Recent content by Oddjob

Sounds like you are burning a little oil. If it quickly burns off after start-up and runs strong, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s possible that you got a little oil in the exhaust side when you messed with the valves. If so, it’ll burn off no problem. It’s 8 years old so it’s possible there...

Yes, straight 30w oil should be fine. I googled your model number and found lots of places selling parts for it. Your belt is snapper part #701354YP. You’ll need to look for an air filter by searching with the engine model. I expect it is a 7HP Briggs but not sure. If it’s the Briggs, the...

So now swap sparkplugs and see if the good cylinder has switched sides. If so, you have a bad plug. If not, most likely a bad coil.

One way to tell if you have only one cylinder working is to start it up and spray water on the mufflers. If you have a failing coil, one side will be a lot hotter than the other and will instantly vaporize the water.

Whether covered by the recall or not, this mower is not working as it was designed to do. It is brand new so presumably still under the warranty. Take it back and make them fix it.

This is why I read this forum. Thank you, ILENGINE. I have run into this on older riding mowers and could never figure out why I couldn’t get the decks higher. I have never owned a new one, and only work on the few that are gifted to me, so didn’t know they were designed without sufficient...

I’m old (73) but still have enough strength to put my RER Snapper on its butt. It helps that the heavy part is all in the rear and you lift the front. But if I couldn’t lift it I’d use my come-along and the cleat that I screwed into a ceiling joist in my garage. The come-along is rated at...

Does your machine have a wave washer on the wheel assembly? If so, maybe it has lost some of its liveliness. You could try bending it a little or buying a new one. Or, as you have done, use thread lock. The vibration from the engine does tend to loosen bolts on mowers. BTW, congrats on...

I have a 1984 model 28” Snapper RER with the bicycle handlebars. It has its original B&S flathead 8hp engine. My yard is hilly but I have never felt the need for more power. I bought it at a yard sale for $20 about 20 years ago, and that included the grass collector. It didn’t have a battery...

I agree with Tiger Small Engine. Some other ideas: Is there an adjustment available on the brake? If so, maybe tighten it up a little. Is the new PTO cable properly installed or is it defective/wrong size? I’d be tempted to put the old cable back on and see if the noise goes away. Are the...

Adjusting the Handle Height You can raise or lower the handle in 1 of 2 positions that is more comfortable for you (Figure 11). Figure 11 Loosen both handle knobs until you can push the square edges of the carriage bolts out of the square holes in the handle brackets. Push the knobs until...

Most likely the blade brakes are worn out but I note that you just replaced the belt so that may be a contributing factor. Before the old belt broke your blades came to a stop, right? That old belt was stretched out and only put minimal force on the spindle pulleys when you disengaged the...

Fuel issues: (1) make sure there’s no water in the tank, (2) disconnect fuel line at carb and see if gas flows, if not, blockage in tank or fuel filter or collapsed fuel line, (3) dirty carburetor or if you have a Pulsajet type carb, rubber diaphragm perished and no longer pumping fuel, (4)...

About the blades spinning: The belt may be too tight. If you still have the old belt, try putting that one on and see if the blades turn without having the pto engaged. When you raise and lower the deck you are changing the angle from the driveshaft pulley to the deck pulleys and making the...

Yes. If it runs and dies after you give it a spritz of carb cleaner you have confirmed it has spark and ignition timing and the kill wire is not grounded. If you have spark and timing, and still won’t run, most likely you have a fuel problem.