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Hello everyone,

I am a brand new member and this is my first post.
I have little idea how this works or to whom it is going but I'll give it a shot.

I live in Indiana and repair mowers at a local shop and do some handy work elsewhere. I have 12 mowers currently and most of them are for sale, but it appears the demand is dwindling at this point in the year.

I have the following mowers:
Lawn-boy
10247
10323
R7268
10324
7260
Craftsman
917.376655
917.372854
917.385111
Troy-Bilt
11A-A230711
34322 (1997)(a real Troy-Bilt prior to the MTD buy out)
Toro
20464
26682 (Locked up 2-cycle)

For those of you who are really into this sort of stuff, these model numbers will make for a fun search.

I work on all kinds and ages of mowers. My favorite are 2-cycle Lawn-Boys. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because my Dad had a 1958 model from 1965 to around 1981) when we were growing up and it was the first one I ever used. Maybe its that classic buzzing sound. Maybe its that thumb your nose at the EPA smoke. Maybe its that pretty green paint. I'm not sure. They are loud and stinky and usually get covered with a layer of black oily filth. I still like them.

I hope this was of interest to someone.

Lawn-Boy

Wow. You are really into lawnmowers. Yes, it was of interest to me. Glad you posted.

I have two mowers at present. A commercial Snapper Hi-Vac with a Wisconsin Robin Engine I bought new in 1986. Model 214x5. I bought every attachment you could back then. Two extra vac chutes, an extra bag, a de-thatcher attachment that snaps on the front, two Ninja Blades for mulching and two snapper extra LIFT blades for bagging. This puppy weighs a ton with heavy commercial engine, heavy steel deck and steel wheels. I have not fixed the very complicated rear wheel drive mechanism in 5 years, so I prefer my LawnBoy, because pushing this heavy mower is not pleasant. Yes, you get a workout, but there are times when you would really like the self drive to work. I should try and get the lost parts and fix it.

The LawnBoy model L21ZSM I bought used about 8 years ago from a Dealer. It was a pain the first three years getting used to a 2 cycle and the finicky way it always needed some routine maintenance. But once I mastered that, I was set. I love this mower and am lucky to have it. Compared to the Snapper it is feather weight. I think it does a decent job of mulching as well. Not quite as good as the Snapper with the Ninja Blade, but I have put a Gator Blade on it for Mulching and it's not too bad. I also bought a bagging attachment from eBay about 7 years ago. It bags fine, but not as well as the Snapper Hi-Vac.

The Snapper now has an issue. I ran it too low on oil by accident. It did not seize up, but now I'm getting gas in the oil. Bad news. Dealer is convinced it's a stuck float or needle valve that is pouring in gas, but I am afraid I may have ruined the rings. Maybe not. I'll tear the carb apart and see if I can find an issue with it. If not, it's the ring issue, although the Dealer tells me that will NOT cause gas in the Oil... yet internet searches reveal that indeed bad rings on a 4 cycle lawnmower may allow gas mixing in the oil. We'll see. I'd hate to think this awesome mower that I paid a fortune for in 1986 was finally done for good. It would be a shame.

Over the years, I have had a few others. I had a large Yardman Rider with bagger and striping attachments, and I have had a Craftsman walk behind, along with Murray and Montgomery Ward (probably Yardman manufactured). But the Snapper and the LawnBoy are keepers.

Thanks for you friendly and personal reply. I believe your dealer is correct. You need a new needle and seat in your carb to keep fuel out of the oil. Might as well rebuild the carb with a full carb kit once you are in there. What type of engine does it have? If you are pressed for time, always run the mower out of fuel before putting it away. I think that gas in oil problem will then go away and you will have proven it is a leaky float valve.

Hello Steve. Welcome to Lawn World!

It looks like you have a love for mowers and equipment just like we do! You're a perfect fit for our community, so please keep sharing and posting.

Briana said:

Hello Steve. Welcome to Lawn World!

It looks like you have a love for mowers and equipment just like we do! You're a perfect fit for our community, so please keep sharing and posting.

Click to expand...

Thanks !

Steve123123 said:

Thanks for you friendly and personal reply. I believe your dealer is correct. You need a new needle and seat in your carb to keep fuel out of the oil. Might as well rebuild the carb with a full carb kit once you are in there. What type of engine does it have? If you are pressed for time, always run the mower out of fuel before putting it away. I think that gas in oil problem will then go away and you will have proven it is a leaky float valve.

Click to expand...

Hi Steve. Thanks.

My Snapper is the Commercial Model from the Mid 80's and the motor is a Wisconsin Robin WI 185v commercial model. Not sure Subaru (whom bought Wisconsin Robin) still offers a carb rebuild kit, but we'll see. The model does have a valve shutoff, and I do shut it off, but lately it seems the problem happens while running. Maybe not. Might be a perception issue on my part.
I also lost a few major parts on the self propulsion mechanism while mowing a few years ago, and have to see if I can find them from Subaru. It's a very heavy mower and pushing it really is difficult if you have an incline. I'm a fairly strong dude and it's more of a workout than I want. The LawnBoy I have is feather weight compared to the Snapper Commercial model. And, the LawnBoy's propulsion works, even though the mower is so light I rarely let it self drive.

But since I paid almost $700 for it in 1986 for the Snapper, I really want to resurrect it and bring it back to pristine condition.

I like them too. For the same reasons. As a kid we had a push Lawn-Boy that was gold in color. We used it as a mini brush hog around the land. It never seemed to give up. I went to college, moved away from home and one day I looked for it in the barn and Dad had finally dinged it. It had a cast aluminum or magnesium deck. It could really mow!