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If you can set up a Holley 4 barrel, surely you can handle a little mower carburetor. Keep the OEM carburetor if at all possible!

To remove excessive sealant on valve covers: Use a heat gun to soften the sealant, then a couple of small screwdrivers to gently pry valve cover. Then use a wire wheel on a battery drill to remove sealant from valve cover and cylinder head. Scotch bright and carburetor cleaner for the last bits...

Cheap ignition coils are not recommended for long term reliability. I usually order OEM ignition coils for customers. If you already have them, give them a shot and see how they do.

The world’s longest run on sentence, without any punctuation. Thanks for the information though.

If engine is losing power when making turns, or going up a hill, a possibility is there is debris clogging the fuel outlet from fuel tank. Remove fuel hose after fuel filter and blow back into tank with air compressor and blow gun (fuel cap also removed).

Sure, the shaft can be replaced if you can find the part, and want to completely take the transaxle off of the mower, completely take the case off, replace part, reseal, and reinstall. So the short answer is , lots of work.

It is really a 4 cylinder engine?

Make sure the deck is level. Break out the tape measure with all tires at correct air pressure, and on concrete. Often the right side of deck is fixed, and the left side of deck is adjusted to match the right side height. Then the front of deck is pitched 1/4” lower than the rear. Another thing...

To “Soonerfan3107” question. You have to check at battery with multi-meter to determine if battery is charging or not. Then test regulator/rectifier and stator to see which needs replacing.

I recommend the 300 CCA battery for mowers at a minimum. Average battery life on mower is about 3 years without additional charging.

Looks like a Briggs 500E. Even with compression release, 30 psi of compression is too low to start and run. Did you try to spray some carburetor spray into throat of carb to see if it will run for a few seconds?

If you have debris, or more likely water, siphoning “most” of the fuel out won’t work. You may have to remove tank, turn it upside down, and blow it out with air gun to get it all out.

Ruixing is made in China, along with the engine.

Fram declared bankruptcy along with two other sister brands. Do some research for details.

I change grinding discs often due to glazing. I tried flapper discs and they just didn’t work at all. I buy 60 grinding discs at a time and sharpen a lot of blades. Many of the blades from customers are really beat up and require a lot of sharpening.

Yep, debris in fuel can lodge between needle and seat and cause issues. You can install a fuel shut off valve and use it every time you are finished mowing. You can also tap on carburetor bowl with the handle of screwdriver to often get needle and seat to seal.

You have a 1/4 acre lot, which is tiny. A good self-propelled mower is what you need. Otherwise, either the Toro or Gravely would be fine. At that price point of big box store mowers, it doesn’t matter. The low end John Deere is no better or worse than a Cub Cadet.

With a 42” deck and pull button PTO, around $600-$800, everything in working order and good condition.

Two hands and a grunt and a rag so it doesn’t slip, is how I install oil filters. I also write the date and hours on oil filter. No other shop in my area ever writes the date and hours on filter. Helps the customer with tracking tune up and helps me identify that I have worked on mower and when.

The Nikki single barrel carburetors are a pain, however, I can usually bring them back after cleaning and new o-ring set. They are prone to causing the engine to hydro lock when needing attention. If the original Nikki can’t be fixed, the aftermarket ones have worked well for me also.

Average battery life in mower is 3 years give or take. Most people do little to nothing to maintain or charge their batteries additionally from the charging system on mower. The lower and slower the charge when charging any battery is better. You can read for several hours about batteries until...

The surging has nothing to do with valves. Surging is a lean fuel condition primarily caused by dirty carburetor, or sometimes air leaks in intake gaskets, etc. Occasionally after correctly cleaning carburetors, they just don’t come back and run right. Is it surging at all RPMs?

It has Kawasaki FS series engine, you posted FX. FS is a little better air filter system than FR series, versus FX series which is commercial. Depending upon year it is, $4300 sounds about right.

What exactly is “not running right?” Need to be more specific. When you cleaned the OEM carburetor, did you completely take it apart and also replace the metering diaphragm?

Remove and correctly clean carburetor.

The bypass rod is often not that sturdy. Just keep working it back and forth until the transaxle engages again. Follow the rod to where it mounts and make sure it has full travel.

Save your money on buying True Fuel and simply use fresh pump gas that is correctly stored.

Check for air leaks around the carburetor intake by spraying carburetor cleaner there when engine is running. Is RPM affected and changed or does it stay the same?

Make sure your fuel tank is free of debris. Drain and blow out fuel line and tank as needed. Make sure you are getting good steady fuel flow from fuel pump to carburetor. At 1000 hours the ignition coils and 20 minute run time until engine has performance issues is suspect. However, if you can...

Make sure fuel pump is functioning. Correctly and thoroughly clean the carburetor.

Quality in general for many products has gone down over the years. Have not heard anything about John Deere changing OEM names, packaging, etc. on belts.

You are polishing a turd. Unless you can get it to shift through the gears, with a working deck, it is only a project to practice on.

Remember, one simple way to check relays is to label them, then swap them temporarily to test the equipment.

Unless you buy a used deck in good shape for cheap, by the time you buy a new deck, you are around the value of the mower in most cases.

Recheck all safety switches.

Sounds like the deck has developed some play or slop over the years, common issue. Two solutions that come to mind are grinding down on the deck hanger where you see rubbing, or keep trying to adjust deck with some vigor, until you get to right height.

Looked up the information on this rig. Made around 2002, top speed 19 mph. Looks like slow UTV basically. Option would be to buy an aftermarket starter and install it so you can diagnose the other issues this vehicle will have.

No fuel in carburetor bowl, you answered your own question. Check fuel flow is strong and consistent. Test fuel pump if equipped.

Check all the transaxle mounting points on both left and right side. Hustler bought out Big Dog several years ago, and some of these zero turns are known for weak transaxle mounting brackets. I know from experience because I installed an upgrade repair kit on one two years ago. Four out of six...

Could be hydro locked with fuel in cylinder. Try pulling recoil rope with spark plug out and see if gas comes out of spark plug hole. If so, keep pulling until it clears.

There is an a$$ for every seat, as the saying goes. Just have to find the right buyer.

Nobody is going to buy a new mower that has never been used, from an individual for a new price. Try listing it for around $600-650. If you have family that needs a great mower, maybe gift it to them.

The FH Kawasaki is a great engine. This particular model may be a bit underpowered in horsepower in today’s standards. If it is running strong I would leave it in the mower.

The black plastic oil drain plugs that Kawasaki put into some of these engines are a pitiful joke. Sounds like someone rigged it. Probably attempt to install a larger plug, and then if unsuccessful, a whole new sump, etc. This will mean pulling the engine and a bigger job.

I get free equipment all the time from customers. I work on equipment routinely that is 15,20,25 years old, plus. I think you are getting the wrong impression. Anyway, I stay busier than I need all year long, and take care of my customers.

I was not commenting on this specific Toro, which apparently is a 36” stander first made in 2010. I was commenting on a riding mower worth say $650 on the open market and installing a $1500 engine. This specific Toro apparently has a Kawasaki 15 hp engine. I don’t understand how you didn’t...

I did a little reading about this just now online. Apparently the deck needs to be removed and the back wheels jacked up to make job easier. There is a steel plate underneath that needs to be removed. I find it hard to believe it takes 10 hours labor to install a $30-40 drive belt. Go to another...

Installing a new $1500 engine, plus labor, into a mower that is worth $650 on the open market does not make financial sense. Don’t preach to me about a “throw away society.” I repair and sell equipment and give it a new life all the time. Very few customers will spend 3 times the value of a...

A new engine in an old riding mower that is not worth that much to begin with is rarely worth it. The question is, was it run being low on oil (still on dipstick), or run with no oil until it died?

Bertsmobile was great. Lots of knowledge, very helpful, and have wondered what happened to him. RIP Bertsmobile.