I have this old Lawn Boy, model R8237AE serial 8362854 that my dad pruchsed new in 1978. It has been a great lawnmower for us, and I am trying to repair it. We have service manuals, and experience, however we are being told that the pinion gear has been updated. THe thing is it is a bitch to start using the revised pinion gear. Photos:
THe pinion gear on the left is the original style, it has a flange on the back for the clip that is on it, dad says the clip brings the gear forward to engage it. The one on the right is the revised gear. I have no info on why it was revised or what else may need to be changed. Using the revised gear takes a significant amount of pulling on the rope to get it to engage. Needless to say I am not happy...
If I've look it up right the part number you need is 609133. I think the part number you got was 610167. Don't blame the parts guy on this one. When you are looking up parts for the older LB's many times you have to ask a lot of questions, because LB does a lot of changing of parts that don't show up unless you really know where to look.
I don't know what the number was he tried to sell me(I already have 3 of that gear). I know that the one he said is the revised gear/ supersedes the old P/N takes a **** ton of pulls before it engages. The old one with the flange moves towards the motor the instant you pull the rope. Of course all my gears with the flange are NFG, so they don't help at all.
Do you have a pic of the 609133? I'd be interested in seeing it, so I can go back and tell them the P/N in addition to telling them they are wrong, about the new P/N being a good number.
Also any advice on what I can do to get longer life out of this gear. It is plastic going up against steel, and seems to wear really fast. It does not seem to retract quickly after engaging. Seems to me the pinion spring(round one, not the one that mounts on the flange) is too weak to return when required.
Unfortunately Firefox is being a cranky bitch right now, and won't let view the second page saying their is a server error, and it won't show me anything when I click on the numbers in the first link. I'll try again in internut exploder...
Try starting at the beginning with this site. Make sure you do your searches with 8237. This is an different model, but should getbyou to the part you're looking for.
Yeah firefox is still kickin my ***. I'll just tell the parts guy I need the one with the flange, and if he questions it, I'll take the mower in and let him try and start it with the gear he wants to sell me... :laughing:
You first link shows the right parts in the drawing for my mower, however the second one doesn't work for me. I can't click on the parts in the first one to get P/Ns. When I go to the 3rd link you gave me I can only find the same part the parts counter guys are trying to sell me, if I use my actual model number. If I just use only the 8237(no AE) it shows the correct parts like your first link. I wonder why this is? Did my mower get mislabeled at the factory? This mower has been in our family since new, so I know the original stickers are there...
Have him order 609133. That is the part you need. If he can't get it, you can order it at shoplawnboy.com. As I said before lawn boy does things differently. Your mower is not miss labeled,
Got the right gear number 610258 from parts tree. Now it works, but I think the reason they keep getting chewed up is that it does not seem to return instantly. Is there a stronger pinion spring that I can use, or is there something else we are missing. We have all the parts that are shown in the diagram installed, and I would relly not to have to buy 2-3 $12 gears every season or 2. It appears based on the old parts I have that dad went thru 4 gears in 34 yrs with that mower. I wouldn't mind a similar or better track record for another 30+ yrs.
MileHigh, you must have an electric start model (8237AE) , I note what appears to be a battery case.
I'll bet many have converted to manual start, the electric may be too troublesome.
Lawn Boy may have improved the return spring in later models..
Maybe this should be changed every time the gear set is renewed..
So this mower has both electric and manual start. The gear I bought last season is toast again. Is there a stronger return spring for this thing, or has someone made mods to their to reduce the pinion gear consumption. I really like the lightness of this mower and the maneuverability of it as well. I still don't have the electric start working, but right I can't even rope start it. I would like to have a solution to the gear consumption before I buy more gears...
I had to replace a few parts on my model 3002 (butter cup) after a lot of questions & good parts person found what I needed. mower sat for about for about 30 yrs replaced parts, cleaned out tank, started 2nd pull. I do believe I will never own any other kind of push mower.
I'm still fumbling around with this mower. I don't fully understand why the model number off my mower will not bring up a correct parts drawing. All the drawings that match my mower show the 609133 pinion gear at location 47, while mine is a 610258. I now need to order a new return spring(probably doesn't matter), stop washer, handle stop(probably doesn't matter), retaining ring, starter switch housing, and clutch assembly. I'm pretty close to just taking pics of what I have, and going to my local Toro/Lawn Boy dealer, and tell them to order parts that match these...
Hey milehighxr, I know this is about a year old, but any success with the pinion assembly? I'm having similar issues and I'm just about to start working on it, hoping for some advice before I get started. Briefly looking at it, I agree that the stock spring seems too weak, were you able to find a stronger one?
