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Problems with your Troy Bilt lawnmower (Horse) and how you fixed it.
#1
Q
Quadman
Q
Quadman
Four years ago I moved to a house with a 1/2 acre yard. I went to Lowes and bought a Troy Bilt Horse 46" cut lawn tractor. When I went to pick it up, they did not start it. If I remember right it did not even have oil in it. I could be wrong about that. Still, we had to push it into the trailer. From the git-go it was very hard to start. It would crank over for at least 60 seconds before it would start. I put up with it like that for 2 years. It finely made me mad, and I took the carb off. It has an electric solenoid operated plunger under the main jet. When the key is turned on the plunger is suppose to retract. If it will not retract, you will get no fuel to the engine. I took a chance and cut the bloody plunger in half. I put it back together and guess what! It now fires right up.
My machine also had a LOT of safety devices on it. It would not let me back-up with the blades engaged. I eliminated that! It would not let me get up with the engine running. Yup, I eliminated that too. The little fingers for the forward/reverse lever were also a problem, causing me to cut a highly prized flower in half when I could not get the darn thing into reverse. You guessed it, I cut all of the little fingers off of the forward reverse lever slot. I put a small metal bar over the ugly holes in the body and now I had a nicely working forward reverse lever.
The safety devices that I did leave in place were the (step on the brake peddle to start), and the (No engine start with the blades engaged). These are good features.
I have the double bagger grass recovery system on my machine. I found it to plug up very easily. I went over to a dealer, (Not Lowes), and asked him about a more radically bent blade for more air flow. He said that I had the hi air flow one already. He suggested that I weld a piece of metal to the top of each end of the blades. He said that some of his other customers had done that, he also said that he would NOT do that for legal reasons. So I welded a piece of 3/16 x 1" x 3" on each end of the blades on the top. This has worked out very well. It will still plug, but only if i get greedy with my cut. If the grass is high, I have to go 3/4 to 1/2 of the full cut width, and slow down. I was mowing some grass in back of the house yesterday and it was so thick that I would fill both bags in about 3 minutes. It is like eating a whale, one bite at a time.
Other than that, I like my machine now that I have modified it to my satisfaction. How about you and your machines?
Dave
My machine also had a LOT of safety devices on it. It would not let me back-up with the blades engaged. I eliminated that! It would not let me get up with the engine running. Yup, I eliminated that too. The little fingers for the forward/reverse lever were also a problem, causing me to cut a highly prized flower in half when I could not get the darn thing into reverse. You guessed it, I cut all of the little fingers off of the forward reverse lever slot. I put a small metal bar over the ugly holes in the body and now I had a nicely working forward reverse lever.
The safety devices that I did leave in place were the (step on the brake peddle to start), and the (No engine start with the blades engaged). These are good features.
I have the double bagger grass recovery system on my machine. I found it to plug up very easily. I went over to a dealer, (Not Lowes), and asked him about a more radically bent blade for more air flow. He said that I had the hi air flow one already. He suggested that I weld a piece of metal to the top of each end of the blades. He said that some of his other customers had done that, he also said that he would NOT do that for legal reasons. So I welded a piece of 3/16 x 1" x 3" on each end of the blades on the top. This has worked out very well. It will still plug, but only if i get greedy with my cut. If the grass is high, I have to go 3/4 to 1/2 of the full cut width, and slow down. I was mowing some grass in back of the house yesterday and it was so thick that I would fill both bags in about 3 minutes. It is like eating a whale, one bite at a time.
Other than that, I like my machine now that I have modified it to my satisfaction. How about you and your machines?
Dave
#2
L
Lev07821
Hi Dave:
How do you disable the safety switches. I can't get my Horse XP to crank. I suspect its safety switch.
Thanks,
Lev
L
Lev07821
Four years ago I moved to a house with a 1/2 acre yard. I went to Lowes and bought a Troy Bilt Horse 46" cut lawn tractor. When I went to pick it up, they did not start it. If I remember right it did not even have oil in it. I could be wrong about that. Still, we had to push it into the trailer. From the git-go it was very hard to start. It would crank over for at least 60 seconds before it would start. I put up with it like that for 2 years. It finely made me mad, and I took the carb off. It has an electric solenoid operated plunger under the main jet. When the key is turned on the plunger is suppose to retract. If it will not retract, you will get no fuel to the engine. I took a chance and cut the bloody plunger in half. I put it back together and guess what! It now fires right up.
My machine also had a LOT of safety devices on it. It would not let me back-up with the blades engaged. I eliminated that! It would not let me get up with the engine running. Yup, I eliminated that too. The little fingers for the forward/reverse lever were also a problem, causing me to cut a highly prized flower in half when I could not get the darn thing into reverse. You guessed it, I cut all of the little fingers off of the forward reverse lever slot. I put a small metal bar over the ugly holes in the body and now I had a nicely working forward reverse lever.
The safety devices that I did leave in place were the (step on the brake peddle to start), and the (No engine start with the blades engaged). These are good features.
I have the double bagger grass recovery system on my machine. I found it to plug up very easily. I went over to a dealer, (Not Lowes), and asked him about a more radically bent blade for more air flow. He said that I had the hi air flow one already. He suggested that I weld a piece of metal to the top of each end of the blades. He said that some of his other customers had done that, he also said that he would NOT do that for legal reasons. So I welded a piece of 3/16 x 1" x 3" on each end of the blades on the top. This has worked out very well. It will still plug, but only if i get greedy with my cut. If the grass is high, I have to go 3/4 to 1/2 of the full cut width, and slow down. I was mowing some grass in back of the house yesterday and it was so thick that I would fill both bags in about 3 minutes. It is like eating a whale, one bite at a time.
Other than that, I like my machine now that I have modified it to my satisfaction. How about you and your machines?
Dave
Hi Dave:
How do you disable the safety switches. I can't get my Horse XP to crank. I suspect its safety switch.
Thanks,
Lev
#3
Q
Quadman
Lev, all of the switches that I bypassed were just 2 wire switches. They were normally closed, which means that they were closed at rest. I just unplugged them. I would check your blade on switch. I do not know where it is, because I have not had a problem with it on my machine. Just check your linkage. If it is the blade switch, or the brake peddle switch, those switches, in my humble opinion, should remain in the circuit. Hope that this helps, mine has always cranked.
Q
Quadman
Hi Dave:
How do you disable the safety switches. I can't get my Horse XP to crank. I suspect its safety switch.
Thanks,
Lev
Lev, all of the switches that I bypassed were just 2 wire switches. They were normally closed, which means that they were closed at rest. I just unplugged them. I would check your blade on switch. I do not know where it is, because I have not had a problem with it on my machine. Just check your linkage. If it is the blade switch, or the brake peddle switch, those switches, in my humble opinion, should remain in the circuit. Hope that this helps, mine has always cranked.