Recent content by Hammermechanicman

Remove spark plug. Set control lever to OFF position. Turn saw upside down and pull rope a dozen or so times. Install a NEW spark plug. Spray a very small amount of starting fluid into carb. Don't choke it. Try to start saw. Does it fire?

Ok. I get it now. Sometimes i am a little slow. ?

All that sounds about normal.

What argument?

The OH160 ignition came in 2 flavors. One with points that you can put a Nova ll kit on. The other flavor was pointless electronic ignition. The systems use different flywheels. The electronic used trigger pins on the flywheel. If you can find a working electronic ignition module for sale they...

Hot rodding a 12hp flat head is essentially the same as the 5hp used for years in WKA racing. Installing a larger carb without a cam change is uselesss. The 5hp can run at 6000 RPM with the stock rod. The 12hp can't. As far as i know there is no AM rods or cams for the 12hp. Things that can be...

Let's go Brandon

I think California should ban ALL power generated by fossil fuel. Since hydroelectric accounts for something like 15% of their powe and the last nuclear plant at Diablo Canyon is in the process of being shut down about 80% comes from natural gas and coal. Any self respecting tree hugger state...

Don't underestimate the stupidity of California and their ability enact economy crushing laws.

Do quality work and treat people right and they will be happy to pay for your services. Do bad work and treat people poorly you will soon be out of business. Whatever your skillset is strive to improve it every day. If you don't it means you really don't care. $.02

Want to pizz off a tree hugger? Explain to them how the electricity to charge their oh so environmentally friendly battery powered lawn mower is generated by burning some type of fossil fuel. The main power plant feeding LA is a huge coal fired plant in Delta Utah.

I do some IT consulting for a select few customers. Just this week at one account the payroll oerson at the account forgot how to add a new employee to the sofware and send the info to the time clock and called me. 15 minute drive out and 3 mouse clicks and 15 minute drive home. Total time...

I have had very few customers think what i have charged them be out of line. Most folks are suprised how much equipment and tools i have if they see my 24x24 little shop. Some folks have asked how much i have invested in tools and equipment. They are suprised when i tell them over 25k. There is...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283505568883...

I am $40/hr plus parts plus pickup and delivery. A typical riding mower is around $150 for annual maint. Most dealers around me are $75 to $98 per hour. My overhead is very low so my profit margin is actually much higher than any of the shops around me.

I lube up the beads with a tire soap that reminds me of vaseline. Reduces the effort to mount probably by half The hard part is making sure after i start the bead to keep it toward the middle of the rim to have enough give to be able to use the tool to pop the bead over.

I use the shorty TR412 valve stems. Only about a inch long. Seem to work pretty good.

When mowing i wonder about reverse electron charged passivated mower blades. I hear they are the best.

Does anyone have in specific info on the difference between champion regular, long life and eco clean plugs?

I have the HFT small tire changer and use it all the time to change 4 and 5 inch tires. The bucket of tire soap and air blast bead seater makes all the difference.

If you don't have the tools you will a lot of bad words to get it done.

Back in the 90s the 5hp briggs go cart racers had the resistor vs nonresistor debate. The most difference i ever saw was about 1 degree of difference which is insignificant in any stock enhine. On some small 2 strokes with low energy magnetos using a resistor plug OR too wide of a gap can cause...

"It's a lawn mower, not the space shuttle" to quote a utuber. And i agree.

My spark plug gets 200,000 miles in my string trimmer before I have to replace it.

Look for Marbain blades. They are OEM on lots of commercial mowers. They are not soft.

I don't use RTV silocone on 2 stroke crankcases. I use threebond 1184. It is more resistant to gasoline than silocones. Same as Hondabond and Yamabond. I don't use it on valve covers because it makes them too hard to remove. I have about a dozen different gasket makers and sealers and the most...

My spark plug is better than your spark plug because the internet says so.

The crankcases are thin cast magnesium alloy. Finding a shop to do a proper repair on the case would probably cost more than you want to pay. As Bert said, concrets saws have a hard life and most don't use water to keep the dust down so very abrasive concrete dust is in every part of the saw...

While most folks in most countries like to feel they are somhow doing whatever they do better than other countries and we love the global blame game. I think we need to rename California from the sunshine state to the virtue signaling state.

Right before the ban takes effect they will probably put a $100 deposit on all lithium batteries to make sure you recycle them and then they will put a special green excise tax on them. I think i need to look into making counterfit black market OPE batteries now so i can be ready to make a...

The future of mowing.

Just keep telling yourself that. Only thing that has changed is the technology. The game is still the same.

Back in the 80's i did some moonlighting with a solar company called Ambient Energy. They specialized in solar home heating and domeatic water heating. I took college classes in the subject and my job was to do energy assesments and calculations. We partnered with the local power company to use...

I never realized the end of modern civilization as we know it would begin in California.

The game will interesting between the manufacturers and the aftermarket. Manufacturers will do their best to make everything proprietary with software and as the aftermarket hacks they will go to licensing the software to enable your equipment to run. Expired or invalid license and you have a...

I guess that is debatable. California gets massive amounts of federal dollars for programs from pork barrel legislation in congress. The state alone is one of the largest economies on the planet and should flush with cash but economic mismanagement is destroying the state. Time will tell.

The same self righteous ass hats that that continually vote in the idiots are the ones that drive their Hummers to the Sierra club meetings. To a certain extent we are all hypocrites but commiefornia has taken it to a whole new level. Nice place to visit but would never live there. Same for new...

You get the government you vote for. Obvioussly the voters in california want this. I have no sympathy for California. If their taxes to go to 100% so be it. Everyone is entitled to their politics and to vote for who they want. If your candidate does stupid stuff don't complain to me.

Another shop i know won't even work on them. They just replace them. At $75/hr owner says cheaper for customers to just put on a new carb and HOPE it work better than the POS they took off than try to fix the old one. Of course these are on engines you don't change oil in. Too bad i can't fit a...

Every one of these customers bring in are either hard to start and/or surging.

The brake kleen i use is non flammable. Works great to find air leaks. Engine wants to die if it gets in. And i have 2 fire extinguishers in the shop. If you ever have an experience where you really needed a fire extinguisher it will make you a believer in having 2. A small one you can keep...

I'll second that. There is a term for designs like this. It is called SFB engineering ($h!t for brains). I wonder what moron dreamed it up.

I always believe anything a company in bankruptcy says.?

A distinct possibility that Briggs has stopped ordering spares parts or vendors have stopped shipping them parts. I wonder where they are at in the bankruptcy? Maybe they on on one of the hundreds of container ships off the coast of commiefornia. Anybody else paying almost double what they used...

Pulley is fine. Chunk of wood making spring loaded belt idler go nuts. Did find an idler with noisy bearing. New idler and belt and mower is teady for more abuse. Got one in a couple days ago with timed blades and guy hit a root and bent the blades and broke the timing belt and sheard the clutch...

Can't imagine why. Maybe the chunk of wood stuck in the engine pulley?

<rant on>> Apple/Mac......never drank the kool aid. Not sure why folks get upset when i do Consulting work for them and tell them i don't do mac/iphone/ipad. I have enough trouble dealing with all the crap Microshit does. <rant off>