My Lawn Mower Repair Thread (56k warning)

[Two-Stroke]

I put the bag on my Suzuki-powered Toro last weekend to see how it would do picking up leaves. It did very well except that it was necessary to dump the leaves every five minutes or so. I don't have a photo of the mower with the bag -- here is one without:

The bagging system is very well designed. It's easy to unload the leaves -- you just lift the bag (without detaching it) and the ground-up leaves fall out.

I've been trying to get in touch with the seller of another of these mowers (two-stroke Toros) for the last couple of days. These Toro two-strokes are harder to find than Lawn-Boys, so it's kind of a big deal to see one for sale.

 

[hanyoukimura]

I would really like to get a hold of one of those Toros as well. There's an older Craigslist ad for one, I emailed him tonight, see if anything comes of it.

 

[jamesslcx]

cool mowers guys, at least we have a hobby we can get some use out of!

 

[hanyoukimura]

So I've got a good haul today!

I came across an ad on CL by a guy selling mowers for $5 a piece. Claims he has like 30 of them. It was an hour's drive but seemed well worth it. Come to find out the guy normally grabs them and sells them cheap to anyone who wants them. I managed to grab four: a basic Weed Eater, a Craftsman 22" SP side bagger, a Briggs powered, aluminum deck Toro, and a Lawn Boy! For $20! I'm pretty thrilled. Haven't had a super close look at them yet, but the LB is a 2 stroke and said "gold" on it. I will get more info on these later. He also had a Toro wit h a Suzuki 2-stroke. Hopefully it's there next time (he wants $30 for it because it runs) as I really want it. Definitely going back there again!

I'll get photos when I can.

In the meantime I got this Murray running great and ready for Spring.

 

[Two-Stroke]

So I've got a good haul today!

I came across an ad on CL by a guy selling mowers for $5 a piece. Claims he has like 30 of them. It was an hour's drive but seemed well worth it. Come to find out the guy normally grabs them and sells them cheap to anyone who wants them. I managed to grab four: a basic Weed Eater, a Craftsman 22" SP side bagger, a Briggs powered, aluminum deck Toro, and a Lawn Boy! For $20! I'm pretty thrilled. Haven't had a super close look at them yet, but the LB is a 2 stroke and said "gold" on it. I will get more info on these later. He also had a Toro wit h a Suzuki 2-stroke. Hopefully it's there next time (he wants $30 for it because it runs) as I really want it. Definitely going back there again!

I'll get photos when I can.

In the meantime I got this Murray running great and ready for Spring.

:thumbsup: You got a super deal. :thumbsup:

I'm curious about both the Toro and the Lawn-Boy.

If the Toro has an alloy deck, it's worth $5 no matter how bad the engine is. There's a thread in the Toro forum about swapping decks. Somebody said that you can swap decks among many (push) Toros over the last 30 years or so. That gives you lots of flexibility in re-powering that mower.

What's the model number on the Lawn-Boy? I'd like to see a picture. I hope it's an old two-stroke.

If the Suzuki-Toro is in good shape, it's a great deal for $30, IMO.

 

[jamesslcx]

Yes you got a bargain, some people have all the luck!:thumbsup:

 

[hanyoukimura]

Didn't get much time to look them over when I got home from work (it was already dark), but here's a few photos to tide you guys.

The Weed Eater is what it is, but the deck is in great shape and for all I know just needs a recoil handle. Should clean up well and sell easily. The other three I find quite interesting.

The Lawn Boy is a keeper, can't wait to work on it. LB experts I'd love some troubleshooting tips, never worked on a 2-stroke before.

The Toro is in good shape, really light, I probably won't keep it if I snag the 2-stroke Toro next time, but should fetch a nice price once its all up and running.

I personally find the Craftsman to be neat as well, it sits low and wide and is a really thin deck which seems to be in very good shape.

 

[jamesslcx]

hanyoukimura, they are look to be worth fixing, like you I think the craftsman is very interesting and worth keeping. A very smart purchase indeed!

 

[Two-Stroke]

Didn't get much time to look them over when I got home from work (it was already dark), but here's a few photos to tide you guys.

The Lawn Boy is a keeper, can't wait to work on it. LB experts I'd love some troubleshooting tips, never worked on a 2-stroke before.

I think this LB is 1990s vintage. The model number should be on the underside of the big sheet metal piece on the handle.

It looks a lot like a model 10415 (1994) that I have. I've written about that mower in the LB forum -- that would be the place to go with any LB questions that you have. I'll bet that all this needs to get started is a carb cleaning.

 

[Two-Stroke]

Didn't get much time to look them over when I got home from work (it was already dark), but here's a few photos to tide you guys.

The Toro is in good shape, really light, I probably won't keep it if I snag the 2-stroke Toro next time, but should fetch a nice price once its all up and running.

That's a fine mower for a four-stroke. :laughing:

No kidding, this is a high quality machine. The bagging system is one of the best on the market.

If you get the Suzuki-Toro, you might want to check to see if the decks are interchangeable and, if so, which deck you want to pair with a particular engine.

There's a thread about the Suzuki-Toro in the Toro forum.

You mentioned that it's light. Maybe it is relative to almost all mowers sold in the US in the last 20 years. You want to see really light? Check out a pre-1980 Lawn-Boy.