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If you cut a groove in valve guide, insert a c-clip into the groove so it stays put. Make sure it is at correct depth of course. You can red Loctite it and peen it also.

Had a pressure washer with diesel put in it this summer. I called her “Smokey”. Ran fine after the smoke cleared.

It would be a labor of love because it would take a lot of work on an engine that isn’t worth much. The upside would be the satisfaction of using it after the repair, and the learning and experience.

Are you changing the cylinder that overheated and pushed the valve guide? Did you thoroughly clean the top of engine and cooling fins from debris after it overheated? This mower is 25 years old and has been around the block a time or two.

If the drive shaft will not turn, it is a good probability the gear box is locked up. First release tension on PTO deck belt and make sure all spindles and pulleys move freely. Have you been periodically checking the gear box oil by removing the fill plug? Did you know you had a gear box with a...

Can you describe the “stumble” more specifically?

This entire post is a great example of a few things. Diagnostic skills versus shooting in the dark. Listening and comprehension versus throwing parts at it. Experience versus “maybe this will fix it.”

White rust. If given enough time it will eventually destroy the carburetor to the point of being unusable.

All those lawn services out there with 21” self-propelled mowers being super productive on acreage all day long, Not! You change the mowing pattern every week with a zero turn. Zero turns range in weight from 800 pounds to 2200, with around 1100 being a good average. If the ground is really wet...

Gravely was never a great zero turn mower, but a good, solid zero turn mower, yes. Gravely is the commercial side, and Ariens is the residential side, same company. When you say “Gravely sold out”, do you mean literally? Because Gravely has not sold out.

This was a great year for business, very smooth and steady. My annual income continues to grow. I am optimistic about the next four years because the people have spoken. However , when a country is 36 TRILLION dollars in debt, and you are paying more in interest each year than the defense...

Clean existing OEM carburetor.

So in your opinion, on acreage, what gives better cut quality than a good zero turn mower? When you drive by a nice lawn and you see all those beautiful stripes that pop, how do you think they got there? A 21” self-propelled mower, a 48” walk behind, a 42” riding mower Murray? Give me a break...

Or mix old fuel with used engine oil and use it to light a burn pile.

Or buy a Mityvac oil/gas extractor ($100) that you pump by hand, holds about 3 gallons, and will last a long time because it is a well built unit.

Gorilla Glue adhesive (white) $10.00 bucks at Walmart in a caulk size tube.

Did the engine run low, or out of oil? If the piston, rings, cylinder, crankshaft, and cam are all heavily scored, most likely this engine is not able to be rebuilt.

Some Stihl trimmers have an adjustment at the half circle cam, that some trimmer throttle cables ride on. If not this design, than maybe where the cable mounts there is an adjustment. Otherwise, no adjustment.

Plastic to steel, plastic to foam, Gorilla Glue does it. The key is weight, clamps, and 24 hours to cure.

Gorilla Glue adhesive (comes in tube and is white), clamps, weight, and 24 hours.

Screw in dipstick is normally a Kawasaki engine. Remove dipstick, wipe, turn to the left until it seats on top of threads, and pull it out for reading.

New key switch.

I have only seen a larger twin Honda on one zero turn, and it was a Hustler. Unless the engine is leaking a lot of oil, I would just keep the oil checked and topped off and run it. Customers come in periodically throughout the year with oil leaks. I pressure wash the equipment and can rarely...

Hustler is a decent mower. Just keep the one you got for 2 acres, 12” is not that big of a difference. The hours, engine type, hydros, brand, condition and features determine the value of a zero turn.

I have seen customers that have owned a riding mower for years, and not know that you can set the parking brake and get off the mower with it running. People are funny.

It depends on which transaxle it is because there are many different ones. I would say $1200 to $1600 parts and labor, rough estimate.

I use a socket wrench and then apply a cheater pipe and use feel to tighten them. They are tighter than spec when I tighten engine bolts.

How many hours on mower? Sounds like pump transaxle cavitation and not a good problem. Once it heats up starts making noise and losing power. In most cases it is a remove and replace solution for bad transaxle unless you can find a shop to repair or rebuild it.

How much do you think this mower is worth? What is the model number of mower? Age? Will you be doing the work yourself? What model number of engine? For example, if the mower is worth $500 and you spend $500 in parts and several hours of labor, that is a judgement call and up to you, but...

I think people in general need to be a bit more patient, a bit thicker skin, and a bit more respectful. The internet is a wonderful tool if used properly, however, the name calling and insults seem to come easier online versus an actual face to face conversation.

I see loose engine bolts several times a year. Most of the time, the customer doesn’t even realize it. I remove bolts, clean them up, apply Loctite and torque.

Combine all the slop in each steering component and severe toe out is the result. Only so much can be done to help. There is a way to straighten the steering spindle and different videos on YouTube show it.

Sometimes the tank breather on a backpack blower will get dirty and start causing the engine to bog down. Ignition coils rarely go bad in two stroke equipment. This post makes me remember a Husqvarna I worked on last year with similar issue. I still have the chainsaw and will try a different...

Welcome and thanks for your post. With labor costs being what it is for most shops, nowadays it is common for mechanics to be more “parts changers” than before. For example, instead of cleaning a carburetor, they will literally order a new one and install it. I am old school myself and diagnose...

Check engine mounting bolts. Torque and Loctite as needed.

You can take a larger rubber hose and carefully hold it up to your ear and put it by each spindle and pulley while deck is running to try to isolate noise. You can also remove deck blade belt (release tension only) and turn and check for play in each spindle and pulley.

Do you have a digital tachometer that is determining your engine speed. 3600 RPM is maximum for a small engine, however, many of the newer engines are set up to run 3150-3300 RPM. If you have to run engine on full choke or close to full choke, then the carburetor you ordered is wrong. You are...

If you mean bar oil, then you need to dump it all out and start again.

California is the poster child for the other 49 states on how not to run a state.

They are called anti-scalp wheels on the deck of a riding mower. They are not intended to ever touch the ground unless you are on uneven ground. Welding some brackets from a push mower with some deck wheels on it is one way of doing it.

The beauty of a free capitalist economy is that competition naturally takes care of most pricing issues.

Is it a MS 290 or MS291? The MS290 is the older version. What brand of cylinder did you install? Stihl, Meteor, Farmertec, etc. ? What was the condition of the piston, rings, and cylinder before working on saw? Age? Why did you put a new cylinder in it? What was compression reading? Did you...

Drive a vehicle until the wheels fall off. The individual shops are probably subsidized from local government for doing vehicle inspections. How could they turn a profit on a $12 inspection?

Gorilla Glue adhesive (comes out of tube white), about $10 a tube. Clamp and let sit 24 hours and works well.

The parts are obsolete, most shops won’t work on off brand battery equipment, and it dies. Ends up in landfill and further hurts the environment. This cycle repeats itself all day everyday. The “greenies” helped nothing.

Let the leaves stay on the grass all winter and it will kill your lawn. Do this every year and it will really wipe out the good grass.

About two weeks before a hard freeze here. It was a great year rain wise until about 7 weeks ago, then very dry. Will be doing leaves for two days at my place after Thanksgiving.

Check the fuel tank breather. These can get clogged up and cause fuel starvation.

If you call about $2000 “much cheaper” for a 35 hp Vanguard installed. Either way, it will be expensive. See if you can find a good used engine either gas or diesel.

Since you probably don’t have a couple weeks, put the puller on it and destroy the pulley and install new one. Can also use an air hammer to help remove pulley. Option two, bend the tabs, install belt, bend tabs back into place. The “hacks” bend the tabs and don’t bend them back into place.