how many of you repair small engines as a hobby? $$

twinfords

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i do not have enough mowers, busy busy busy

Well, all i can say is it must be spring time, i have sold every mower i had ready for the spring time. 8-10 and fixed 10 or more as well. i need to find and fix more to meet my customers needs.

readymowers 003.jpgreadymowers 007.jpgreadymowers 004.jpg
 

hanyoukimura

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I admit, I didn't do much over the winter. Unlike the previous winter, it was very cold and we got a lot of snow. I just didn't have the motivation. However, I do have a few leftover from last year ready to go.







The Craftsman is already pending sale tomorrow. The Poulan I have yet to list because I'm not sure what to list it for yet. It runs great and is in good shape, but does smoke some.

I have the Toro to finish up and that will be ready, and there's a basic Craftsman push mower I need to weld a crack in the deck so I can reassemble it. Monday I plan to go pick up some mowers from a guy who sells them for $5 each. Time to get busy.
 

DaveTN

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Re: How many of you repair small engines as a hobby? $$

As much as I "intended" to cut back on small engine repairs this year, it has not worked out very well. "The Road To Small Engine Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions" as we all know. Last weekend my cousin called and couldn't get her Lowe's riding mower started. Went over and checked it, bad battery. Showed her how to jump it off on the car battery. Got home and had a message on my phone from a neighbor who couldn't get her Snapper rider to cut. Went over about a week later and found a bent blade after she told me she ran over a piece of cinder block. Still have to put on the new blade. Then there's that poor middle aged woman who can spend money on cigarettes and wants FREE lawnmower service but only remembers my name once a year, maybe 2 or 3 times when her mower goes out. Otherwise she has some form of AMNESIA! :mad: Was having dinner last night in my favorite Mexican restaurant and the waiter heard somewhere that I worked on mowers and wanted me to go around back and look at his old Sears front-tine, vertical-shaft tiller that he couldn't get started. Told me right off that it wouldn't get fire. I said that if it was a cheap fix, just points and labor. But if it was the coil, that's another $40-$60 depending on where I got it. Some other mechanic had priced the fix at $75. Too much for him to pay for such a clunker tiller. Or if I had an old one laying around on a clunker in the bone yard I'd sell it for $15. As usual, it's worse-case scenario in most small engine repairs with me. Coil out~~:thumbdown: I'll have to search the bone yard soon! And these are the people who looked for ME, I wasn't looking for them. It's like something from the movie: "The Lawnmower Dead! Walking the Earth, Looking For A Mechanic!" :laughing:
 

twinfords

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Re: How many of you repair small engines as a hobby? $$

As much as I "intended" to cut back on small engine repairs this year, it has not worked out very well. "The Road To Small Engine Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions" as we all know. Last weekend my cousin called and couldn't get her Lowe's riding mower started. Went over and checked it, bad battery. Showed her how to jump it off on the car battery. Got home and had a message on my phone from a neighbor who couldn't get her Snapper rider to cut. Went over about a week later and found a bent blade after she told me she ran over a piece of cinder block. Still have to put on the new blade. Then there's that poor middle aged woman who can spend money on cigarettes and wants FREE lawnmower service but only remembers my name once a year, maybe 2 or 3 times when her mower goes out. Otherwise she has some form of AMNESIA! :mad: Was having dinner last night in my favorite Mexican restaurant and the waiter heard somewhere that I worked on mowers and wanted me to go around back and look at his old Sears front-tine, vertical-shaft tiller that he couldn't get started. Told me right off that it wouldn't get fire. I said that if it was a cheap fix, just points and labor. But if it was the coil, that's another $40-$60 depending on where I got it. Some other mechanic had priced the fix at $75. Too much for him to pay for such a clunker tiller. Or if I had an old one laying around on a clunker in the bone yard I'd sell it for $15. As usual, it's worse-case scenario in most small engine repairs with me. Coil out~~:thumbdown: I'll have to search the bone yard soon! And these are the people who looked for ME, I wasn't looking for them. It's like something from the movie: "The Lawnmower Dead! Walking the Earth, Looking For A Mechanic!" :laughing:

Yes i agree, my phone never stops ringing in the spring, summer and fall. got to love it.
 

twinfords

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well, i sold a craftsman, two lawnboys and a troybilt, fixed a leaf blower and picked up two more lawnboys tonight, a 8674 and a 10323 i believe. i have about 10 to fix as well.
 

Copeland

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I grew up in an automotive repair and machine shop. Then I spent 15 years as a mobility technition. Now I work for another company that doesn't have any technical work to feed my need to fix stuff. So a few weeks ago I started repairing lawn mowers, weed trimmers, chain saws, etc. Just on the weekends in the shed in my back yard. Holy crap! I put the word out that I'm looking for free non-working lawn equipment and it just started flowing in. I'm also getting repair jobs. I put the word out on facebook garage sale sites which are HUGE in North Texas and on Craigslist. I find that most repairs have to do with fuel delivery so I bought bulk rolls of fuel line along with primer bulbs and other small parts and it's going great.
Something I learned in my automotive days was to MAKE YOUR OWN GASGETS. Just keep a roll of gasget material and a set of hole punches and cut out your own gasgets when you need them. One thing I do need is a good chain sharpener. I'm looking at the Maxx Pro. It looks like a really sweet machine.
 

twinfords

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I grew up in an automotive repair and machine shop. Then I spent 15 years as a mobility technition. Now I work for another company that doesn't have any technical work to feed my need to fix stuff. So a few weeks ago I started repairing lawn mowers, weed trimmers, chain saws, etc. Just on the weekends in the shed in my back yard. Holy crap! I put the word out that I'm looking for free non-working lawn equipment and it just started flowing in. I'm also getting repair jobs. I put the word out on facebook garage sale sites which are HUGE in North Texas and on Craigslist. I find that most repairs have to do with fuel delivery so I bought bulk rolls of fuel line along with primer bulbs and other small parts and it's going great.
Something I learned in my automotive days was to MAKE YOUR OWN GASGETS. Just keep a roll of gasget material and a set of hole punches and cut out your own gasgets when you need them. One thing I do need is a good chain sharpener. I'm looking at the Maxx Pro. It looks like a really sweet machine.



it looks like you are well on your way to a productive hobby, yes i come home to equipment in my driveway on a daily bases. The fuel we have today sucks and is killing machines every day. good luck and happy fixing.
 

mistermowerman

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Not a hobby but my main business.
Repair everything from small electric to golf course equipment.
Specialise in cylinder grinding and everthing Briggs.
Busy period now its start of the season so usually 15 hour days.
Hobby, i wish :laughing:

How is it that customers believe a mower that would not start in the autumn will start in the spring with nothing done to it .Gary:confused2:
 

Copeland

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They believe that the mower is in a better mood because of the better weather. lol Who knows. Some of the repairs I've done were the most obvious things. If they would just look at the thing for more than a minute they probably could have fixed it themselves. I guess I'm glad they didn't. Kinked fuel lines is one thing I've seen several times.
 

twinfords

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we live in a dispossable society

People either don't care are about fixing the mowers or the service center quoted a price that was almost as much as a new mower. I see it all of the time. They bring me their old mower, i either fix it or they trade it in on one that is working that i fixed already.
 
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