Intec 12.5 Vertical

[artemjemmy]

At a rough guess I would do 20 or so intek gaskets a season.
If you are suggesting I swap gaskets just because I can then you have no idea of the way I work.
Nothing gets replaced unless it needs to be replaced thus I use about 50 spark plugs a year and about 30 fuel filters a year .
That is against around a 300 job average year .
The only real proof is to pull the head & check and in doing this you destroy the gasket so it is a moot point.
Excessive crankcase pressure is either charge leaking in or the breather blocked.
A blocked breather, can easily be checked with a damp finger over the end of the tube, takes about 2 minutes
Leaking inlet valve seals & bad rings can be checked by working the throttle with your finger & watching / listening.
You also pick up blown gaskets this way as well because the engine will faulter on initial acceleration as it will be sucking in crankcase fume rather than fuel then steady out when the speed has been maintained .
If the gasket was not at fault then the customer gets it done for free.
I believe it stems from a casting fault as some will run 1000 hours without problems while others will do a gasket a season from new .
Usually I can diagnose a blown gasket by the sound the engine makes when it starts then the way it sounds when the blades are engaged .
Now I could spend an full hour doing a dozen thests to confirm the gasket leak or 1/2 hour to replace the the gasket if all goes well .

Crankcases are cast on a multi head machine so one bad mould can affect as few as 1 in 100 castings depending upon the size of the machine.
Or it could be because they are not scrapping the first couple of rotations which are needed to get the machine & channels up to working temperature .
Tossing ingots into the melt pot in too large a batch can also cause temperature problems that will cause flow problems.
Had a "materials fault" at one time that was actually a lack of forklifts problem .
The driver would put 10 pallets ( stacks actually ) of ingots in front of the machine which was around a full shifts worth
Th ingots from the first 2 stacks , sat on the side for the regulation 3 minutes to pre warm & drive off water then got shoved in
As the stacks got further away the furnace man started to get behind so a lot of them were dropped directly into the furnace which drops the temperature which slows down the flow so you end up with porus castings because the parts of the casting solidifies & blocks off the feeder sprews before the entire casting has solidified leaving internal voids .

30 fuel filters a year? what? What do you even do as a basic service then? Just an oil change? On riders and zero turns with a paper fuel filter, it gets changed with every basic service.

 

[bertsmobile1]

For WIW a mower that comes in for a repair get the repair done then field tested for 1/2 hour and returned with a list of what needs to be done .

A mower that comes in for service gets a 1/2 hour run to evaluate it and heat the oil
The oil is changed then every problem I noticed when mowing gets attended to\
Every nut & bolt gets checked as does all of the bushes & bearings
Rear wheels & PTO come off for a derust , and coat of never sieze.
Flywheel comes off to check the stator & clean around the magnets & of course the fins
Under cowl wiring is checked for condition , starter gets a dusting of graphite on the bendix
Alternator output is checked as is battery capacity and battery cables get a visual and some times a terminal clean then over paint with liquid electrical tape .
All tyres are immersion checked for leaks at 40 psi then returned to correct value.
Steering bush is checked & lubed where required , some plastic ones get replaced as required
Steering & brakes adjusted
Belts checked & replaced as required.
Hydros get treated according to their type
Hydros with internal brakes get an oil change at around 200 to 300 hour intervals so it is not uncommon for my customers to get 2000+ hours out of the "non-Servicable " K46's and the like
Drive pedals get adjusted as necessary as does the neutral
Everything that can be lubed get a generous amount of dry lithium grease .
Front cross members with no provision for grease like all MTD's & most Husqvarnas get the pivot bolt removed , check grease & replaced where necessary
Particularly important on MTDs with pressed front cross member .
Air filters are always replaced regardless of their condition , but Donaldson type only get an outer change
Decks are leveled & attack angle adjusted.
Gauge / anti scalp wheels have axels checked and usually lowered to counter the effect of wear on their bore .
Governors are checked and the speeds verified with a tiny tach .
Magnetos on twins checked for diode failure
Cables removed flushed then relubed with Tri-Flow .
Float bowls come off for cleaning & checking the fuel solenoid.
Plugs come out and get either gapped& refitted or just replaced after checking the gap if they looked bad
Valve lash gets looked at if there is an indication that it is bad ( excessive noise or hesitation when cranking )
Generally takes about 1/2 day if I work dillgently to a whole day if I am being slack or have a lot of gate calls .
Customer pays fixed 4 hour service fee + parts.

There are way too many "cook book" mechanics out there who thinks a service is just replacing bits at prescribed hours

 

[Knots]

Many thanks to Star Tech, Bertsmobile1, Rivets
And others for all the help.
I have one more question. Head gasket blown in center between piston and pushrod galley as you predicted.
How important is retorqueing head bolts after a 5 minute run? Looks like that is going to be difficult as the two head bolts on intake side are studs that support the gas tank bracket. Please advise. Maybe there is an easier way. Thanks again.

Knots

 

[artemjemmy]

For WIW a mower that comes in for a repair get the repair done then field tested for 1/2 hour and returned with a list of what needs to be done .

A mower that comes in for service gets a 1/2 hour run to evaluate it and heat the oil
The oil is changed then every problem I noticed when mowing gets attended to\
Every nut & bolt gets checked as does all of the bushes & bearings
Rear wheels & PTO come off for a derust , and coat of never sieze.
Flywheel comes off to check the stator & clean around the magnets & of course the fins
Under cowl wiring is checked for condition , starter gets a dusting of graphite on the bendix
Alternator output is checked as is battery capacity and battery cables get a visual and some times a terminal clean then over paint with liquid electrical tape .
All tyres are immersion checked for leaks at 40 psi then returned to correct value.
Steering bush is checked & lubed where required , some plastic ones get replaced as required
Steering & brakes adjusted
Belts checked & replaced as required.
Hydros get treated according to their type
Hydros with internal brakes get an oil change at around 200 to 300 hour intervals so it is not uncommon for my customers to get 2000+ hours out of the "non-Servicable " K46's and the like
Drive pedals get adjusted as necessary as does the neutral
Everything that can be lubed get a generous amount of dry lithium grease .
Front cross members with no provision for grease like all MTD's & most Husqvarnas get the pivot bolt removed , check grease & replaced where necessary
Particularly important on MTDs with pressed front cross member .
Air filters are always replaced regardless of their condition , but Donaldson type only get an outer change
Decks are leveled & attack angle adjusted.
Gauge / anti scalp wheels have axels checked and usually lowered to counter the effect of wear on their bore .
Governors are checked and the speeds verified with a tiny tach .
Magnetos on twins checked for diode failure
Cables removed flushed then relubed with Tri-Flow .
Float bowls come off for cleaning & checking the fuel solenoid.
Plugs come out and get either gapped& refitted or just replaced after checking the gap if they looked bad
Valve lash gets looked at if there is an indication that it is bad ( excessive noise or hesitation when cranking )
Generally takes about 1/2 day if I work dillgently to a whole day if I am being slack or have a lot of gate calls .
Customer pays fixed 4 hour service fee + parts.

There are way too many "cook book" mechanics out there who thinks a service is just replacing bits at prescribed hour

What do you charge for all this, bert?

 

[artemjemmy]

Many thanks to Star Tech, Bertsmobile1, Rivets
And others for all the help.
I have one more question. Head gasket blown in center between piston and pushrod galley as you predicted.
How important is retorqueing head bolts after a 5 minute run? Looks like that is going to be difficult as the two head bolts on intake side are studs that support the gas tank bracket. Please advise. Maybe there is an easier way. Thanks again.

Knots

I never do it, but I do generally overtorque the bolts slightly from the briggs specification. I'm sure the OCD mechanics in here will say it is absolutely vital. So, you choose your pick. Are you afraid it will blow again? Take the long route.

 

[bertsmobile1]

What do you charge for all this, bert?

4 hours + parts
I am in OZ , my current rate is $ 72/ hr and parts usually run to about $ 250 depending upon the belts s lot of them are more than that down here .
As a comparrison the local JD dealers do pre-season safety checks for $ 275 and all you get for that is a list of what is not to brand new factory specification .
Then they come to me to see what of the $ 2500 quote actually needs to be done .

 

[artemjemmy]

4 hours + parts
I am in OZ , my current rate is $ 72/ hr and parts usually run to about $ 250 depending upon the belts s lot of them are more than that down here .
As a comparrison the local JD dealers do pre-season safety checks for $ 275 and all you get for that is a list of what is not to brand new factory specification .
Then they come to me to see what of the $ 2500 quote actually needs to be done .

So you said you get about 2 machines done a day right? How do you even get to all of the different machines during the spring mower rush? Maybe I am misunderstanding how you work as a mechanic.

 

[StarTech]

He can only get about 15 units per 60 hr week out max at that rate. I am not that busy but during the Spring/Summer go through about 5-10 units per week during my 60 hr week and that pushing it. There is a lot of non billable time involved too as I am the chief cook and bottle washer. Even at this rate I got back up two weeks this last Spring but larger shops were running 4-6 weeks behind.

And I only do what is necessary as customers complain if the bill goes much over $300 on a $1500 machine. It doesn't long to get there a few $40-$75 belts. Four hours of labor here is $241 including taxes. Lately those bills have been in the $450 range as parts costs are going through the roof. Boy some of the spindles are over $100 each now. No wonder I rebuild so many during the peak season.

 

[Rivets]

When I retorque the head bolts I skip the two under the tank unless I find that one f the other bolts has loosened. If so I take the time to remove the tank and recheck all. Yes, this does take extra time, but as I taught my students, “Never time to do it right, but always time to do it over”.

 

[bertsmobile1]

So you said you get about 2 machines done a day right? How do you even get to all of the different machines during the spring mower rush? Maybe I am misunderstanding how you work as a mechanic.

I have about 500 customers on my books
Some just buy parts, some just get repairs done & some get a full services done.
The more regular the service the faster they can get done & if I push hard I can squeeze in 4 a day
Nothing odd to have all 4 sump pumps running at the same time in busy periods
I recommend a full service every 2 to 4 years and annual oil changes in between depending upon the customer & their mowers.
Oil changes are done at the customers house & I have done 20 in a single day at one time as it only takes about 10 minutes to change oil only.
And while the pump is sucking the oil out I can change the blades on their push mower if they are an annual change over customer .
We use swing back blades down here so most need changing every season or two.
Blades on a push mower take about 5 minutes if I have a mounting plate ready to exchange , a saw chain takes about the same time
Spindle bearings & blades takes about 6 minutes a spindle if I don't have to cut the bolt or cup washer off
Very few customers have trailers so I can organize the work load to suit my available time
So I can drop off a finished job, do a couple of strait oil changes , pick up another service + a couple of flat tyres in a single run during the busy periods
I try to get customers to have the full services done during the off season
Commercial customers get overnight servicing / repairs so when I pull an all nighter I just leave the gate locked and sleep in .
The journal has around 300 entries a year, one entry per job .
The arbourist all have yard keys so they just drop a pile of blades on their peg & I text them when they are ready.
Commercial customers also have gate keys so they can drop a mower off at 4 to 5 pm on their way home & pick it up at 4 or 5 am on their way out .
That was the gold mine idea and is my biggest money spinner as some of them will drop a mower off every week, two in the busy season.
Down side is I need to have a lot of parts on hand .
Up side is you get to monitor things like deck idlers so you know this one will need to be done in the next X weeks.
Took a while to get them all on board but most never loose a minute during the day for breakdowns unless it is something out of the blue like management module failures .
When they happen I can usually advise them how to bypass the module so they can finish the days work then make a proper repair that night or at least a safe workaround till I can get the modules.
Those Scagg units are a real problem with a very high failure rate , followed by the brake modules on Time Cutters then the ECM module on Z masters .
Nothing kills a contractors day faster than having a break down so they end up with the team picking their noses for 1/2 the day because the mower has packed it in.
So for them the extra costs of extra servicing is a no brainer & I have just started doing blade sharpening for them so some will drop up to 30 sets of blades off on their way home & pick them up in the morning.
Most will have at least 2 spare useable belts in their trucks for emergencies but to be honest few have used them in the past 5 years
When things get right out of hand I have a 1/2 dozen loaner ride ons and about the same number of walk behinds.
They are also a big money spinner as it is nothing odd for the big shops to have 6 week lead times in high summer.

Part & parcel of my site rent is to maintain about 6 acres of street frontage so I get to kill 2 birds with one stone by using the customers mowers to do my own mowing & I am testing their mowers while doing my mowing .

What takes all of the time is broken stuff that I have never seen before , totally trashed mowers or parts that I can not get.
Which is the prime reason I stay on here because I get to find out the weaknesses of machines that are yet to be imported here so I know what to look for with a new to me mower .
having done he run for 9 years now I am familiar with most of the customers mowers so for instance Knots failed head gasket would have been diagnosed by the time it was on my trailer .
Unloading it I use the ramp to test the hydros and then it would sit for an hour to cool down before having the gasket replaced which is a 30 minute to 1 hour job depending upon how easy things come apart.
You lear things like to leave mufflers in place & pull the carb off at the head where possible and you learn where to us a T socket , where to use a wratchet , where to use an impact , where to use an air wrench & where to use modified tools .
The tool chest is full of ground down or welded up tools designed to make jobs faster or easier
I have a 4 ton yard crane that will lift a ride on up high enough to sit underneath comfortably in less than a minute and if that has a mower on it then there are a stack of motorcycle paddock stands that will lift a mower about 10" off the ground in under 15 seconds so fixing a flat takes no time at all as does pulling the rear wheels off to grease the axels & check the tyres for leaks .