Recent content by GrumpyCat

You know every shade tree mechanic “knows” bearing companies skimp on grease. Or maybe NTN, Timken, SKF, NSK, etc know more about their product than you? They are not going to save 0.1% to make their products fail early just to sell replacements, their reputation depends on long service life...

Cheapest solution would be to sell the 60” and use the funds to buy something smaller. Or learn to use the foot pedal to lift the deck momentarily.

About 30 years ago I had a 4.5 or 5 hp Kawasaki with that problem. Every 3 years it would quit running. Plug would spark outside the combustion chamber so I initially thought it not the problem. After cleaning the spotless carburetor (no luck) tried a new NGK spark plug and it fired right up...

A split-beam torque wrench will not drift if left set. No more than the bending beam Craftsman pictured.

If buying new I recommend a 42” Bad Boy with Kawasaki engine. Some box stores carry Bad Boy with B&S engines. I recommend against. I don’t think a 42” ZTR will be too big for 1/2 acre if you can get through gates.

The steel tube backbone models only. Not the new stamped steel chassis. Not really. IIRC RER decks start at 30”.

The biggest problem with those is how users will over torque the plastic 10mm drain thing. The way it is designed, tighter will not seal any better than simply closed.

Contact a certified Kawasaki repair shop. There was a recall on a production lot for improperly cut threads on drain. Kawasaki replaced customer’s lower crankcase casting where the drain is located. No HeliCoil hacks. Job done right. If yours is one of the bad lot you should get a free repair...

Split beam torque wrenches do not have to be dialed back to zero. There is no benefit unless it makes you sleep better. Clicks when the set torque has been reached.

Yes, that is a flex beam. A split beam is click-to-torque value.

Split beam is torque to click.

My go-to torque wrenches are an old Craftsman flex beam, and a couple modern Tekton split beam. The split beam is wonderful in that it can be put away with a torque still dialed in. It doesn’t preload a spring.

You don’t know ethyl and ethanol are different things? Ethyl gasoline refers to tetraethyl lead, an octane improver. Also known as leaded gasoline. I doubt you can buy this stuff from anyplace other than an airport or VP Racing Fuels.

My initial thought is that warranties on mowers from box stores are hit and miss because a 3rd party is expected to do the service. You are low priority if you didn’t purchase from the servicing dealer.

So you never questioned the orthodoxy you read on the internet claiming the flap around the perimeter holes was to hold oil in the filter between starts? And never noticed oil running out of a used filter laying on it's side? Are you here to only reafirm everything you have "learned" elsewhere...