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So several months ago, I found a Snapper on Craigslist for cheap, and somwhow managed to get there first. It sat until today, when I finally got around to tearing it down, and rebuilding the carb. It runs, and well! I stupidly got ahead of myself, and pushed it into the grass before attaching the bag. A faceful of lawn welcomed my rush. Oh well. Now I know better!
I have a question, though. How is the jet on the bottom of the fuel bowl adjusted? It's in the second picture, I just haven't played with one of these before. All the other adjustments have been made, but it smells like it's running rich, and pops and snorts at high RPM. Idles well, and throttles up ok, but doesn't like high RPM. Is this what the screw adjusts?
Other than paint, and the drive belt, it's a solid machine. And, if I may ask, what is the PN on the belt? Thanks, guys (and gals) reading through here has been fun and enlightening.


PS..Is there a different image type to use? Those IMG pics are HUGE! What works better?

So I googled all over....

Figured out, it is the same adjustment, 1 1/2 turns out from lightly seated, as the idle mix screw. Choked, fired on 2nd pull, let warm up and adjustment made. Goes pretty good now, no stumble on rev up to full throttle. Smells rich on full throttle, though. I'll sort it out.
Further investigation into the pulleys and lack of belt, finds that the idler is seized tight. So the PO cut the belt off.. To get to that, do I need to remove the whole pulley and mount setup? So an idler is on order Friday, and hopefully be chopping some grass soon.

And.. are these older snappers a little on the loud side? Or is it muffler time, too? I kinda remember my wife's granddad's being a little on the loud side, too. I kind of enjoy the racket, but Her and the neighbors may not.

Nice mower and congrats on getting it running. I love the taste of grass in the morning-lol!

Yeah, the grass in the face surprised the heck out of me! That blade has some serious lift. Think I may get the wings for the blades, it stuffs the bag pretty quick as it is, but may help with wet stuff and leaves. The idler pulley came in, need to order a belt, it's ridiculous to push that beast.

I know its hard to push, I have a 21500PC I am trying to get running. Just got it yesterday for $20. It is the commercial model and is a heavy sucker!

I've found that the easiest way to get to that belt that u speak of is to remove the engine. It sounds scary but it's not too bad. Just 3 or 4 bolts under the deck attach it to the deck. Remove the blade, then remove those bolts and if u pick up the engine just a couple inches that should allow u enough room to get the new belt around the pulley and the shaft. Then just set the engine back on the deck and bolt it back on. It's just too tight to get that belt on any other way, as far as I know.

I need to play with my adjustment screw as my 21401P is acting like yours was to begin with. Thanks for researching that, I had no idea how that worked! Cool man, now u got two awesome old mowers! And no need for a new muffler, they are supposed to sound like that.

Ok, so how in the fudge do I get that whole drive pulley/idler adapter plate mount off the mower deck? See pic. Idler is frozen solid, I'm trying to replace it, but I'm about to grind off the nut on the bottom, and replace the whole "'"" thing.

Ahhh now I see. If that whole plate is what u want to take off I would soak it with zep 45 or wd 40 to remove the rust enough to get that bracket off. you'll probably have to spray it several times but that's how I've gotten wheels off of axles that erre frozen on. Spray, let sit for awhile, spray, repeat.... That's the best I know for that.

Well, I got the top two nuts off easy. The bottom one however, is what holds the drive disk on. To get it off, I need to grab two flat spots (under the drive disk, on the shaft) with a wrench, to keep the the whole thing from rotating. However, nothing I have that's big enough to grab that, are thin enough to reach under the pulley. I'm 5 minutes from grinding the nut off the bottom, and replacing the drive disk.

I've had my share of snapper frustrations. If u can just grind that off and start over I would go that route. Sounds much easier and quicker.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing next. Just have to make sure they're not going to take my whole arm and leg, to get a replacement. Gotta see what my price options are...

OK! So I didn't grind it off. Instead, (and I recommend doing this to your machines when needed) I drilled a 1/2 hole in the deck, directly under the arc of the idler pulley shaft. A little caressing with a round file, and the pulley bolt slid right out. Otherwise, the only way to remove the idler is to remove the ENTIRE drive plate and mount. I'll put up some pics of the modification in a bit. SO MUCH EASIER. Also put on the belt, and it drives itself! Need to adjust the driven wheel, as its right at the edge of the plate at high speed. Thanks, everybody!

As promised, here's the pictures. The owner(s) previous to me had cut the drive belt, so long ago that the idler pulley had completely frozen. No rotation at all. Turns out, I had exactly $8.94 left on an amazon gift card, precisely enough to buy the pulley I needed, and cover shipping! So that came in Tuesday... Today after harassing my dad for a while, I stopped by a local shop, Snapper dealer, and they had one of the belts I needed. $9 later, I thought it was a slam dunk. But wait, not yet.
The design of the drive disc requires that it's top has a certain, wider, diameter than it's base. The tensioner (idler) pulley's location is such, that, it sits under the edge of the drive disc. Using a carriage bolt to hold it on, there is no way to remove it without removing the entire drive/idler pulley mount bracket. So that's what I initially tried. My problem arose when I was unable to find a wrench that would fit beneath the drive disc, to grip the two flats machined in the bushing. I don't know what size that is, but I didn't want to grind a wrench down to fit under there. So after some angry words at the designer of that bit of mongoloid engineering, I decided some modification was in order. With a center punch, 1/8" and 1/2" bit, I went to work. Required a little finish sizing with a file, but it's perfect now. Removing the spring from the idler pulley allows one to swing to bracket around to the hole, dropping the bolt through, after the removal of it's nut. Aaaaand, pictures.

After re-assembly, the location of the hole.

From the bottom

The old pulley, removed. Two vise-grips can't turn that thing.
Note: If you do this without modifying the deck, grinding a wrench to fit, or going crazy, please tell me how you succeed, should you ever find this. Should you try this, and find my solution, I feel your pain. That's why I did this. Dealers and professional-tool-havers excluded.

And as a side note, dealer had a new commercial 21" mower out front, so damn cool! I didn't even want to know the price, but it was pretty. Dang. Wicked awesome. Big OHV Honda, drink holder....so sexy. :drool:

Awesome job! Sometimes u gotta think outside the box. Good work. And IMHO your mower is every bit as good as that shiny new mower that's probably close to $1,000. They don't build 'me like they use to. I also adjusted the net screw on my 21401P as u did and now it runs perfectly. Thank u!

Well, I like mine, I reeeeally don't want to part with it, just too awesome. All my youthful time pushing old craftsmans, etc, I always wished I could have a kickass Snapper. But if I were to make a business, I'd drop the coin for a brand new commercial Snapper. Always thought the red looked good. Oil change and new spark plug today, gotta wait til neighbor wakes up to try 'er out. Love duplexes.

I grew up the same. Flimsy craftsman mowers, all the while drooling over the snappers I would see. Guess I made up for it later in life.

Yeah. I think my best mower as a kid was an old yellow coast to coast pusher. Indestructible, but it took a toll on you in an afternoon. Tore it apart a few thousand times before it just gave up the ghost one day.

So I pulled the muffler off today, took off the deflection cover, and sure enough, it was a straight hole all the way through, with remnants of the baffle rattling around. So I snatched one from a donor, affixed the deflector, and now its quiet! Now, the funky square plate behind it was broken, is that an important part? I put back what was left, because I wasn't sure..

So. Wow. Apparently, going from a straight pipe to a muffler requires a complete carb adjustment. Spent 10 minutes adjusting, it's getting close, not quite perfect yet. That thing is a beast, I've never seen a little 4 horse Briggs charge through thick, damp grass, and bag it, without bogging down. At top speed. Definitely a keeper. It may get a full rebuild this winter, and get a whole new life. Thinking of mowing a couple free lawns here and there, for fun, and watch it chop grass!

i had one of those mower's. lived on a farm, with 2-1/2 acres to mow. it cut through the heavy stuff, like it was cutting grass only 2 inches high. had some heavy stuff(3 ft high) to cut, it went through that like butter after raising the the deck all the way up. the neighbor seen me cutting it with the push mower, and remarked "I wished my big back deck on my farm tractor would work that good!"

Yep. Can't beat the old Snappers.

Yeah did it again today. Thick wet stuff just disappears into the bag. Been raining too much to mow all week, turned into a jungle!

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I actually just finished mowing with mine today too. It's the only mower of mine that I kept the engine-kill handle on, all the others I took it off and bypassed the switch at the engine. I like using the 21401P for a change because its quieter than my Wisconsin-Robin mowers. I got it from the original owner FOR FREE! He said he bought it for $500 in 1986 and it was always garage kept. The paint is in almost brand new condition, except for the front apron where the SNAPPER letters are which is slightly bent down but other than that its perfect. He even replaced the belts right before he parked it. I'm sure ill get more snappers at some point but these three ill always keep.

I just take a heavy zip tie, and size it so it holds the deadman handle, but can still slip it off. But its got a kill on the throttle, so I usually use that. Snappers kick butt. Just thought I'd say it.

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a friend of mine bought a snapper over to me that he wanted fixed. I told him that the parts might be speffy, but when i fix a snapper i fix it back to original condition. got done he was glad, only thing he hated was the fact i got the kill haandle working.:laughing::biggrin:

So it saddens me to say this, but the old 4 horse has been running great, but getting noisy. Smoking a little on hot restarts, too. So while its still a happy engine, before suffering an ignoble fate, I pulled it off. Got a GCV190 on a junk craftsman deck, and decided to make the swap. The honda is a strong runner, starts easy, and is rated at 6.5 horse, and something like 8 ft-lb of torque. So I think it will make a good "light commercial" mower. Had enough random parts around that everything fits, only custom work is two new holes drilled in deck. It actually looks pretty good. I'll get some evidence/proof up tomorrow. Kinda sad, miss the period correct briggs, but I'll get used to it. Miss the variable throttle, too.

Well, I'll put up some sneaker pics tonight. Only issues I have are the deadman run/stop cable and the blade hub bolt being too short for the hub I have that fits. The deadman should be easy, I'll probably have to buy a cable for a honda powered snapper. Just need to hit the parts store for a 3/8-24 bolt of the right length. Here's a few shots for now. Kinda miss the white brick already.

I was trying to rehab my 26 year old Snapper SP for my son-in-law. I repowered it a number of years with a Briggs Quantum engine. I decided it was time for a new one and I bought a top of line Snapper Hi Vac with electric start. Thus the beginning of the rehab. Oil, Air filter, , Plug. Simple. Then the fun. Changing the belts. Getting the idler wheel off was a challenge. Could not budge the under deck nut even with impact wrench. No wrench commercially made is thin enough to grab the body beneath the drive disc. Decided to remove the engine to take the belt off. That after 3 hours of fiddling. I discovered a rust hole in the deck beneath the idler wheel. Perhaps the reason for the seizure. So I took off the top nut and got a punch and drove the carriage bolt down and thru the rust hole. Voila! Before I found the rust hole I was looking for a nut breaker. One tool I don't own. Oddly, the end of the bolt attaching the driven disk has a slot. Not sure why. Got the new idler on and the engine replaced.

Tomorrow I try to replace the poly Vee belt that powers the transmission.

Anyone know how to change the transmission grease?

if your engine is a B+S, the manual i have says to start at 1-1/2 turn on both needle's, at a low idle adjust the idle(the one on the bowl) by turning it until it runs rich, then backing it down until it starts to stall. then set it halfway in between the 2. then on a high idle, do the same adjustments as mentioned before. unless it is a fixed jet(high idle). will have to find my B+S manual, just hope my friend did not borrow it again. the last time it took me 2 weeks to get it back.:mur:

snapsstorer said:

if your engine is a B+S, the manual i have says to start at 1-1/2 turn on both needle's, at a low idle adjust the idle(the one on the bowl) by turning it until it runs rich, then backing it down until it starts to stall. then set it halfway in between the 2. then on a high idle, do the same adjustments as mentioned before. unless it is a fixed jet(high idle). will have to find my B+S manual, just hope my friend did not borrow it again. the last time it took me 2 weeks to get it back.:mur:

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I pretty much ended up doing. It was still running great, carb-wise, throttling up and had good power. Was beginning to get a little loud inside the case, though. Always wondered what shape the crank/con rod was in. Had pretty metallic oil when I first got it, and the occasional muffler backfire at throttle. But it's a ~25 year old engine, so it's getting tired. So the honda re power is under way. I'll keep the B&S for later remounting, make restore job of it.

So we're back to the original 21401P configuration, sourcing the two parts (maybe three) is slow going. Does anyone here have a Snapper HiVac with the Honda engine on it? If so, what diameter is the crankshaft, and what is the bolt size? (Thru blade/hub and into crank end) The GCV190 I'm trying to mount has a larger bolt than will fit through the blade. Just curious if this'll even work if I've got a freak engine. Maybe I'll find a V-deck for the Honda...