My mower repair thread

[Vervepipes]

I finally had enough and a Briggs Quantum is now in place of the Chonda. All 3 bolts broke off in the mounting flange on the cheap boat anchor, so I guess I'll hang onto it in case I get any other of these things. The filter box will probably go onto the Toro though if I feel motivated enough to work on that basket case. Anyways, it runs great and I just did a test mow on my grass. It's up for sale and I'm now deciding what mower to work on next, I need some quick in and outs.

 

[angellonewolf]

i know it sounds daft if i got any mower trimmers hedge cutter they seam to sell in the spring early summer but now we are over half way through the summer people don't bite as easily

 

[Vervepipes]

I responded to an add for a free broken mower on the curb and it was gone by the time I got there. What I did find while I was out there was another mower from the curb, and an old Snapper ride on, fit perfectly in the minivan. I started a thread on that one in the Snapper forum. Still no more bites on the mowers I have ready to sell, I may have to prep them for storage and stack them in my shed over the winter. Gotta start on the snow blowers soon, I have 2 that need fixing to sell, one to fix as a utility blower and my '67 Gilson just needs a little attention, gotta make some new axle adapters for new wheels, plastic banana skins don't work well in the snow.

 

[Vervepipes]

The Toro will live! I found a 20526C for free that runs, no pictures but described as "not pretty but everything functional". My Toro doesn't run, is missing a few parts but is solid, the deck just needs paint. I'll take the best of the 2, keep the rest as spares on my shelves and if the other deck isn't too bad I'll sell the bare deck to somebody with a cracked deck to save room in the shop. Gotta love opportunities like this. Not sure if I'll keep it though, pushing my basket case around makes me realize how heavy the mower is, but the self propel on the other hand will help with that. It could replace my Honda though. As much as I like it for the condition it's in and the fact that it starts first pull despite being 30 years old, the deck clogs very quickly, the bag is tiny and for it's tiny size it is pretty heavy...

 

[Vervepipes]

What a busy day, I removed wheels and handles from 8 mower decks I had laying around to keep as spares, then discarded the rusted through decks, took an electric motor out of an old washing machine of mine and put the washer/mowers to the curb. I placed an add for free scrap and it was gone in 10 minutes. I now have a bit more room in my shop to store good mowers and parts, and I can start moving mowers from under my deck which have been under a tarp. I still need to remove basket case engines and wheels from about a half dozen mowers though. The ones that look like they have been in a swamp or in bushes for 10 years have just been left outside without cover, as I don't think the little amount of time I own them will make that big of a difference. They are pretty much good for spare bolts and misc pieces, maybe a carb here and there if it's a Briggs flat head.

I did get one mower running today though... sort of. I took the air filter cover, starter and carb from the Toro I picked up recently and put it on my basket case I got last year. A few parts and it sputtered to life, not a great life, but life. I decided on the first deck I had because it has less corrosion on the deck and it is rear wheel drive, as opposed to push only like the "new" one. The newer one also has a blade brake and that's just one more cable to break in the future. Here is the problem for now. Both carb gaskets leak, I need a new one for sure. One bowl has a hole, the other one in rusty inside, so that one will get a white vinegar bath to remove the rust. Both carbs themselves are pretty rust stained inside and need a good cleaning. The "old" carb doesn't allow the mower to run at all, the "new" carb runs but poorly. The gasket for the bowl bolt needs replacing as well. Once those details are ironed out, only the self propel needs to be figured out. Either the engagement cable or the pulley mechanism is seized, hopefully not both. Then when all is said and done, prep for paint and it can be put to use. It may not all happen until next year at the pace I'm going, but it's earned it right to stay in the shed as opposed to being parted out.

Now if this unexpected rain goes away (wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow) maybe I'll check the points on the '73 Lawn Boy.

 

[Vervepipes]

Got cocky since I got the Toro to fire today. The rain let up so I tinkered with the Lawn Boy. I re-gapped the ignition module, then swapped it out for a spare that came with it, re-gapped, changed the spark plug with one that is known to be working, by-passed the ignition switch to rule that one out. It fired for about 3 seconds at one point but then nothing. I'm in the process of baking the module to see if that trick will work. The gas is new, the carb is getting gas, it just isn't getting any spark. I'm fairly certain that both modules are duds considering the other steps I've taken, so either I wait to find another parts unit or I buy one. It'll wait a bit until I end the season's work.

 

[Vervepipes]

Well, even though any mower that wasn't in my shed has been under a tarp under my deck, or on my deck, one of the neighbors complained to the bylaw enforcement officer who has given me 2 weeks to clear my property of all the mowers. From the front or sides of the house you can't even see any mowers. The only thing that I can think of is that a few days in the last week I've had stacks of rusted mower decks by the curb, with an add for free scrap metal and it's always been gone the same day. The officer went into my yard, uncovered what was under tarps under the deck, went onto the deck and saw bags of empty bottles (we have lots of ants in Nova Scotia, I don't want bottles kept inside the house) and even the bottles need to be gone because it isn't allowed. This puts a pretty big stop on my efforts, at least until I can build more storage space. If whoever it was would have just come to speak to me, they would have seen that I'm a very reasonable and approachable person and they would have found out that everything was going to be gone or in my shed very soon and I would have kept my trust and respect for my neighbors. Instead of speaking to me like an adult they told on my like a child. My next house will be out of town with no neighbors.

 

[Lawnboy18]

Well, even though any mower that wasn't in my shed has been under a tarp under my deck, or on my deck, one of the neighbors complained to the bylaw enforcement officer who has given me 2 weeks to clear my property of all the mowers. From the front or sides of the house you can't even see any mowers. The only thing that I can think of is that a few days in the last week I've had stacks of rusted mower decks by the curb, with an add for free scrap metal and it's always been gone the same day. The officer went into my yard, uncovered what was under tarps under the deck, went onto the deck and saw bags of empty bottles (we have lots of ants in Nova Scotia, I don't want bottles kept inside the house) and even the bottles need to be gone because it isn't allowed. This puts a pretty big stop on my efforts, at least until I can build more storage space. If whoever it was would have just come to speak to me, they would have seen that I'm a very reasonable and approachable person and they would have found out that everything was going to be gone or in my shed very soon and I would have kept my trust and respect for my neighbors. Instead of speaking to me like an adult they told on my like a child. My next house will be out of town with no neighbors.

That sucks! Is this the kind of OCD neighbor that uses a shop vac to clean his entrance?

 

[Vervepipes]

I don't even know which one it is, they had all been friendly to me to my face so now I have know clue who not to trust. My main issue is that I'm an approachable person, if somebody has a problem, all they need to do is talk to me and any problem will be resolved. Now all that's happened is that I don't trust any of my neighbors.

 

[Lawnboy18]

That's no fun. I guess someone didn't feel like arguing with you. Could of been the back neighbour you don't know that was tired of seeing mowers from his window.