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Hi Folks:

I recently bought a LB 5024 mower that appeared to be in bad shape for $20.00. The owner told me that the crank was shot due to him running straight gas thriugh it. It was paked in the barn covered by many other pieces of non working farm equipment. Talk about guano???? I got it home and fueled it up with a 16:1 mix and it started on the second pull of the rope. Since then it starts on the first pull and runs great. It does not appear to have much use as the wheels and blade show very little use. Now for some quesitions.

Tne blade is has a LB number of 611289 which may be the incorrect blade which may not require a blade stiffener. There was no blade stiffener on the engine and I do believe that one is required. The parts manual shows a blade stiffener. What is the correct part number for blade stiffener? Would a Tri Cut blade be a much better blade for this engine? I do not plan on using the bagger.

How may I remove the blade collar as iot is stuck? I have not attempted yet but a gear puller would only bend the collar.

The painted metal areas are all pitted down to the metal. How may this be removed prior to painting? Is sand blasting a viable option or is sanding better?

Is 32:1 the corrrect fuel mix?

Is some magical attraction that makes a "brick top" very collectable? They seem to be held in high esteem by LB afficinados. I never met a LB that I disliked. The 19" are the best for trimming. Being a good husband, I make sure that the Little Lady always has one to use.Lol

Enough for now. Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Be well,

Franchi

Hey there. Another 5024 owner here. Can’t help you on the blade at the moment, but this series was made after Lawn Boy switched to 32:1 mix. It should have the D400 engine on it. Love this little mower!

View attachment 39635

L8R,
Matt

Hi Matt:

Thanks for the prompt reply! Yes indeed, that mower looks like the one that I bought. It runs very well. Now to find a blade, blade stiffener and an original white gas tank cap.

For some reason, I am getting many requests to sell my LB cast deck mowers. What would be a fair price to ask for the 1970 era mowers? At my age, what is the reason to have a collection of LB mowers?

Be well my friend,

Franchi

Re: Need" Parts for LB 5024 mower

Hi LB People:

I "need" the following parts for my recently acquired LB 5024 mower:

Original white gas tank cap
.
Blade 19"

Blade stiffener LB part no. 603541

If you can help me with these parts, kindly contact me.

Thanks,

Franchi

eBay will be your friend on some replacement parts. I bought a new gas cap, starter rope, starter handle, and air filter for around $20. I checked and they also have blade stiffeners. I paid $100 for my 5024 as it is in the picture. It started on the first pull and mows great until the seal on the primer went bad. Now it’s running too much fuel through until my parts come in. But it is 43 years old. Things like that are bound to happen.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F292643741325

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283053768903

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F273371623255

L8R,
Matt

Re: "New" Lawn Boy 5024 advice suggestions comments etc.That is how I remove blade .

franchi said:

Hi Folks:

I recently bought a LB 5024 mower that appeared to be in bad shape for $20.00. The owner told me that the crank was shot due to him running straight gas thriugh it. It was paked in the barn covered by many other pieces of non working farm equipment. Talk about guano???? I got it home and fueled it up with a 16:1 mix and it started on the second pull of the rope. Since then it starts on the first pull and runs great. It does not appear to have much use as the wheels and blade show very little use. Now for some quesitions.

Tne blade is has a LB number of 611289 which may be the incorrect blade which may not require a blade stiffener. There was no blade stiffener on the engine and I do believe that one is required. The parts manual shows a blade stiffener. What is the correct part number for blade stiffener? Would a Tri Cut blade be a much better blade for this engine? I do not plan on using the bagger.

How may I remove the blade collar as iot is stuck? I have not attempted yet but a gear puller would only bend the collar.

The painted metal areas are all pitted down to the metal. How may this be removed prior to painting? Is sand blasting a viable option or is sanding better?

Is 32:1 the corrrect fuel mix?

Is some magical attraction that makes a "brick top" very collectable? They seem to be held in high esteem by LB afficinados. I never met a LB that I disliked. The 19" are the best for trimming. Being a good husband, I make sure that the Little Lady always has one to use.Lol

Enough for now. Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Be well,

Franchi

Click to expand...

I was lucky. Mine fell right off when I pulled the blade off.

L8R,
Matt

I think it's nostalgia, the bricktops have a certain appearance that people remember and like. But, they are outstanding mowers too. Toro has kindly posted the entire LawnBoy service and specifications manual in .PDF for free download. You will want this. There are a fair number of "gotchas" on LawnBoys as far as engine assembly and governor setup, carburetor &c that are sort of tricky, and not intuitive. The manual explains everything and is easy to understand.

The rubber crankshaft seals (one on each end) have not been replaced most likely, then this is something that needs attention. They are inexpensive. The needle bearings should at least be inspected. Look for scoring on the cylinder walls, and stuck rings and exhaust restriction.

The white gas caps are sort of difficult to find, but they turn up on that auction site.

The blade collar deal. Try a good penetrating oil (not just WD40) Liquid Wrench, say. Be patient, it's been stuck on the crankshaft for golly knows how long. Let the penetrating oil do its job. Re-apply after a day or two, and tap it with a hammer. Apply some more after a couple more days. Tap again. Shocking a "frozen" rusted fastener allows the penetrant to wick into the rust.

I use a cheapo HarborFreight pitman arm puller to remove blade collar.

For me, the Bricktop is THE classic Lawn Boy. We never had one when I was a kid, but my neighbor did. Probably around 1971-72 is when I first noticed the differences. I was 5-6 years old. Dad had an old Jacobsen mower with the typical Briggs engine on it that sounded like every other mower. But when our neighbor would mow, his green machine sounded like a dirt bike to me, not a lawn mower. If I was sitting in the tree or playing in the sand pit by our garage, I would always stop what I was doing and watch him as he pushed it by. I told his son a few months ago that his Dad having that old Lawn Boy Bricktop was the reason I turned into a Lawn Boy nut.

L8R,
Matt

Teds said:

The blade collar deal. Try a good penetrating oil (not just WD40) Liquid Wrench, say. Be patient, it's been stuck on the crankshaft for golly knows how long. Let the penetrating oil do its job. Re-apply after a day or two, and tap it with a hammer. Apply some more after a couple more days. Tap again. Shocking a "frozen" rusted fastener allows the penetrant to wick into the rust.

Click to expand...

Absolutely! Liquid Wrench penetrating oil is far better than WD40. Soak it, let it sit for a day or two, then tap the side edge of the plate with a hammer like you're trying to spin it on the crank.

L8R,
Matt

Can also try heat from a torch. All that said, may have to buy one if it is damaged upon removal.

I had to replace the carburetor studs on a V8 manifold. They wouldn't budge. Hit them with penetrating oil every day for a few days. Then one morning I checked, expecting some superhuman twisting would maybe get them off. They were finger tight! Like the good cooks always say, "Time is an ingredient" as well.

LawnBoy mowers are maneuverable and light, one reason is because they don't have a bunch of extraneous BS on them, and a cast magnesium deck, a very strong yet lightweight material. Many mowers today are "self-propelled". But, that's only because they have to be! They are WAY too heavy otherwise, and the self-propulsion adds yet even more weight and expense and complexity.

Next, LawnBoy mowers were very powerful for their size/weight, and not immediately apparent based on HP figures, this is their "ace in the hole" in my opinion, the classic four stroke B&S equipped contemporary mower that your goofy neighbor had, always noticeably labored in thick, tall or wet grass. Remember that? Probably even stalled out. RPM drops, and the quality of the cut suffered. Throw in a dull blade especially, and clumping of the grass clippings results. Unsightly, and leaves streaks. A well tuned LawnBoy doesn't even blink. No, we're not supposed to cut tall, thick, wet grass. But guess what? Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. And the LawnBoy will do it without complaint. I'm not recommending it, but It is obvious that the design engineers actually used the LawnBoy products extensively in real world testing and their products reflected that.

They were precision engineered and designed to run at 3200 RPM or better. This is very important to check when setting up the governor assembly. Make sure the engine is not running too slow. A small engine tachometer is inexpensive.

Take the time first though, to setup the rotating assembly itself for balance and trueness. Shims of various thickness are used to ensure the rotating plane is registered correctly with respect to the deck, and the blade itself is installed or "clocked" a certain way with respect to the crankshaft position. Make sure the blade too is checked for balance, is sharp, nor bent. New blades are not sharpened, believe it or not.

All of this effort is designed towards the aim of preventing power robbing RPM loss due to excessive vibration, caused by unwanted resonances due to an out of balance condition. This will degrade the quality of the cut noticeably, and this yet another feature of LawnBoy mowers. They simply made your yard look nicer than competitors products. And, reduced vibration levels also reduces fatigue on the part of the user as well. You can tell when they are running right, the engine will be a little staccatto sounding unloaded but as soon as you hit the tall grass it settles into the smooth "Lawnboy Hum".

The chute and blade design also makes them excellent for mulching leaves into the bag in the fall. Who needs a rake? Again mulching is where maintaining proper blade RPM comes in. As far as blade stiffeners go, think they did away with them at one point, I wouldn't worry about it.

Both of my Lawn Boys now we’ll enough that I sold my John Deere 14SB. That mower had the Kawasaki 5hp commercial duty engine on it, and my Lawn Boy with a 3-1/2hp rated engine chewed through heavy grass that made my 14SB bog down. I absolutely love the way that 2 stroke will burble while mowing light grass, but when it hits the heavier stuff, it smooths out and gets down to business.

L8R,
Matt

Couple hints on removing that blade adapter in this post:

https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/49494-Removing-blade-attachment-collar-flange-hint