My Lawn Mower Repair Thread (56k warning)

[hanyoukimura]

You sold the four-stroke Toro that you mentioned about two weeks ago -- right? If you sell the Suzuki-Toro, I would hope that you find a special buyer. Not everybody appreciates fine mowers. :laughing:

That painted deck looks great, BTW.

Yeah the 4-stroke. The Suzuki is mine. :biggrin:

 

[afoulk]

You sold the four-stroke Toro that you mentioned about two weeks ago -- right? If you sell the Suzuki-Toro, I would hope that you find a special buyer. Not everybody appreciates fine mowers. :laughing:

That painted deck looks great, BTW.

Sounds like you've found a buyer here if you ever decide to sell it;-) x2 on the deck

 

[hanyoukimura]

What a difference some TLC makes! Got this little guy pretty much done today.

I had a set a matching wheels handy for it, repainted the engine so it looked presentable, worked magic on the deck's paint, and did the usual tune up proceedures. Only thing out of the ordinary I had to buy was a new cable.

 

[hanyoukimura]

Well its been a long time coming, but I finally got this Craftsman done. Here's where we started:

To recap, the crankshaft was bent, the blade was bent, the muffler was broken off at the base, the coil wire was missing, the deck was cracked at 2 motor mounts, and the back wheel/handle bar brackets were so loose that everything just sort of flopped about. To anyone else it was probably junk, but I wanted to see what could do.

I was almost going to write it off, but I managed to straighten the brackets and install the extra retaining bolt on each side that was missing from both sides. I then straighten the crankshaft, replace the ignition coil, remove what was left of the muffler and put a replacement on, and fix the brackets. So I got a friend to weld the deck up. After that, I was going to try getting away with repainting just the area that was welded, but the closest match I could find was darker and more metallic. So I elected to repaint the whole deck, and use it as practice for working with automotive paint and finishing. The results, I think, are quite good. I also repainted the gas tank. Today I finally wrapped it up by installing the engine, a new blade, the handles bars, cable, primer bulb, fresh oil, spark plug, cleaning and greasing the wheels. Here are the final results:

I think that's about as close to new as its ever going to look. Honestly, I like the new color better. Time for a new home!

Meanwhile, all 3 movers (Lawn Chief, Craftsman, and Black & Decker) sold within the last 2 days.

 

[afoulk]

I wondered when we would hear from you again Love seeing what your latest projects are. I finally picked up a couple freebies myself, but the spare money just isn't there right now, my wife was off work for 3months after having our second son.

 

[hanyoukimura]

I wondered when we would hear from you again Love seeing what your latest projects are. I finally picked up a couple freebies myself, but the spare money just isn't there right now, my wife was off work for 3months after having our second son.

Something look forward to though!

I got a pretty nifty freebie this week. It's an Ariens mower. Trying to figure out why it won't fire at all. That Craftsman sold yesterday, what a turnaround! I got another Craftsman in trade, it's a green Tecumseh powered one.

 

[hanyoukimura]

The Ariens is coming along nicely, it runs great now, I didn't get a chance to really test the drive system, but it did move forward when I engaged it. Seemed a bit weak to me, maybe needs a new belt or to be adjusted, but that belt must be a real PITA to replace, since there's that blade clutch covering it.

Meanwhile, that gray Craftsman went to a new home and I got a green one as trade.

The cable is shot and the brake mechanism itself my be broken, but I have a spare. Very dirty but didn't look rusty and has compression.

 

[Two-Stroke]

Is that coat hanger wire? :laughing:

When I was a kid (many moons ago) using that (as opposed to getting an actual replacement part :ashamed was the big joke while today the joke is usually duct tape.

 

[hanyoukimura]

Is that coat hanger wire? :laughing:

When I was a kid (many moons ago) using that (as opposed to getting an actual replacement part :ashamed was the big joke while today the joke is usually duct tape.

Yeah, but not the worst thing I've seen done to a mower I've taken it. :laughing: I think the worst is either the drywall screw used to hold a governor spring in place or the duct tape rotted out deck.

Tuesday I will have time to work on both this and the Ariens, which is running well now and is down to cosmetics and the blade being sharpened. I plan to do touchup work to it to make it look nice for when I sell it. I have to say, I've never seen such a fast mower. If it were any faster I would have to run to keep up with it!

 

[DonCT]

Great thread! I was reading on my phone at the family cookout yesterday!:laughing: