Recent content by tom3

Standard Intek (not Intek Pro) has an aluminum unsleeved or treated bore, those flakes in the oil are a bad sign here I suspect.

Sometimes you can hook the back of your foot to the upper part of the "go pedal" and pull it back as far as it will go and get more reaction to the reverse motion.

Makes the little motor easier to start. Probably do without it, couple million early engines didn't have this. But that plastic cam lobe doesn't look so hot. Might run a while but for long term I'd replace it. Not a big expense.

Are you mulching or just discharging the grass? Raising the cutting height seems to reduce the clogging, and be sure the grass is completely dry.

We have a couple of their horiz. Predator engines, seem well built, run fine so far. Amazing for $100 complete ready to run.

I was looking this engine over and noticed the OHC design, unusual in a utility type motor. Wondered if it's 'better' or just somehow just cheaper. Now I know. Strange to see a Honda product go to the dark side. But then they're using belt drives in their SUVs these days.

Oops. Warranty. Missed that. Don't touch it. Good catch Rivets!

I think you want to use the "weed" part while the weeds are actively growing, seems best late in the growing season in my area. Maybe a pre-emergent application might be worthwhile though. Congrats on the new digs!

One question here. When you push the forward or reverse pedal do you hear any noise at all from the transaxle? Most of these hydros have a sliding sleeve that engages the hyd. motor to the differential. This is usually a pretty weak looking piece and possible has cracked and stripped the...

Plug a couple hundred watt old school light bulbs in it and see if the load brings it up.

And then there's this:

Have you ever used an electric mower? My grandpa used one for years, bought a new 100' extension cord every year. Cut it to pieces, all tape and knots by the end of the year. Not real practical. I see the bike handle model is quite a bit cheaper though. Some of the new battery mowers are...

Lawn Boy parts seem to sell well on Ebay and for decent money. I'd list it for $200 and reasonable shipping, buy it now. But might wait a couple months for the mowing season to start. Low ballers are busy in the winter buying up stuff.

Best way I've found to use JB Weld is to make a plate to put over the hole, sort of a patch deal, use the JB W to "weld" the plate on and seal it. Might have to form the plate to conform to the block shape and be sure to have it all really clean and scored up a bit.

Sometimes there is a small line up lug and slot that has to be meshed to have everything in alignment, maybe at the top of the case there, could be it's not just exactly lined up? Might try to put the top together first and draw in the sides and bottom?

Has to be a timing problem I'd think. Is it possible to put the coil on upside down?

When we renewed ours they prorated the cost since my wife's had a couple years to go. I'm surprised you didn't get the star version 7 months ago since this has been in the works for a while.

Ditto on the key, can move up the shaft a bit and jam up the works.

Yeah, but then there's this:

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on that K46. Mine started failing at 300 hrs, split the case, cleaned out the shrapnel, replaced the oil with regular old 10w40 and babied it for another 300 hours. Replaced it with a Peerless 2000. Couple good reads here...

Running on low oil, I'm wondering if a valve is stuck or sticking from overheat.

We got the star deal on our renewals, might want to get on a plane later this year or take a cruise. Makes it some easier from what I hear. The gov't already knows everything there is to know about us so that's not an issue I think.

I like the way this guy thinks. I don't know enough about the current Briggs or Honda but be patient, some very knowledgeable people are on here and one of them will see this and give you some advice.

Check for compression. Possible the cam timing got out of whack?

Is this a hydrostatic transmission drive? If so running the engine faster might not make the mower ground speed any faster. Once the hydraulic pressure gets to the bypass pressure there's no more power or speed from the unit.

What mower was this engine on?

I wonder what Red Green's middle name is......

Before spending a lot of money on this I'd pull the valve covers and have a look for myself. Might be the rocker arms are loose? Push rod off? I think it would be rare to actually wear a cam out with that low hours, even if a plastic camshaft. But wait to see if they will warranty the motor...

I think we're getting close. An MTD by any other name

Hood, grille, headlights look Sears/Craftsman to me. Bigger wheels and tires, twin Briggs without cooling sheet metal guards (not a good sign) geared transmission I'm guessing.

Agree with the above. And that 11hp should really spank that go-kart!

I used to fight termites in that black mulch too. Just a standard wood shredded and dyed seems like. I dug it all out and replaced the mulch with crushed red clay tile stuff, looks good and no pests. And the leaf blower vac. attachment won't suck up the rock when I vacuum up leaves in the fall.

Can't help with the make but I do note that box type front axle. Pretty light duty part and that one looks to be worn out and resting on the frame rather than the center swivel. Repairable - if the rest of the mower is serviceable.

Make sure you have the nut on the top of the crank if the threads go clear up. Have had some luck with heating the center of the flywheel while using a puller. And sometimes you can hold the motor up by the flywheel and whack the top of the crank with a hammer to break it loose. The impact...

Is the Honda shaft just a shorter shaft? There are longer blade adapters that might put the blade at a usable depth, take some searching to find what you need.

I have an L130 with the 23hp Kohler twin. Been running 15w40 Rotella, sometimes smokes a bit at startup but don't add any oil over the summer. Run about 50 hours or so between annual changes. Can't say much for the mower but sure is a sweet running motor.

Blade stays sharp that way though.

Has a Troy Built crossed with Bolens look to me. That poor little engine sure got blasted with crud I bet. Open rope start, late 50s?

"I told dad I didn't want to mow the stupid yard!"

I ran into a similar deal with the flywheel magnets. Pretty quick read here: https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/low-charging-rate-ideas.56545/

Crude - but effective. Looks to be a push deal, not self propelled? Wheels look to be capable of driving. Can't really tell but I don't see any drive mech. And I doubt that the various protection agencies would approve of that design these days. Interesting machine.