My Lawn Mower Repair Thread (56k warning)

[hanyoukimura]

Have you encountered any of the newer Toros with the Kohler engines? They are everywhere down here.

I actually haven't worked on a single Kohler engine. :laughing:

 

[hanyoukimura]

So the first two machines to sell this year are ones that were previously running, but have been sitting in the garage for like 2 years now.

This little Craftsman did run, however, no matter how many times I tried to adjust the carburetor, it would slowly flood and leak gas.

This year I decided I wasn't going to mess with old carburetors and try out brand new ones. Sure, they're Chinese, but they cost only a few dollars more than gasket it for a whole new carburetor! I've bought 2 Tecumseh's and a Briggs carburetor so far and they all work flawlessly.

The Craftsman finally sold today.

The other one that was completed was this Poulan Pro. Actually works really well. Nice strong engine. I do like the Briggs Quantums.

I was actually a bit hesitant to sell it. I've been using it since I tore apart my Ariens to replace friction disk ring and also repaint the deck, but the lousy weather has kept me from doing the painting. Oh well. I have others!

My current headache is this Craftsman.

I had it running before, and while it started, ran, and cut grass, it tended to surge at sometimes.

So this year I put the new carburetor on it to try that. Still seemed to surge some. I was/am getting pretty fed up with it. So I cleaned and it up was planning to sell it with the note that while it ran an d cut grass, it did RPM hunt.

But, I decided to try checking for vacuum leaks before giving up. First I replaced the intake manifold. No change. The next day I decided I was going to check for leaks while it was running...except it wouldn't start. I looked it over and found the replacement manifold was cracked. So I replaced it with another. I also noticed the carburetor mounting bracket was bent and the carburetor wasn't seating quite right. So I replaced that and the o-ring which seemed as bit loose.

Nothing.

Tried replacing the plug (it was wet from priming and probably some shots of starting fluid) after letting the cylinder air out.

Nothing.

It has spark. It ran before. It has compression ( I don't know how much, but it feels the same as before). Flywheel key is straight. It will not start. I'm getting fed up with it. Have to try again when it's not raining...whenever that may be.

The last one to mention for now is this old Toro.

It was given to me way back in 2012. The Tecumseh engine was missing a bunch of parts that I didn't have. Two of the wheels didn't turn. The handlebar was missing hardware. I took the motor off and set it aside (still have it for now), and the deck has sat in my gaarge since. Almost threw it out a few times, but 18" gas mower is a pretty rare breed, so I've held onto it. I contemplated getting rid of it again this year, but realized I had a beat up 21" Recycler that could donate hardware to make this one (almost) whole again, including the sideways fuel tank with the cutout to clear the chute. I also had a spare Quantum that I cleaned up and has been sitting for a while.

The donor was in rough shape. Deck was badly damaged and had a piece of sheet metal over the hole. Surprisingly, it's engine's crankshaft isn't bent, so it may yet live again. And while teh deck is shot, it had a lot of other useful parts I removed both for this little Toro and my other two 21" Recyclers.

It donated handlebar hardware, comparatively huge wheels, and the correct axle bolts to the 18" Toro.

The little deck actually cleans up quite well.

I actually had to use the spare engine and not the one on the bigger Toro because the bigger Toro's crankshaft is considerably longer. Happily, the spare Quantum has a short crankshaft, and using a short MTD blade adapter I had, it's the perfect length.

So here it is put together.

It's precious! So small but with a big heart. I need to get a blade and correct cables to accommodate the Briggs engine, but it's on it's way towards being a runner for the first time in probably years. I also like the big wheels on it.

 

[primerbulb120]

I actually haven't worked on a single Kohler engine. :laughing:

Keep these in mind for when you do: The oil dipsticks on the newer ones are super easy to cross thread, and the kill switch on some versions won't work if the flywheel is rusty. Other than that, they are nice engines.

The newer Briggs (E-EXI series) with the plastic carburetors are really nice to work on. Very well designed and easy to fix.

 

[hanyoukimura]

This one has dodges the scrapper not once, but twice.

Got it off a guy who was literally on his was to scrap it a couple years ago. Complete besides the missing bag and belt guard (which is no longer available as it turns out).

Front wheels were seized, and I pushed it to the back o f the to-do list and forgot about it.

Fast forward to this Spring, and I've been working on getting rid of some of the mowers that are junk and not worth fixing. With it's stuck wheels and unknown engine condition, I wasn't really in the mood to deal with it, and so it went into the scrap pile.

Well, after getting frustrated by the Briggs engine on the Craftsman I was working on, I decided for the hell of it to see if I could free up the wheels. Took some PB Blaster, grease, and a small pipe wrench on the wheel gears, but it did loosen up. Not able to be pushed, but if I could make it run the drive system would free the wheels up more. Slapped one of the new carburetors on it (old one was completely ruined), cleaned the fuel tank up and....nothing.

Striking out lately. Feels like I've lost my touch. I've got spark and compression, and the carburetor's brand new. I pop off the recoil to check the flywheel key. It looks like it may have been slightly sheered. Decide to take it off. Can't find my puller, so I decide to use the hammer and crowbar technique. That did work to pop the flywheel free, but I also hit the nut that was on there to protect the threads in such a way that it actually pushed the nut down and squashed the threads! Half of the threads on the crankshaft were junk. If I couldn't salvage enough threads, the engine would be done before it even started. To add insult to injury, the key was fine, it was just metal flashing on the flywheel cast that made it look off!

It took sacrificing two flywheel nuts, but I managed to get the third one to thread on, and there's just enough thread left to fully secure the nut. Phew!

While it was apart, I noticed the magnets and coil were pretty rusty, so I cleaned them up and put it all back together. Gave it a pull and...started right up! Finally some good fortune! Engaged the drive, and sure enough it freed the wheels up. Today, I gave it a shakedown by mowing the lawn, changed the oil, and cleaned up the deck.

I also replaced the shroud screws, as the two OEM ones that were left wouldn't tighten, and the other two holes were enlarged by having the wrong screws in them. Found four matching screws that look like they belong and secure the shroud properly.

Runs well! Gotta say these Tecumseh OHV engines are louder than the Briggs or Honda OHV engines. I also love how Tecumseh reused as many parts as possible for these engines. That's both clever engineering and smacks of a company strapped for cash to design a brand new engine from the ground up. Ah well, pretty good for a mower that was nearly scrapped twice. Makes me glad I didn't give up on it.

 

[Dan357]

Hello,
Just curious, do you do all of this work on the ground, or do you have a lift or lift table to work on the mowers?
Would like to see what you use if in fact you have one.
Take care.
Dan

 

[SeniorCitizen]

I've worked down in the dirt, down in the grass and down on concrete and I've raised them up, but it usually depends on what is to be accomplished.

 

[hanyoukimura]

Been busy, what else is new. I've gotten rid of most of the glut of mowers now. I couldn't bring myself to just toss ones I knew might be repairable, so I ended up fixing some, although the only mowers that actually got scrapped were a Poulan with a badly cracked deck (which I saved almost all of the other parts), and the Toro deck I scavenged for parts and used to patch another one. Sold the Scotts, and sold 2 parts mowers for $20.

Funny thing is this mower ended up being one of them.

I was never able to get it to run again, and when I tried to remnove the motor, one of the bolt heads rounded off. That was the last straw. I took some parts I wanted off it and sold it for cheap.

That self-propelled Craftsman was also slated to go, but while looking for some of it's parts I came across a clean carburetor and got the motivation to put it together. Despite being severely neglected (both before I got it and while I had it), it actually started up, blew no smoke, and ran well. This one will likely stay until Spring, in the meantime I'll clean it up and make it look more presentable when I have time.

I almost got rid of this Poulan as well.

However, I decided to try the sledgehammer trick to straighten the crankshaft from another Poulan I had scrapped, then mounted it to this deck, whose engine burned oil badly. I also took some parts from the gray Craftsman (Same deck) I got rid of of to make this one whole again. It actually runs well and the sledgehammer trick got it straight enough that it doesn't vibrate. I've been using this lately because the Commercial Toro needs it's carburetor cleaned (plus it too, burns oil), and the other Toro I had been using has been apart for like 2 months for painting.

Speaking of which, it's finally, mostly done. I had originally planned to scrape off the loose paint and repaint it, which I did, but it turned out A LOT more of the paint was loose than had seemed.

I posted in a separate thread, but I got this one for $5 back in the Spring. Managed to clean the carburetor despite how nasty it looked and got it running. I love the engine. It's smooth, quite, burns no oil, and is pretty powerful.

After I got it running I cut the whole to make it square.

Then I cut a piece out of this deck before scrapping it.

Then tapered the sides and JB Welded it in place.

After mowing the yard several times, I was pleased with the repair enough to start the repaint. Ended up being more involved than I planned. It's not a ground up restoration (I left the motor on), but it's a lot better than it was.

Finally put it all back together this evening.

And that about catches things up. I plan to paint the underside of the Toro still, and clean up Poulan. Then check the snowblower and prepare it.

This year has been a year of decluttering. AT the start the garage was just full of stuff. Cleaned that out, got rid of a lot of things, and we've been working on re-roofing it. Got the power back on inside and fixed a bunch of electrical stuff inside, as well as replacing the windows. Now I can work after dark in it, which is nice. Still more to do before winter, but making progress!