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Gear box may have a fill/check plug on side of it. If so, remove plug and top off with 80W-90 oil until it comes out the plug.

Those temperatures if coming off of muffler with a digital thermometer are really low. Also, the temperature on each exhaust ideally should read fairly close to each other. Looks like a double barrel Nikki carburetor.

Hook up a nurse fuel tank temporarily (separate from one on the mower). Check intake gaskets to be sure they are good and not leaking. Correctly clean the OEM carburetor and reinstall. Having to manipulate the choke to keep engine running means you have a fuel to air mixture issue. Does the...

That engine has a compression release so the acceptable range when testing is about 72 to 85 psi. So your 90 is reading high probably because you are not using the right compression tester for small engines. The fact that you come up with 1% loss on a leak down test is laughable. Any reading...

It is the spark plug being bad less than one percent of the time in my experience.

So how did your Kawasaki die? Break a connecting rod, etc.? Why did it die? Lack of lubrication, cooling fins blocked, 2000 plus hours?

These driveshafts are a royal pain to work on. Only worked on one on a Cub Cadet, and one on a Grasshopper. Never again.

Clean OEM carburetor and reinstall.

Off course the piston, rings, and cylinder are expensive. So you are telling me you have 140 psi compression and the piston, rings, and cylinder are badly scored? Doesn’t add up. Also, you actually took the cylinder off to look at it, versus removing the muffler and looking at everything that way?

Two hands, a shop towel and a grunt, to tighten oil filters. Never had one back off on me. However, have seen many that are loose when changing oil, and a few that destroyed the engine because not installed tight enough.

There is hope if you do the repair yourself correctly, or if you can find a shop that will repair the leaks.

These blowers are not that great to begin with. You have dumped lots of time and money with parts into it. If it doesn’t run, forget it. Chalk it up to a learning experience.

Those “paper clip” looking choke linkages sometimes get bent and hang up. You can try fiddling with the linkage until it releases smoothly. Option two is to manually release the choke linkage yourself once engine is running.

A good accurate tachometer is a must for small engines. 3600 RPMs is maximum for a small engine. Most engines are best set at around 3150-3250. A larger 27 horsepower engine can be bumped up a bit. I would not bump it up to 3600. How many hours on engine and the model of engine?

The whole “warranty” thing from toasters to a $100,000 vehicle basically is often poorly understood. Most of the time warranty covers manufacturers defects. That does not mean in a case such as an engine, covering lack of maintenance such as: Infrequent oil changes Running it low on oil over...

If the engine runs good at all RPMs except WOT with blades on, then the flywheel key is fine.

Yes, angle discharge chute about 45 degrees and let the grass fly out as far as possible.

Remove carburetor and clean thoroughly and reinstall. Check to be sure choke is working properly.

Nikki double barrel carburetor. Need better pictures to clarify what you are asking.

Don’t run it like that or it will grenade pronto. Reset governor and when you start it, be ready to manually override the speed immediately.

$110 per hour in my area is average. Most expensive dealer is John Deere and they are at $190 per hour. Go ahead and take it off and take it apart if you want to save money. You will then realize why shops charge what they do.

It isn’t just the crankshaft, it is the muffler, the throttle and choke cables, the mounting bolt locations, and having to hard wire everything because the male female plugs won’t work.

Lawn services mow all day. I usually mow right in the middle of the day when it is hot.

You have done way more that most people. Most people stomp on the pedal over and over and give up and buy another mower. This specific transaxle with a black plastic case has its share of known issues. I would try to find a used transaxle (needle in a haystack), or look for another good used...

My shop is not air conditioned either and I have been roasting all summer. It is your decision to charge for parts only. I have had a few charity cases in the past as well. These days my time has value, I stay a couple of weeks out on repairs, my skills I have earned and learned, and I have...

I was raised in Alabama and that is what we always used in mowers and cars, 10W-40 oil. Been in Missouri last 30 years and now always use 10W-30 in mowers. Cars these days are often different on oil.

The steering tracking has not been set properly. It left the factory wrong, then the dealer or big box store (most likely), did nothing to set steering correctly. Follow the steering arm linkage back to transaxles. These can be adjusted with some trial and error.

If “the kid” is concerned about cost, I can’t see how you will perform a rebuild with parts and labor and keep the cost down. Unless you heavily discount both.

And yet I see 10, 20, 30 plus year old riding mowers from John Deere, and many other brands every month. Still running, and chugging along. In my area John Deere is 25 plus % of the market for homeowners. There is nothing special about big box store John Deere mowers. They have just done a great...

You are dealing with a 22 year old engine. Do you know the approximate hours on engine?

I got almost 2000 hours out of a Kohler Command engine in my Scag before a rebuild, with zero extra zinc added or anything except 10W-30 oil and regular oil changes. I believe changing oil and filter every 50 hours or so is more important than worrying about zinc content.

Stop. Take some time, do some reading online, think about it. You are jumping from one thing to the next. Ask yourself, what changed from the time the engine was running, until now?

Peerless is the best bet.

Very carefully and gradually it can be straightened, depending upon how bent it is.

So nobody can tell me how much zinc is in regular 10W-30 oil. I buy oil for customers in 5 gallon buckets. Buying oil branded by the manufacturer such as Kawasaki, is crazy in my opinion. You are buying a brand more than an actual quality difference.

I am not defensive. If a person speaks from years of real experience vs a few personal events, which one tends to hold more weight? Standers are terrible on hillsides. Worse than the crappy steering wheel Cub Cadet zero turn you like. Some people can’t be convinced. I am done with this topic...

So how much zinc is in regular SAE 10W-30 oil??? The whole zinc amount is another controversial topic that comes up.

The push for young people to go to college instead of trades such as HVAC, plumbing, mechanics, etc. has been a huge factor in the decline. The younger people have been raised in a different environment with the internet. They often don’t want to get dirty, hot, cold, working in weird positions...

You aren’t getting a new mower. You aren’t the first person to ever have problems with a piece of equipment. You should try to be patient and see how the process goes.

I have rebuilt transaxles and hydro pumps in the past also. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Try doing this repair when you are a one person shop, you are 3 weeks out, the phone is ringing and customers are coming in throughout the day, and you do every single task from sweeping...

This little “hill” is a bump compared to some of the properties I have mowed in the past with a real zero turn.

Here we go again…Why do you never see steering wheel zero turns (Cub Cadet is the only one), mowing hillsides from lawn services, and only see a real zero turn mowing the hillside? Because a real zero turn is better, faster, more productive, and holds hills better.

Most shops will not repair hydro pumps, pump motors, or transaxles because it is labor intensive, costly, and risky to repair and it not leak again. Then the shop has to eat the labor to make it right. It is remove and replace normally for shops when it comes to hydros, as well as not rebuilding...

Some of my customers do not know their riding mower has a brake you can set and leave the mower running and get off the seat. I show them and they say, “I never knew that.”

I used to mow commercially before doing small engine repair. The two zero turn mowers that really hold a hill well are Scag and Ferris. Some were so steep it required going up and down to mow it. Way more that 18 degree slope. More like closer to 45 degrees. Never had a problem with oil...

The transaxle running fine in forward and reverse and then not being able to move the mower after 30 minutes is not a good sign. Once the oil heats up and gets thinner after mowing for a half hour is when you are experiencing problems, not upon first starting to mow. Changing hydro oil may help...

Many riding mowers are unstable and tippy on steeper slopes. That’s when a good zero turn is better. In this case, you either can maintain control and it feels acceptable, or it doesn’t.

Sometimes two gaskets doesn’t do it, and still will not prime. You can buy a new base for only about $15-$20 dollars.