My mower repair thread

[Vervepipes]

Picked up 2 MTD's for free after work today. One is a Tecumseh and the other is a Quantum. Neither have working starter ropes so I couldn't test them and they have adjustable throttles, both broken. The decks have no holes though so they will make good beater mowers. I think to save time I'll just replace the tecumseh with a known running one and bang that one out the door.

 

[Lawnboy18]

Always nice to snatch up free mowers.

 

[hanyoukimura]

It's that time again!

 

[Vervepipes]

I've been having a hard time this year getting back into the routine. Simple mistakes while troubleshooting, tool and parts disorganization etc. I have learned something new though, On a Tecumseh engine, if you have the outboard screw that keeps the air filter housing on the carb, it will not prime because that screw seals a passage in carb. I have sold three that I haven't updated with pics yet, today I got 4 ready to list for tomorrow, and I may have one more as well ready tomorrow, just in time for the first solid week of mid teen temps and endless sunshine.

On a side note, I picked up a mower last week and they gave me a chain saw as well, an Echo CS305 with no bar or chain. I started the saw up as soon as I got home and it ran right away, and the oiling system dripped as it should so I bought a new 14 inch bar and chain. When I got home from the store the neighbor was cutting down all his wildly overgrown (20-25 foot high) shrubs, so I volunteered my new saw. The saw is a 30cc saw, so on the small side but on the plus side is very light. It struggled a bit more through the thicker stuff than my Stihl 024AV, but it did the job admirably. It's a pity I won't keep it though, I like it but the Stihl is more suited to the thicker trees down at the camp. I'm not sure what a good condition newer used small saw with a new bar and chain go for, but anything over $40 is profit and will go towards my year's end goal of an old camper to set up at the lake.

 

[Vervepipes]

I'm noticing that my new computer is having trouble with the letter "L" when I type, if there are any missing I apologize! Time to bring it in under warranty soon I guess.


So here's the first sale of the year from a previous post. It went pretty quick after listing it, if I remember, it wasn't listed fr a day when I found a buyer.



No before shots on this guy because I was on a roll and wanted to get it done before the rain. This one needed a recoil starter, a new handle, and I replaced the carb. The carb didn't NEED to be changed, but the handle that best suited this mower didn't have provisions for a manual throttle, so I swapped an entire carb with it's auto throttle control and air cleaner to this engine. Bonus is one less cable to break in the future. This is one that I marketed as a beater because of the rust, so a buyer in that market typically doesn't care about things like that. It sold fast.



I picked this one up at the same time as the green one, they came as a package. The air filter was off and obviously left outside for some time. The carb was badly corroded inside and out so I couldn't be bothered with it. I had a rotten deck with a nice running engine, so I did the quick swap, typical tune up items, found a bag for it and cleaned it up. After over a week of no-shows somebody finally came by for it. Rusty as well, so another beater.



This one didn't need much, carb cleaning, oil, filter. I sold this to a guy who left a Craftsman self propelled mower out all winter, so I got cash and trade on this little guy.


This one had the wrong filter housing for the crankcase vent and flywheel shroud type, so I found the proper one in my parts bin. I also gave it wheel adjusters and the starter was sticky, so I replaced it, I can service the sticky one on a rainy day. It also needed a very good carb cleaning and a new bowl gasket. Here she is a finished up and listed for sale

 

[Vervepipes]

This Yardworks Chonda (Powermore) has been nothing but trouble for me. I got two similar mowers last fall from the same house, one was a very nice Briggs powered one with a water rinsing port, but had hit a rock and the deck and motor were cracked. The second one has some rust flaking underneath, and I was able to get the engine running well, but the front wheel adjuster was broken. These are odd mowers that I haven't had to deal with before, there are only 2 wheel adjusters, one in front, one in back, and the entire straight axle assembly is kept in place with large plastic housings that seem easy to break. The front housing on this one was indeed broken, so the Briggs powered one donated it's front assembly. Everything is now fine on it except a carb problem. The needle doesn't stop the flow completely, so the crank case fills with fuel when sitting for a few days. The float is not adjustable, so I'm going to try a Honda float and needle to see if it seals better. I also don't have a bag for this type which sucks, I like selling mowers as complete as possible.

 

[Lawnboy18]

That last mower looks like it could use a bag from a newer Troy-Bilt mower. Looks just like the one I have except for the wheels, color and engine.

 

[Vervepipes]

It very well could, but the underside isn't very pretty so this one will be a beater as well. Unfortunately Halifax has started refusing green bins with grass clippings, it has to be in paper bags, so most people just don't bother bagging anymore. What that means also is that people don't seem to care if it comes with a bag or not. I like to sell them with bags if I can to make them complete, but 95% of the time I can guarantee the bag gets thrown into the shed and forgotten.

 

[Vervepipes]

The little red Yard Machines is gone. I've picked up a few more in the last few days that should keep me going a while longer including a nice looking self propelled Brute, a newer Lawn Boy with electric start, but missing the key, a newer self propelled MTD of some sort with a Powermore, two Poulan side discharge mowers, a high wheel Craftsman, and probably a few more. People talk, and by now it seems that everybody on the base knows that I fix mowers because the first thing that happened when I got to work today was "Hey Frank, there's a mower at the curb just down the road from the hanger". That would be the brute, luckily I brought the van to work today, otherwise I'm not sure how it would have gotten home.

OK, so this one I had been waiting for a good short shaft motor since probably July of last year, finally I got a hold of a rotten short shaft deck with a good engine. It needed a new throttle control cable and lever and a minimal carb cleaning and it was ready to go, it sold pretty quick and paid for the newer Lawn Boy I mentioned earlier.



I normally don't like electrics, but this one looked to be in good shape for it's age. The plug was cut off so I took the gamble that it was the only thing wrong with it, and that it was. These normally stay in my inventory for several weeks, but $20 for five minutes of work maths good to me.


This Poulan gave me some issues, the gas was very old and the fuel tank had lots of grass in it. The starter rope also pulled out after I had cleaned the tank. It cleaned up very nicely though, and I sold it the next day after listing with a trade in to boot, a basic MTD that needed one of everything but is physically in good shape. Good deal I think.



So now I've got lots on my plate, I have plenty of mowers for the start of the season which is where I had a problem last year. I've parted out a badly corroded Toro as well and kept the good parts in a box to keep my other Suzuki Toro going. I still have to part out a Briggs Toro and try to salvage the self propel system on that one to make my good one fully functional. In the end, it looks like it will have taken 3 mowers to make one good one, but it will be a keeper for me collection, to be parked next to my old Honda, Homelite/Jacobsen, John Deere, Lawn Boy and that crazy looking Craftsman with the crank mounted fan.

 

[Vervepipes]

On a side note, I seem to have made connections with people who weld aluminum, so my old Lawnboy and the crazy Craftsman may soon be getting some much needed attention. Here is the Craftsman in case you don't want to look back.