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I have never been a fan of fuel stabilizer, nor used it. Fresh fuel with zero water in it is the way to go. This topic is another controversial one like ethanol debate.

Make sure the engine has oil and it is at full mark. If you want to add a little oil down spark plug hole and crank it over a few times, nothing wrong with that at all. Remember that long term engine longevity for your engine is regular maintenance including oil changes, checking oil, and...

Don’t forget the emulsion tube, pilot jet, and main jet also getting blocked partially or fully is what mainly leads to hunting and surging. It is normally lack of fuel (running lean) that causes RPM fluctuation. Occasionally it can be air leaks in intake gasket, etc. Rarely is it a governor...

You can also put a wooden Q-tip with valve lapping compound on it and chuck it up in a drill at low speed. Then switch to carburetor cleaner, then blow out the seat.

Oregon and Rotary are simply distributors, selling aftermarket and sometimes OEM parts.

It is a Nikki carburetor from the looks of pictures. If you can’t tell a pulse fuel pump from an electronic fuel pump, I would suggest going to a shop for help. Why would an electronic fuel pump be on a carbureted engine?!

How many people actually remove a cylinder head every once in a while to decarbonize it? Way less that even remove the engine shroud to check for dirt, debris on cooling fines and top off engine. How expensive do you think it would be to buy a used cylinder head off of EBay, remove the one on...

If the engine running on one cylinder was your first thought, why would bypassing the governor make it better? Address the issue with why only one cylinder is running and do NOT mess with the governor.

Charge battery, 12.05 volts is flat. Remove carburetor and address the leaking needle and seat issue. Install fuel shut off valve for backup.

Helicoils are normally very reliable long term if installed correctly. Who would go to the trouble of removing the cylinder head, welding it, tapping a new hole, probably have to replace head gasket, and reinstalling cylinder head? That sounds like something they would do in Pakistan.

I buy several 5 gallon buckets of Citgo 10W-30 locally at place that sells lubricants. The local Walmart became to unreliable on stock availability as well as cost and quantity I was needing.

One of the main reasons yearly maintenance prevents most problems is because you usually catch problems before they happen. Example: A drive belt that has cracks about every inch and needs to be replaced. Very few people seem to do yearly maintenance with their equipment, at least in my experience.

Many times when removing spark plugs from customer engines, I find the plugs to be too loose. I think they are afraid of stripping it. Anyway, I have two engines with stripped spark plug threads and one engine with stripped carburetor bolt threads I will work on this winter. Occasionally people...

Probably a worn and tired engine with a combination of worn rings, worn valve guides/seals, sloppy valves, etc. If you have time and money and motivation, go for it.

I burn spark arrestors out for customers occasionally right on the spot. Equipment can’t exhale when exhaust is blocked. Fairly common issue.

The carburetor you installed isn’t dead on correct and is probably a large part of the poor starting and running issue. New doesn’t always mean correct.

I have rebuilt a few in the past. Only one had stopped moving the mower. I tried sanding the pumps and pump surfaces unsuccessfully apparently because it did not improve forward and reverse travel on the mower. I have one this winter I am going to tackle, or swap out another K46. Customer pulled...

First charge and load test battery. Second clean and check all terminals for tightness. Could be one of several problems, but always start with the battery.The high pitched whine you hear is the starter slowly being killed. You can always turn the engine past the compression stroke by hand...

Look for scoring on pumps as well as the surface they ride on. If too deep may need to buy new parts. Real pain from start to finish to rebuild a hydro transaxle. If you do all that work and it doesn’t help it then becomes very frustrating and time consuming as well.

Once again, go through the OEM Zama carburetor and clean it. Hipa has good aftermarket parts, however, aftermarket carburetors on 2-stroke handheld equipment can be more hit or miss.

Keep an eye on the oil and run it. The Kohler Courage single was a dog of an engine that had several problems. That said, I have yet to see one that developed the Kohler crack or broke a connecting rod. There is a large counter weight and these engines were not the most balanced or smooth.

You bought an OEM Zama carburetor from Hipa and Amazon online? You state it is a Zama. You probably meant it cross references to that Zama. Thoroughly clean and replace screen, and metering diaphragm in the OEM Zama carburetor and install on trimmer. If you can’t do this properly, take it to a...

Do what the manufacturer recommends. Do not overthink it.

My advice is to turn down the repair. Call the customer and tell them you are unable to help them. Let another shop (if they can find one) take on this repair. The chances of it leaking again are too high.

The way the oil cooler is mounted, it is impossible for the oil lines to rub and leak. Plus, all you have to do is inspect them and see what kind of shape they are in.

Throw them back on EBay for sale.

Look at the Predator 304 cc engine at Harbor freight if replacing. I repowered my splitter years ago with this engine and it has been great.

Are the armature and field and brushes good. Do the windings look burnt? Did you take it apart or just throw some WD-40 on the bendix gear? Did you try to bench test it?

Selling used equipment can be frustrating, however, you just have to wait for the right buyer. Cannot take things personally, and need to find a person who sees real value in the product you have to offer. Used sales provide extra income, can be easy to sell, and help people out that cannot...

The Kawasaki FH series engine puts it at about 20 years old, must be new old stock. Look on the silver sticker for date of manufacture. Unless it is a used engine. The Kawasaki FS series engine is basically the FR series with a better air filter and something else minor. No reason you can’t get...

Briggs and Stratton model # 44J677. Good solid twin cylinder engine.

Has a Kawasaki FH engine on it, great engine. People say “my engine blew up” a lot. Often it is a broken connecting rod. When is the last time the engine shroud and tins where removed to check for debris on cylinder head cooling fins, etc.?

Belt tension is important for longevity of belt and cut quality. If you had to adjust the engagement cable position or slightly move a spring to get the belt to engage the blades, it was obviously way too loose. There should be about a half inch or so of belt deflection when you push belt, at...

No way to accurately assess the deck pulleys and spindles condition, angles, and correct alignment from this one pitiful little picture. How old is mower and how many hours on meter?

I am not a fan of artificial intelligence.

Did you really type all of this?!

Where the belt rides on the deck pulleys is really important. I have had to modify the pulley height on newer mowers (less than 5 years old) to have the deck belt ride correctly and last.

Weld ‘er up!

Clean and replace the OEM Zama carburetor with the aftermarket one you probably put on. Do not spend any more money for parts on this trimmer.

$2000 is way too expensive even with only 96 hours on it.

I have a Dixon zero turn with a damaged crankshaft. Customer installed new PTO clutch themselves and did not tighten and torque it down correctly. I ended up with it as a result, and have not had time to remove and replace engine with good used Kawasaki, or replace crankshaft with new one...

Heavy scoring on piston in picture. Stop and don’t do any further work on chainsaw. Leave muffler off so you can show customer or know this saw is done.

No belt length is that critical to a 1/4” inch. There is something else most likely going on that is wrong causing problems with 3 belts so far.

Buy a zero turn versus a riding mower for sure for two acres. Doesn’t matter what brand zero turn you buy at the low end, they are all pretty crappy. Lean towards Toro, Troy Bilt Mustang, or Hustler. You are looking at $3500 and up on price.

So it seems a shop has to be a bit larger to use Stens, Rotary, and Oregon, as a general rule. I was told before opening up to get hooked up with these suppliers. Once I realized the minimum purchase for free shipping, tax exempt rule, and not a significant savings for lower tier sales, I never...

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices...

I normally use PB Blaster for penetrating oil and works great. Kroil is supposed to be better, no real personal experience. One other way is 50/50 mixture of automatic transmission oil and acetone. This works well and have used it in the past.

What equipment is listed at, and what it actually sells for, are obviously two separate things. I get people nowadays that make lowball offers sight unseen. That folks, is not how you negotiate. I simply reply “no thanks “, and wait for a real buyer. When I get a real buyer, rarely do they ask...

You must have the same transaxle for replacement as original. IE: T40 Tuff Torq. Otherwise you have to do modifications and it can get to be a lot of work, or will not work at all, depending on situation.

Carb cleaner and a cordless drill with wire wheel and safety glasses. Then use green Scotchbrite to finish it.