Recent content by Born2Mow

Welcome. Unlike garden tractors, all ZTMs will more easily slide when traversing a hill. Be VERY careful on wet grass, or near features like lakes. Lots of safety videos on YouTube you can/should watch.

I had one, but it ran away about the same time. Hold It ! Hey ! You don't think they ran off together, do you ?

That looks to be a fuel filter. No clicking coming from that unit unless aliens have laid their eggs inside. Start with a wash job. Life is too short to work on dirty engines. :ROFLMAO: Sounds like a dead battery, but lots more information is needed.

BAD idea ! Remove the filter and blow compressed air through it in REVERSE direction if you want to unclog it, but most definitely re-install the filter.

That kit will do the job. It's a basic, no frills kit, so a little extra care is needed. The coil length will allow maximum strength, but I would suggest backing off the torque to 80 in-lbs. • Do not drill the hole. The tap does all the work. • During tapping, remember to go in ONLY 1 to 1-1/2...

Welcome ! There's your problem right there. Your mower simply wants to move to Texas. ?

My Exmark (made by Toro) has the the same tires and same air fill issue. I check the tire pressures every time I mow to control ground height. You're correct, you cannot access the Shrader valve in every wheel position. Sometimes you simply need to roll the unit in order to be able to access the...

XKE had that low nose and very sleek cowling. Because of that, I think the radiator was undersized, and so the extra oil carried off a lot of engine heat. BMW does the same thing on their "Oil Head" boxer engines.

If you'll scan the forums, you'll quickly see that Exmarks have fewer issues than other brands. I think the true beauty of the Exmark is in the areas you can't see. All I ever do is air up tires and mow grass. It's actually fairly boring !! ? Hope you find what you want.

The EPA has made carb, fuel tank AND engine breathers so complex that it's a wonder they can function at all. Certainly, most of it is counter to what the engine really wants. When 95% of the posts on a small engine forum read "my engine doesn't run right" or similar, you know something is amiss.

StarTron was originally developed for boaters. As much trouble as Ethanol caused in mowers and trimmers, it nearly killed the pleasure boat industry due to the proximity of water 24/7. It's a stabilizer AND cleaner, which is far better than a simple stabilizer, like Stabil. As long as you're...

Welcome ! Are you looking for someone on the interwebs, whom you never met and don't know, to give you permission to run non-approved lubricant and hope that everything works out great ?? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Sorry. I will not be that person.

I started out in a sports car shop. A customer came in with a case of oil and wanted the oil changed on his 1965 XKE Jag 2+. It's a 3L straight 6, not that big of an engine.... but it took all 24 quarts !!

In my experience this is due to coating of the jets. The EPA has made all engine builders lean out their engines. This started this about 1988. They have gotten progressively leaner in stages, which is why many motorcycles now have fuel injection. If they have their way, look for electronic...

There are numerous filter cross-over lists on the internet. Using these it's very easy to find equivalent filters. Obviously Exmark doesn't make filters, they buy filters and have them branded with their name. Matching up a filter can be an easy way to save significant sums if the matching is...

This trouble is usually caused by trash or rust introduced from the fuel tank. If you would fit a small fuel filter to the fuel line you could eliminate all future occurrences. Cost you about $4.

While we got you on the line... Understood for the longest that Leprechauns kept a "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow. Latest rumor is that they changed with the times and simply keep "pot". Care to comment ? :ROFLMAO:

You don't need the schematic just yet. Simply disconnect the wires from the seat switch and place an Ohm meter (VOM) across the 2 terminals. The meter should go from zero resistance to full resistance as the switch is actuated. I bet it doesn't change. Change is good ! :giggle:

Welcome Aboard ! There's an electrical safety interlock switch on the brake. No experience with that mower, but typically there needs to be a person sitting in the seat before the brake is released. Additionally, these items are usually interlocked with the position of the direction levers and...

Great reason to own a basic caliper.

Even the Boogie Man checks under his bed for Chuck Norris !

And that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you, sir. In those 55 years, believe it or not, THINGS HAVE CHANGED. The formulation of gasoline has changed, drastically. The design of fuel breather systems has changed, drastically. With all due respect... I note that you have moved on from...

• No experience with that type hose, but even if it only lasted a month there should be no vacuum leaks and the "low fuel delivery due to loss of vacuum" reduced to a non-issue. Still could be a tiny hole in the pump's diaphragm, but the I agree the hose should be 100% fixed. Good call. • Oil in...

The problem is that your mower is "possessed". It's no longer a Lawn Boy, but instead a "Lawn Zombie". You don't need a mechanic, what you need is an exorcist !! :ROFLMAO:

Did you replace the fuel pump vacuum line with new "SAE J30 fuel hose" while you were re-assembling everything ? It's common that after 20 years this vacuum line has small leaks in it. Small leaks turn the vacuum hose into an impromptu "breather hose", and would allow crankcase oil into the...

Correct. But isn't that AFTER the engine threw out ALL the excess ? Wasn't that the first run of the season ? Wasn't fuel left in the mower over winter ? Several necessary questions aren't being answered.

Something about this thread has got me humming the James Brown hit, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag. :ROFLMAO:

Your battery is dead. You can't tell jack about a battery with a simple VOM. You'd need a specialized battery tester.

Let me guess... You just took it out of winter storage and started it. That's when the problem surfaced. Is that correct ??? If so, then you left fuel in the mower and the manual fuel shutoff was left in the ON position, OR the automatic fuel shutoff has failed. You CANNOT leave fuel in the...

I'm having a blast just talking to you guys. We don't need no stinkin' OP !! :devilish:

Yes, the older caps had a big 1/16" hole in them and they never gave a problem. But the EPA since ~1990 is all concerned about fumes adding to inner-city air pollution and so all the makers had to seal their fuel systems. They had to add complicated one-way breathers where air could come in, but...

12 cu in = 196cc approximately

Welcome Aboard ! It is common for the EPA style breather in the fuel fill cap (or located within the tank) to get clogged. When you run the mower, fuel flows to the carb until a vacuum is formed... at which time the fuel can't flow and so the engine runs out of fuel. Without doing a thing, air...

Glad you're OK. Your car or truck (with fuel injection) can run that old fuel, but NOT any engine with a carb. The new fuels are junk and require stabilizers to be added the day you buy the fuel. Especially if you plan to keep the fuel for more than 6 weeks. Unless you have a snow-blower... you...

I believe the nuts have stripped the top threads on the stud... that's why nothing is happening. If the studs WERE spinning, then the top cover would soon come off... with 3 studs intact. In short, some gorilla has over tightened the 3 nuts WAY, WAY, WAY too tight. You'll need to drill the stud...

Great diagnosis and good find !! I'd highly suggest removing the dip stick to 1) smell the oil, and 2) look at the oil level. Gasoline could have easily diluted your engine oil. Does the engine oil smell of fuel, OR did the oil level rise any ? Both of these are indicators that gasoline is in...

This can happen if you don't use tire mounting lube. The bead won't pop out and the side wall will dip inward at that position. The side wall being pulled in, then pulls the tread in, making the whole tire "wompy jawed". Tires typically have an indicator line that should be exposed and about...

He's Back !!

Return the battery while you can, and get a battery with the correct size, CCA and post config. NAPA, and on-line battery sources like BatteryJack, sell batteries by physical dimension.

1. First and Foremost is fuel. Fuel should be less than 2 weeks old (unless it's been properly treated, and how to do that is not the focus of this reply). Fuel that was left in the unit over winter cannot be trusted. As a best practice: Never, ever store any small engine with fuel in the tank...

This is your best avenue. You can look up credit card purchases on-line.

AGM PVR batteries have barely been around 30 years. How did your company get started on them so early ?

I stand corrected then. I see you have background in a similar industry. Mine was telecom OSP battery backup.

1. If you connect a high wattage head lamp bulb (say ~50-65W) for 2 minutes, THEN measure the battery voltage, that will often bleed off the "surface charge" and give a better indication of the REAL internal voltage of the battery. The voltage should not drop below about 12.3V with a test like...

Here's the unvarnished truth about batteries.... 1. There are on-line stores that sell batteries by physical size. If fitting the battery box (physical size) is important, then you can try a source, like Battery Jack. Look under "motorsports" because a mower battery is most like a car or...

And if an answer isn't "definitive" then I hold it's not really an answer. The OP wants an definitive answer. All I'm saying is he hasn't given us enough information to reach any such answer. More information is needed.

First: You did the correct thing by changing the oil and filter. You'll need to do that every time this happens. Second: The float valve in the carb was always an "iffy" setup. The problem is that GRAVITY is always going to put fuel pressure on the valve, and the float valves aren't perfect...

Batteries DO NOT self-discharge over winter, unless you leave them connected to the electrical system. It's the connection of the electrical system that allows the fast bleed-down. If you had simply taken one of the terminals off the battery last fall, then you'd be in a much better position...

If you want to compare 2 model lines..... Toro also makes Exmark.

You can't simply take a plug out, look at it, and be able to tell anything definite. You'd need to run the engine for several minutes in its normal RPM range with new fuel and then suddenly kill it. The plugs look sooty, but that could be from idling for 15 seconds before they were pulled, or...

If you have over 50 hours and have not changed your hydraulic fluids and filters, then something like that might be a good first step. If you think it's more mechanical than hydraulic in nature.... On my Exmark... made by Toro... there are set screws just under the plastic beauty panels to make...

The easiest way to make an engine run rich is for the choke to be partially ON. As I remember these carbs have sort of an automatic choke setup, so you really can't tell what position it's in. I'm wondering if you can bend an 8" piece of mechanic's wire to force the choke butterfly into a...

Bertsmobile is correct. He did stay in a brothel for a week ! :ROFLMAO:

Don't know about the temps in Summerdale AL so far, but here in north GA it hasn't been warm enough to heat up any tires, even though we've had some "nice" days. 1. First place I'd start is to check the air pressure in all the tires. THEN check the pressures with a second (new) tire pressure...

Black smoke is always a "rich" fuel mixture condition. Which shows on the plug as black soot. Several issues can cause that. Some as simple as a dirty air filter. (Sorry, typing the same time as Rivets)

Pretty much any name brand mower is first rate, especially when you consider they all use common engines and hydraulic units. Beware those discounted off-brand mowers at furniture stores and other outlets with no service facility. They are typically Chinese copies that have no parts supply...

In Georgia we have horticulturist assigned to every county. You can find them in the phone book under County Extension Agent. Bag a sample and send it to your agent. They'll ID it and tell you all about it. Sometimes they'll even work from emailed photos.

User was last seen here 2 days after posting this message.

They are simply "marking their territory".

British Motorcycles: Making excellent mechanics out of regular people for 50 years.

So the broken rod is most likely a "symptom" of a problem. It's not simply that the rod broke.. and that was the total issue. No, the oil pump stopped, the engine was over-reved, the oil wasn't changed regularly, fuel got into the engine oil and prevented lubrication, water got into the engine...

+1 Call, don't email.

We all know ethanol fuel is a problem waiting to happen. Since you don't know the history of the fuel system, I advise a fuel system cleaner be added. In fact... add it to the big fuel can so that both mowers get to drink it. Something like StarTron will do wonders, and be pro-active prevention.

It should hit and run with Starting Fluid. If you could get it to start and run for 15 minutes a whole raft of issues could be eliminated from the problem list.

The way I read this is that everything seemed to be working, until you popped the 20A fuse. I take it it sounded like it wanted to start and you were simply waiting on fuel to be pumped into the carb. Is that correct ??

It probably wasn't that good of a deal. I bet it still had air from 2014 inside the tires !! :ROFLMAO: Congrats.

Thought I would open this thread back up and report my experience over the winter. First post was at the end of October and now we are in the middle of March. So call it 4-1/2 months since installation. Call it 4 months my Exmark Series E with the 708 V-twin has been in storage. When I put the...

...which is why I only want the manual fuel valves on my equipment.

This is true. Your "connecting rod" has become very dis-connected. It's past "separated". It's now fully "divorced". :giggle:

>> Even with the key OFF some electrical power is always allowed to flow. The only way to stop the battery "discharge" during long winter storage is to TOTALLY disconnect one of the terminals from the battery. You can physically remove the terminal, OR you can get one of those $9 disconnect...

Gas, fire, or compression. One of those 3 is missing. >> The ethanol fuel is so very, very bad that 98% of the winter storage issues revolve around gummed up carbs. So mechanics will immediately ask about the fuel. That's why the questioning so far has been focused there. >> If there was ANY...

>> Diodes are nothing but one-way gates for electricity. So with a battery powered Ohm meter you should get a reading with the probes on the input and output leads. When you reverse the position of the 2 probes there should be no reading. The diode will need to be unplugged from the other...

If you are a home owner, then I'd buy any good synthetic 2-stroke oil from any named shop (Tractor Supply, Lowes, HD, Ace Hdwr, etc. ). If you are a pro and you need the ultimate, then I would buy Valvoline. Valvoline is a name you can trust. They don't do anything but make great oil. They are...

Plug is fouled now.

Go to the store and buy 100 helium-filled balloons. Tie the balloons to the Ferris. It will then be lighter than 1300 lbs. Just be careful driving home from the balloon store. :ROFLMAO:

2 huge holes in your logic... ► Your root assumption is that float needles and seats are perfect and infallible. ► You are also forgetting about GRAVITY, which is on the job 24/7/365. As it has been since it was first discovered in 1679. PS. I'm fairly sure Newton discovered gravity in 1679...

Regardless of what your voltmeter says, your battery is DEAD. You can only test a battery with a Load Tester.

And exactly how old is the fuel in the tank ?

Believe me, you won't be the first guy with $15,000 wrapped up in a motorized item with a Blue Book value of $200 !! ?

Anytime the fuel tank is above the carb, gravity can help force fuel (or in this case fuel "mix") to flow into the engine. This is often assisted by a tiny piece of trash stuck in the carb's float valve. You should 1) add a manual fuel ON/OFF valve between the carb and fuel tank, and then 2)...

Sounds like Spring has really got you carried away with "marking your territory". ?

Above is very good advice. To continue... Batteries can easily die from several very "simple looking" causes... > Batteries which stay in an uncharged condition can easily "sulfate", which is a chemical reaction that inhibits the electron flow in one of more cells. If the battery case is...

>> I've had to replace the fuel lines on my Stihl saw before. They simply cracked open after several years. I used a universal fuel line kit from Lowes. >> Don't know if this is true of blowers, but on the saw (since they can be operated in several positions) there is a float bowl breather...

Sears is really a distributor and not a manufacturer. Maybe someone can lead you to the original maker's same model. Their catalog may suggest a longer belt.

The down-side of a spring rewinder may be that you can only use it 1 season out of the 4. Summer, autumn and winter you're on your own. :ROFLMAO:

I add one when needed to help prevent this problem. As long as the fuel tank is mounted above the carb, old man gravity will make sure you have this problem. ► You need a manual fuel shut-off valve and a filter.

Your smallest jet in the carb is blocked. The small jet is used with starting, idle, and acceleration. When scuzz starts forming inside the fuel system, it's the smallest jet that ALWAYS gets blocked first. It will never get unblocked by itself because the vacuum inside the carb isn't enough to...

Check the water level in the battery. Heavy charging and low maintenance will cook off the water inside the battery. Low water will keep the battery from then accepting a charge. You could also use a battery disconnect device. LIKE THIS.

You need to remember that Aussies are on the bottom of the world and hanging on by their toes. All that blood rushing to their head... it's a wonder they can laugh at anything. :ROFLMAO:

I used the same tip on a mower that was in my BIL's junk pile. 15 min later and it's humming away in the side yard. It's going on CraigsList at the first sign of "green stuff" in the yard. This winter has gone by so slowly that I forgot what you call that "green stuff".

It's true.... Spring is just around the corner.

Thank you !! It's nice to have someone come back and tell us "the rest of the story". Glad you had a good ending.

I heard the tire shops were actually giving those Boganvillias away ! :ROFLMAO:

Welcome Aboard ! Just trying to clarify the issue... And all this is without moving or accidently bumping the gear shift lever ? That is to say, the user's gear lever is exactly where you set it starting out ?

If the motor runs, but surges, then you have cleaned the larger Main Jet, but most likely missed a tiny Idle/Accelerate Jet. And when I say "tiny" I mean the hole is maybe on the order of 0.005 to 0.008 inch for a small walk-behind mower engine. Too small to clean with a fine sewing needle. And...

It could be either an electrical safety switch kicking in (low oil, no driver in the seat, not in neutral, etc) or limited fuel. If you have a can of starting fluid you can spray that into the carb.... If it continues to run, then the issue is fuel starvation. If it turns off as usual, then it's...

I spent my fortune on booze and strippers, the rest I simply wasted. :ROFLMAO:

In my mind, lifting is not the issue. Having a setup that insures the jack will not pop-out while you're working under the equipment is the most important thing. Last week I saw weld-on equipment jacks at Tractor Supply. I stopped because they looked exactly like the jack that came with my...

Yes, to all the above. Plus worn belts are hardened. With lower winter temps and short use, the belts don't have time to heat up and get "sticky". Those belts may (seem to) work fine next July.

A tribal medicine man introduced me to putting maggots in the float bowl, where they eat all the scum out. After a day or so, you can put gas back in the engine and crank it up. Then little crispy critters come flying out the muffler. His home was only a hut made of sticks, but he did have a...

This one just kills me....