Recent content by farmerdave1954

"Yep, oil, gas, filters, mower blades, belts, everything associated with mowers and small engines, AND everything else we buy has gone ape-ship crazy." Or No Longer Available.

Yep, oil, gas, filters, mower blades, belts, everything associated with mowers and small engines, AND everything else we buy has gone ape-ship crazy. I went to Burger King last evening and got a chicken sandwich meal and an extra order of fries for the wife. It cost me over $17. I can...

Odd, since I've had Stihl equipment for close to 40 years now and never had any trouble at all getting parts. I have a farm supply store a couple of miles away that sells Stihl, and a locally owned Coast-to-Coast hardware store even closer that is also a dealer. Both have always had any part...

It's the fuel tank vent filter, to keep dirt from getting into your tank and fuel from getting out. You should put it back in. My Stihl chain saw has one and it came out. I didn't replace it right away and it leaked fuel badly until I reinstalled it. Everyone has likes and dislikes about...

Could be, Skippy. But I typically buy equipment for quality and not economy, or comfort. I have found, however, that when I buy quality, comfort usually comes with it. I guess I just never paid attention to the max cutting height on a mower when I was looking to buy, probably because I've...

What I meant was that cutting a new keyway and filling it with a keyway, and abandoning the original keyway would not result in imbalance than abandoning the original keyway and leaving it empty. Maybe I misunderstood the comment. But, in any event I don't believe the amount of material...

Seriously, 4 inches? None of my mowers will even go that high.

I have 3 tractors, 2 cars, one pickup, motorcycle, riding mower, portable generator, pressure washer, 3 push mowers and a few other misc engines around the farm. I write on all my engines' oil filters the date, hours or mileage, and type of oil used at the last oil change. I also write the...

Wouldn't the missing flywheel key be just as much of an out-of-balance issue as the removed material from cutting an additional keyway?

Oh, of course the tranny and grease fittings definitely need on-time maintenance. But, have you noticed that nearly all "residential" hydrostat transmissions have no way to change the fluid and filter? Again, makes for more tranny sales. If yours has a filter and drain plug, IMO you can't...

The specs call for it yearly because that greatly increases their profit from filter sales. Sum total of the reasoning behind that maintenance schedule. Same with belts, oil filters, etc. Most mfg recommendations are based on what's best for profit, not what's best for the product or the...

New things never work as well as old things, and in my experience that includes people.

JD D140 with 430 hours on it, only run 91 octane, no stabilizer ever, ethanol-free, kept in very clean containers, and have never changed the fuel filter or had a fuel related issue with it. I would never change a fuel filter on a small engine unless it became restricted or started leaking. I...

My JD D140 has 400+ hours on it, is several years old, and I've never had any rust issues at all. My ex-wife has the same model, and it's 2-3 years older than mine, has about 75 more hours on it than mine, and still has no corrosion. I do maintenance on both mowers. I mow wet or dry, just...

Back in the mid-60's when I was about 10 years old, my dad bought a Bolens 800 with Wisconsin air cooled engine (that's where I learned how to work on small engines), with front dozer blade, belly mower, single bottom turn plow, and it seems like one other implement. Might have been a disc. It...