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The whole project will be a youtube video some day. I don't have any idea what the camshaft is going to look like, but what I do know is: The camshaft is plastic The engine was running well when I first started it up. It died and had zero compression when I tried to restart it. The compression...

Hmm maybe I'll go pick up an M11-1.25 then and see if that fits any better.

I guess, it could be.

Yeah but what I'm saying is that I can't get this bolt to thread into the initial threads that it is supposed to engage with. Once I can get it to engage, I can throw any old rod in the hole to act as a spacer/pusher so I don't to any damage to the threads on the motor shaft. But I can't do that...

Yeah I don't get it, 7/16-20 is what this bolt is and the threads aren't right at all. YOu have to go through the impeller threads to get to the crankshaft threads so I'm nowhere near those.

I don't need the whole tool. I just need a simple short bolt to thread i to teh impeller. I can use a piece of rod or something else to be the "insert" it pushes against. Plus the reviews on that thing to not look good. And it looks like there are more than one threading these impellers have so...

So I watched a bunch of youtube videos for removing the impeller off my machine. This is so I can ultimately take the motor off and open it up because I think it overheated and melted it's camshaft. But anyway.... Multiple videos say to use a 7/16" - 20 bolt. So I go pick one up and when I go...

Ok maybe finally on to something! I took the valves out, inspected everything. They both seem to have clean rings around them, and they seem to be seating very well into the cylinder head. HOWEVER the intake valve does seem to be a little sticky! I don't know how much stick is "normal" for...

So I finally had time today to take this apart again. I took the head off hoping to find a bad gasket. But sadly, it looked fine. The piston and cylinder walls also looked fine. Of course I couldn't see the state of the piston ring from here, it looks like I'd have to remove the motor and take...

How would a bad head gasket cause blow by out of the crank vent? Wouldn't the hot gasses still have to get by the piston rings to get in to the crank case?

Ok I played around today. Held the throttle in various positions. It still misfired but I guess the RPMs were a bit more steady. The throttle is SO touchy and of course its an engine so it's vibrating, so its not easy to hold it perfectly still but I did the most I could. Then I fully closed...

No road rash, only severe bruising. Still a bad day biking beats a good day in a cubicle.

Choking down didn't seem to affect the RPMs but I feel like it did smooth out the misfiring a bit. It's hard to tell, and none of it is picked up on the camera. But I don't know, it did feel a little smoother. Ill try that with the choke and see what I get. "throttle plate slash linkage" . ...

So I have been thinking that the misfiring (again, the misfiring that you really can't hear on these videos but is definitely there) was causing the changes in RPM. But maybe the problem is all governor related, and maybe its the opposite, the changes in RPM are causing the slight misfires...

So I played with it a little today. I have video/pics I can post tomorrow, but right now I'll just try to describe it: Theres a lever for the choke that you can push, which will only give you a partial choke when you push it all the way. When you do, I *think* it misfires less. The RPMs are...

Here is a video of me mowing with the machine the other day. On video it sounds perfect because, like I say every time I post a video, the mic doesn't pic up the misfiring, and it misfires about once per second. It's probably "good enough" at this point, but I'd really love to get it running...

Yeah its misfiring about once every second or so, but the mic on my phone doesn't really pick up the miss. It works well, it cuts well. I don't have any SUPER thick grass but in the thickest grass I have, its good. I did try partially covering the intake last time I used it, it had no effect on...

Flywheel key looks great, nothing deformed or bent, everything looks just like it should. Which you'd expect, the machines not that old, it definitely was still on it's original blade and aside from lots of rust and flaking paint, there was no damage to the blade suggesting it hit something...

Ok I just replaced the ignition coil and still NO change in behavior. So to recap, I have: cleaned the carburetor 3 times replaced the fuel line cleaned the fuel tank confirmed the tank vent is clear replaced the spark plug replaced the ignition coil put in fresh gas and oil gapped the valves...

Ok I'm finally getting back to this. I'm not sure how I found the parts list above because I can't get any results from jacks except parts lists for the body. I can't find a parts list/breakdown for the motor. I'm going to assume the camshaft is melted and needs to be replaced. I do know my...

I don't understand this. Aren't both valves fully closed for the entire compression stroke and then the entire power stroke? Or at least almost all of both of those strokes?

Does the engine HAVE to be at top dead center to adjust the valve/rockers? Or can the engine be anywhere in the cycle as long as its a point where both valves are fully closed?

Yes, and I've also confirmed that the vent (which is not part of the cap) is open. No change. I mowed my lawn with the machine again today and the dying problem seems to have been solved by the last thorough fuel system clean-out. So now its just the misfiring, I'm leaning towards bad coil at...

Ok update time. I unplugged the coil's ground line and started it up, no change in behavior. While I was at it, I also fully removed the muffler and started it up, just in case it was clogged internally in a way I couldn't see, no change in behavior. Except people a mile away could hear what I...

Ok I found the ground wire for the coil and unplugged it. I put a little electrical tape on the coil side connector to make sure it doesn't try to arc over to the engine block. And I taped the wire to the plastic body of the mower so I don't loose it or melt it on the muffler. Its too late at...

Where is this kill wire?

The whole point of this project was to make a video where I fix up this machine and sell it. But I really don't want to sell a mower that I'm not confident is working properly. So I'm not really sure what I'll do at this point. I have my own much nicer mower, I have no need or desire to keep...

This is really starting to drive me nuts. After cleaning the carb as thoroughly as I can, including soaking the jet in carb cleaner for a few minutes, then spraying out both ends of every hole with the stuff, and after cleaning the tank with soapy water for an hour, I let the machine sit for a...

This has been an ongoing saga, I've already done all of those things at this point. Except testing compression, I still don't have a gauge. The machine isn't in that bad of shape probably because it's only 6 years old.

Last night, I took the tank and carb off again. I soaked the jet in carb cleaner, then sprayed out all the holes and all of the bowl and body of the carb again. Then I put hot water and some dish soap in the tank and shook it vigorously. Repeat a bunch of times. Then flush with tap water for a...

The rocker issue was just because I took the engine over off and didn't realize that removed the pressure holding the rocker on to the rods. So I'm just going to drain the fuel tank again, remove and clean the carb again, and see what happens. The fuel tank looked plenty clean to me, but maybe...

I haven't had time to even try to start this machine yet. But I was sitting around yesterday and I realized that the rocker would have fallen off when I took the engine cover off. Meaning the rocker isn't the problem and I fully expect this thing to run like crap again once I try to start it up...

Another thing I don't udnerstand. I was able to pull the cord and get the machine to fire a few times before it died again. If the intake vale is stuck closed because the rocker isn't touching it, how was the engine able to run at all? That doesn't make sense to me?

So it felt like the set screws had loosened up a lot, even though I had tightened them good and snug with my T10. I re-tighten them after I readjusted them, squeezing as hard as I could with my T10 driver but no luck. Is there a trick to this? The first T10 (bit) I used snapped when I was trying...

Ok I took the valve cover off and the problem became very clear. One of the rockers fell off. I was able to press down the valve by hand and snap it back in to place. But how did this happen in the first place I wonder? I did JUST adjust the valves, they seemed too tight, so by internet specs, I...

It was running on and off for a over an hour the day this happened, however there is zero crud anywhere, so it seems very unlikely it would be overheating. I'll have to take the carb off again, then I can take the head off completely and take a closer look. If it is just some crud, do I just...

Did some poking around tonight. Double-checked the spark plug. Either this plug is mint, or I don't understand spark plugs. So I'm assuming its not the plug. Then I finally got around to popping the flywheel off. The key looked perfect, no sheering or gaps or looseness or anything like that...

I didn't check the key yet no. It seems strange that it would be that though. The machine ran - not perfect - but pretty good for an hour straight and suddenly it forgets how to run. I'll see if i can check the key Friday just for the hell of it. And I'm thinking ill replace the plug too since...

Yup I cleaned the carb the other day, took it all apart, sprayed everything. The tank looks totally clean and has seen several tanks of fresh gas so theres no old fuel anywhere. Would a dirty carb cause backfiring out the exhaust?

It was misfiring, the issue is that the mic on the phone doesn't pick it up. It's clearly missing and the whole machine kind of shake-rotates when it misses. It's doing it every couple of seconds. I need a better camera & mic to pick it up though. ALL THAT SAID, there have been some...

Ok I was able to properly adjust the valves tonight. They were both a little too tight, but not too bad. Put it back together, fired it up, zero change. I'm really running out of ideas. I guess theres that keyway thing people have mentioned. Although this machine is so new, I doubt that would...

The drama continues. So last night I went to check out the valves. I was expecting them to be too loose, because thats what I always see on youtube. But turns out mine were too tight. Very tight. So I tried loosening them. And wouldn't you know it, the tip of my T10 socket snapped right off...

It is definitely misfiring a lot, the tiny mic on the iphone camera doesn't capture the sound great. If you could hear it in person, you would not say it sounds fine.

I'm watching valve rocker adjustment videos on youtube right now. Looks easy enough, I guess that will be the next thing I try. I do own feeler gauges, but I have no glue where they are, I'll have to search for them first.

Whaaaaaat a shitshow today turned in to. The first thing I did was start up the machine and experiment with blocking the air intake by different amounts. It didn't seem to have any affect on how the machine ran. MAYBE a tiny bit smoother with it half covered, but it still misfired. No...

The mic on my camera doesn't capture the sound perfectly. So it does improve once it warms up, it never gets good. Its always misfiring/hunting. And with the new carb, it also has an awful startup. I didn't see a filter in the fuel tank and now I think its full, or close to it. I'll see if I can...

Doesn't it seem unlikely that the original carb was dirty, and the brand new one is also dirty? Seems like in this scenario where I've gone through two carbs, the air leak would be the more likely problem, no?

Ok well i disagree with some of what you say, but this part I don't understand at all: I don't know what you mean here or what you are suggesting I do?

GAH! Update: total failure! The mower behaves the exact same way, rough starts and sputtering/misfiring while running! I put the new carb in there, with the gasket that the old carb was missing. I also replaced the short little fuel line it has. After mowing half my lawn with the same poor...

Ok I modified the two springs tonight and the flap seems to be much tighter. The hook end that hooks on to the body of the mower, I basically cut the 90° off and then bent a new 90° angle into the new end of the spring. Basically pre-tensioning the spring so it pushes harder. It was kind of a...