landlord My fuel will be fine in a tank for several months His goes off in a couple of weeks. Same fuel from the same pump, different microclimate . For...

The fuel shut off solenoid does not shut off the fuel. It was not needed from day 1 It just jambs a ram into the main jet to stop the fuel entering the main jet & feeding the engine. However it does not stop the fuel over flowing into the engine if he float valve fails . Some clot with poo...

You were told rubbish JD has them filled with 10W 30 so they will work anywhere in the country from the frozen north to the desert south. The usual oil is 20w40 for a new box and 20w50 for an old one, both fully synthetic . Over time the addatives that make a multi grade oil multigrade break...

The base of the engine needs to be around 30 deg to the horrizontal . The oil level is just below the sump gasket

Weather you have these sorts of carb problems is very dependent upon a stack of variables. My workshop is 400 yards from the landlord My fuel will be fine in a tank for several months His goes off in a couple of weeks. Same fuel from the same pump, different microclimate .

Yes Usually too much fuel will cause black smoke ( like running a hot engine with the choke on ) . But way too much fuel dilutes the oil & washes it of the cylinder walls causing it to burn Oil moke is more dense than fuel smoke so the white obscures the black. Regardless, it needs to be fixed...

Short answer is no . Mowers get cheaper in real terms ( hours worked o pay fr them ) each & every year so a new mower would be lucky to be 80% as good as it's equivalent from 10 years ago.

How long it is in the engine is far more important than what is put in engine. Don't be swayed by all the BS you see about the "Magical" properties of synthetics. Runing a more expensive higher grade of oil in the engine will make no difference & cost more money. They are slow reving lawn mower...

After 15 years there will be a stack of debris in your fuel tank. When grass clippings get in there the petrol replaces the water in the clippings so they are almost the same density so the fuel so they float till you start to draw fuel when they get sucked into the fuel outlet and partially...

Adjust the valve lash clean the carb & replace the fuel filter

Start by going to outdoor power Equipment and look at how to properly clean the carb you have

And in the same vane because I am an Ozzie & we speak our minds plain & direct . You are dreaming . For that cash you should be able to get a second hand commercial ZTR with a fabricated deck that should be able to fit your requirements but nothing made new today for that money is worth buying...

The flywheel is on a taper so needs to be jolted off. Most use a pry bar under the flywheel anywhere but under the magnets then while prying the flywheel up strike the loosened flywheel bolt. I use an air hammer and some timber wedges now days \Otherwise any 3 jaw puller will substitute for the...

Either the key is sheared or the valve is remaining open when the engine fires Both valves are he same length so should have been at identical heights when both are closed

double check that the bypass valve is not still in the push position.

Push mowers, trip the handles then stand them up on their bum Most will actually stand up like that without any support. For ride ons I use a yard crane now to do the same thing Before that it was an engine crane and before that a chain block from the rafters and before that a winch ZTR's mostly...

If you intend to keep it for that long then make sure you regularly lift the floor plate and clean the debris out of the steering linkages

The oil filter is no more, replace it Remove the carburettor and clean it as well. It ain't a 2 stroke so likes its fuel neat .

Every now & then I get a box of 3" round keyrings I put a Berts tag & their key on it and when I leave the mower I hang the key over the dipstick . It works about 1/2 the time

remove the spark plug & try cranking the engine again Engine cranks quickly = ACR not working, adjust the valves fuel spurts out of plug hole + bad float needle in carb, If this reply looks familiar it is because it is the exact same reply to our other post in...

You are missing a big air leak between the carb & the cylinders Get a can of carb cleaner & spray a SMALL amount into each plug hole & crank the engine If it fires & runs a few revs , do the same down the carb throat If you get no joy from the second test & it fired on the first test then look...

YES Replace the pulleys And which belt was longer the old or the new ?

Set your meter to read AC volts and then check the battery terminals with the engine running full speed If you see AC Volta at the battery the rectifier has become rectifried .

They are the carburettor jets and means your carburettor neeeds a rebuild kit because once they fall out all by themselves they are cactus because you can not get just new O rings .

It is called a disposable mower .

Yes , But the last thing MTD want is spindle bearings that last for 20 years & work perfectly provided they get proper maintenance .

remove the spark plug & try cranking the engine again Engine cranks quickly = ACR not working, adjust the valves fuel spurts out of plug hole + bad float needle in carb,

The trouble with the computer age is people get convinced that it is the number that is important and not what the number is showing. Get a pair of jumpers Put one to ground near he starter & the other to the + terminal on the starter motor Connect then to the battery Starter spins & cranks the...

My paper catalogue from Stens lists 8 blades that are 17 7/8" long 7 of them have a hole & one has a Husqvarna star Unfortunately it does not appear to be accessable on line So you will need to take your blade to your nearest independent mower repair shop, you know the ones who do repairs & sell...

And they will be lucky to remain intact for the life of the edge of the blade . Don't get me wrong , I love those bearings because so many fall apart and trash the housing, blades and even decks I make thousands out of them every year and it takes a lot less time to swap out the complete...

I bet you will, The instant you put a set of new blades on ? Now a little bit of help. Which pulleys have you lost The deck pulley or the transmission pulley ? You said "assembly " would you like to expand what you mean ? Can you post a photo of the place where the pulleys should be ? AFAIK...

Quality mowers have greasable spindles except is California . Residentials usually don't because they are all build down to a price. A good set of quality sealed bearings should go 5 years if and only if you maintain the blades

Ring the dealer and raise a warranty claim.

The biggest advantage of a ZTR is you can mow backwards. Apparently you can only run over small children if you are using a tractor style mower . This alone cuts down the mowing time on complex lawns by a very large amount. They are a lot more manouveable and thus quicker than a tractor OTOH on...

Pull the breather tube off the back of the air filter housing. Problem goes away or reduces substantially = rings

Any particular model from the 392 that Cub have made in mind ?

A couple of thoughts 1) check the rectifier to make sure it is working an only sending DC to the battery If it is pumping AC that will kill a battery very fast 2) check your battery cables and in particular the ground cable

Another job for the air hammer in my workshop. A lot less violent than the 10 lb sledge

Welcome John It wold of immense help if we knew which one of the 11,542 different model B &S engines you have problems with. Even more beneficial would be knowing what it is fitted to.

It is the air vent On some it had a tube leading to a charcoal canister ( EPA regulations )

There are thousands of them out there that are all running fine so the design is fine . The fuel pump is a simple diaphragm pump with a check vale on the inlet ( some have check valves on outlet as well ) they work very well. There are filters designed to be used in the vertical outlet side up...

Take the pulley/s off and go to your local mower repair shop. One that fixes mowers not one with a massive showrooms & no workshop If that is against your religion then take them off & measure them Then go to an aftermarket parts suppliers web site and search for pulleys. Ignore the bolt size or...

The easiest way to work out if it is a fuel or spark problem is to remove the hood ( it is basically ornamental ) . Fit a pair of red in line spark testers ( so you can see them in the daylight ) then go mow. If they keep on glowing while the engine is dieing then your problem is fuel related ...

TourNut, We love solving problems here and we would love to help you fix your problem. Smalltowntex posted the outcome of his trial by Deere which was not a fuel related problem. You would appear to have a fuel related problem which hopefully is not related to the OP's problem except in that...

Which ones ?

Run the engine for 5 minutes or so then turn off and pull the dipstick. Smoke raising out of the tube confirms a blown head gasket .

Murray only used 3 or 4 different designs of spindles and from memory only one variation of each . Go to an after market parts catalogue ( Stens, Rotary, Prime Line or Oregon ) & use the searches that Dougand3 mentioned above .

OK then it is a warranty job. Take it back to the dealer

Any deck can be fitted to any mower with enough swearing , welding & skinned knuckles. I am currently working on a franken mower which has a 48" yardmachines deck grafted into an LX Deere . Nothing but the original deck will drop right in & use the same belts 917 is a Roper code and Roper use...

TourNut. Please do not hy-jack another thread it just s get confusing. TRy an alternaive fuel tank Most common reason for this happening is debris that is floating in the fuel tank forming a plug blocking off the fuel tank outlet. Next comes a faulty fuel cap not allowing air to enter the tank...

Compression readings are meaningless on mowers because of the auto decompressor . The most likely damage is blowing the head gasket . If you could do a few rounds against big Arnie then you may have bent the con rod but you need to be really strong to do that

If it is surging then the fuel : air ratio is too lean So either the carb is not putting enough fuel into the engine or air is entering after the carb has put the fuel in. TO check for the latter saturate the manifold region with WD 40 ( or similar ) from a trigger sprayer . Engine speed changes...

Time to take this mower back to the dealer . Sounds like a tranny problem Does it go full speed forward on the flat ? Check to see if there are twigs / nuts etc fouling the controls on the box .

Dies as in stops dead as if you had turned the key off Or Stumbles & dies like it is running out of fuel ?

check it again next time you mow. If you were burning that much oil you would look like the Ar dep spraying for Dengi fever Get under the mower and check the PTO shaft and the to of the drive pulley. To loose that much oil you really would have needed to have blow an oil seal or have a hole in...

Any 1/2 decient off road enhansement or suspension specialist will have a damping meter& spring rate tester. They should be able to give you the numbers. I would imagine they would be a standard off the shelf damper unit otherwise cost would go through the roof. However low volume shocks are...

Correct in all but one point Mowers are actually getting cheaper every day in real terms ( hours worked to pay for them ) . My fathers first push mower was £ 45 45s 45p which was close enough to 2 months wages That , down here would be $ 3750 ( Aus ) which is a lot to pay for a push mower, even...

Google motorcycle shocks and then get their catalogues They should have the specs. FWIW I pay around $300 ( AUS ) for a pair of shocks for old BSA's

I like to trust people, it makes me feel good. I have a small service footprint around 10 sq miles so some one will always know some one. In 7 years I have been stiffed 3 times , leaves a bad taste in your mouth but I took out small debt claim on all of them. One lost his house, his fathers...

pull the fuel line off and check the fuel flow. It should be full size of the fuel line. If not you have a blockage between the tank cap & the carb

The line you have connected to is the breather and has a reed valve on it so it can not be used to power an impulse fuel pump because the pump needs both a blow & a suck but the breather only blows. So you will need to put a new take off barb to power the pump Good spots are the dip stick tube...

Because we all do things differently, I like to slip both belts off the engine to prevent them pulling on the crank shaft, I leave the alternator in place on the top cover and hang it out of the way with some wire off the steering wheel Before pulling the top cover off I give the key slot a...

Easy check is to fit a red in line spark tester and watch it as the engine comes to a stop. If it is flashing after you turn the engine off then your suspicions are confirmed . Do both cylinders and get back The kill wire is a ground wire and he diode is to prevent one coil sending a false...

The problem with Amazon reviews and evilpay feedback is they are time limited So for instance the GX 25 carb a customer gave me to fit last year has now packed it in after 10 months. It has a defective check valve but the customer can not go back now and say these are defective ( wrong rubber...

Congratulations Not quite sure what your description is but check that the carb is not still leaking Because I am belts braces and rope man I like to fit a tap in the fuel line closest to the tank so I can shut off the fuel without having to pinch the fuel lines and of course you can turn the...

Piece of cake on a single cylinder bucket engine. about 3 hours start to finish Only hard bit is getting the flywheel off.

No different down here People just can't help themselves they want everything but they want it for free. As for buying on line. Always look for a real street address. If there is not one then they are just a computer selling out of a warehouse they do not own . As I have mentioned before I used...

The governor inside the engine has left the room Don't keep playing with it as the broken bits inside the engine can do even more damage If it is a bicket engine then drop the belts then pull the top closure plate off & replace the governor. If it has a normal sump you have to pull the engine out .

Take the spark plugs out and try again.

Getting off topic here , but if you are paying peanuts then only monkeys will apply for the job You want the best and brightest to teach children and bring the best out in them . However we do not value teachers so they are down the bottom of the pay pool so teaching becomes a last chance job...

You have been confused by all of the advetising BS about oils The 10W oil does no get thicker when it gets hot, it just maintains about the same viscosity hot & cold The strait 30W starts off thick when cold but quickly gets thin when hot So a 10W 30 & strait 30 have the same viscosity when hot...

I don't see what your problem is. The clutch is engine independent just so long as you get one that has the same hole diameter as the Predator. The clutches are MOWER dependent not engine dependent as it has to have enough strength to turn the blades, have the right anchor point and wiring. The...

Easy you go to your operators manual and read he numbers that you wrote in when you got the mower like every one does when they get a new mower before they sit in the seat ;) . Now if your mower ID tag is there then take some photos of it with a digital camera ( not our phone ) at a few...

At 3/4 of an acre most Rear Engine Riders will handle that with ease. If there is a lot of obstacles then a small deck would be the go. Lots of manual transmission out there so why not a vari drive ? They will run forever usually with nothing more than the odd belt & pulley change. Hydros offer...

I use a torx key like an allan key and a spannar on the short end for leverage.

As shown in the diagram Star posted the terminals connect from flat to flat Use your meter to check your switch The cranking circuit wires go to the terminals that are connected when the switch is off ( shown red or orange ) The PTO wires get connected to the terminals that are connected when...

Same story but different market We had 3 British Motorcycle shops in Sydney Aust a while back. I got most of my parts from Jim Eades. I would call & ask if he had a part and most times the answer was "Yes but you will not buy them, I will have some good ones in for you in X days " When asked why...

A full month back, in post # 7 Jesus freak was told just that but for some reason he refuses to believe it . Some of my more obstinate customer had problems coming to grips with this till I did the 20¢ pieces & flour demonstration. This was suggested in post # 13 yesterday but again Jesus Freak...

Run a jumper lead directly from the battery to the + lug on the side of the starter. Beware of the massive spark. Before you do that try to turn the engine over by hand If you can not do this then remove the spark plug & try the starter again

The new series of engines goes 140cc to 190cc The air vanes do not block te cooling air and push mowers do not run all that hot It is an engine volume to cylinder surface area thing .

Unfortunately the deck belt springs are not adjustable However I don't think that is your problem You say the belt is wearing at the edge so have a good look at your pulleys If you see one where the wear marks indicate the belt is running on the very edge of the pulley then either pack the...

Because doing warranty repairs cost me money and and makes me look bad I never ever fit pot luck carbs from ebay or amazon. I do get a few people coming in with unsolvable problems having replaced every item that bolts on to fin the "new" carb was a reject carb and the old carb was fixable with...

Older decks had a greater overlap so this was not a problem. Modern residentials have only 1/2" at best of overlap some are as low as 1/4" . Add to that the idea that they all have to turn almost as sharp as a ZTR and you have this problem that is never explained to customers. Then there is the...

pull the fuel line off the carb & crank the engine If fuel spurts out the end of the fuel line, pump is fine . Remove the solenoid from the float bowl. Check that the plunger snaps back very quickly when the power is turned on . Check that the rubber cap ( if fitted ) is on the end of the...

The logic behind holding the governor is to eliminate it surging so you can hear what the engine is actually doing. So you start the engine then slowly increase the throttle opening. At some point in time the engine will start to faulter. As you do engine repairs how it starts to faulter should...

Hopefully you will have a spare tank kicking around the workshop. Rig it up to gravity feed directly to the carb. Problem goes away = fuel supply problem. Bad fuel lines, plugged tank outlet etc.

Take a couple of photos using a camers, not a phone. Open the images in what ever photo manipulating programe you have on your computer ON A COPY of the image play with contrast and generally you can get a number, or enough to work it out. Don't know if Briggs dealers can work backwards from the...

Apart from that. Tractor shops will sell you a 5 gal pail of the grease for about the same price as Stens will charge for a pound.

That is because the idiot moron DPO has modified the wireing. Bet he went to face book to work out how to bugger it up There should be a minimum of 6 wires on the PTO switch What are the colours of your mystery wires wires Can you crank the engine without the PTO switch there ?

Time for new belts It would be real helpful if you posted the craftsman numbers from the tag under the seat There were a lot of old Craftsman mowers, made by near a dozen different companies with even more transmissions.

They do interchange but you have to do some fiddleing , replaceing bearings with std ( Toro) wheel bearings and on some I have to trim a little off the hub. I can only get 2 types of aftermarket Honda wheels down here but I have managed to make them fit all modles

Pull the muffler off & have a quick look at the exhaust port A blocked port will cause fuel to blow back through the carb As will a faulty carb and unless you got the new carb from an Echo distributor then it is suspect till proven good. A cracked fuel line will also soak the filter & prevent...

It is called the "free market economy" , If people will only pay for junk then junk is what they will get . I currently have 3 Greenfields in fo repairs They have 692, 2734 & 1393 hours on them and will run for 4 to 5 times those hours and should be good for another 15 to 20 years . Greenfield...

Also lube the pedal pivots and clean debris from around the transmission.

Sorry to cause confusion. This happens when people do not post the actual engine numbers and expect the forum to know what they a Sorry to cause confusion This happens because you expected us to know which 190cc engine you are working on. The way to prevent this is to post the BRIGGS model &...

It will push out with the bearing It is there to stop the snap ring popping.

This is sort of normal and is a function of the way the blades overlap Triple check that the front blade is the correct length. Try turning different curves. You will see that a specific turn will leave a mowhawk Happens more or less on every deck that does not have timed overlapping blades...

yes. Time for a clean & replace the needle &/or seat

I started off by bending the link rod as far as I could with the engine stone cold while allowing the choke to remain fully closed . That seemed to work, sort of . Working backwards seemed to work better. Then there were the ones with a spring on the air vane that was too light and allowed the...

I have a couple of customers who refuse to sharpen or change blades till the flutes break off This causes the blade bolt to self tighten to the point that they can not be shifted with anything short of the 1" drive 2000 ft lb impact. So unless we have been using it I just cut the head off if my...

And don't over oil it Two drops once a week or so will be fine as the oil blows out all over the spring which gets slippery and cuts your fingers when changing tips

The "offical tool" is a spring hook. A length of high tensile steel with a hook at the spring end and a T handle at the other. Feet braced by the rear wheels then pull the hook back & slip he other end over the anchor point. I use a wrachet tie down and a wire loop over the free end of he spring.

Check the valve lash.

Run the mower for 20 minutes then very quickly remove the filter housing and top cover Bend the link from the thermostat to the choke out ( longer ) till it opens the choke fully. let it get stone cold and double check that the choke is actually closed, if not back it off a little This has been...

Try it without the cover and the chute raised about 30 deg up