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Pulled this out of a rollaway dumpster last night... poured a bit of mix in the tank, primed and pulled the cord...and it fired and stays running for as long as you keep pressing the primer bulb. Deck has no cracks, wheels are straight and the blade is usable with a sharpening. Unfortunately the bag, mulch plate and maybe a few other things are missing in action. Plan is to clean it up some today and begin the search to obtain the missing pieces...any assistance with locating parts or necessary information on this 40 year old classic would be appreciated. Thanks for looking at it!

SCORE!

A trick to keeping it running, open the airbox and remove the filter. Get it running and while it is running try to restrict the air inlet suction as good as you can get it. It is like choke, but what I am trying to do is to use the engine vacuum to suck/clean a clog in the jet or a vent of the carb.

I fixed a outboard motor like this onetime with a golf ball. It was a three carb 70hp JonnyRude. It would idle fine but when you got it up and running one of the cylinders was intermittent so it would run on three (1/2 power {not a third because of friction/compression}) and it would jump to full power occasionally. I checked/changed all the ignition stuff. We were out for a test run and it was still acting up. I removed the cowl cover and the front of the airbox. It was so oddly shaped that I could not get a good enough seal on that thing while offshore. Funny enough, we hit a wave and of all things a golf balled rolled out from somewhere and it was the perfect size and shape. I had Becky at the helm, open her up and while wallowing along just on step, I shoved that golf ball in there and it Schlluuu (suction sound here) and then I pulled it and she jumped up and ran like a champ. Never had a problem from that point.

This is an old trick showed me by a mechanic as a kid. 1970 Impala w small block chevy , air cleaner removed. Rev it up and place your hand over the intake... Schlluuu....

Nice find! Your engine is an F series, a 7260D is a D series. An engine swap happened for whatever reason, no problem with that, but to order parts for the engine use a model number like 7268. Once again, that's a great little mower you have there.

That looks like a nice find! It is very similar to the first Lawn Boy I bought new 36 years ago and still use. It doesn't appear to have been abused--probably just needs a little TLC like cleaning the carb, the exhaust port and muffler, but you might already know that. I would also replace the crankshaft seals. The fact that it fires is a good indication that it doesn't have any major problems. Hopefully the cylinder, rod, and piston have not been damaged by running on straight gas or improper mixtures. A little bit of disassembly will reveal a lot.

I love those early F series mowers. They were well made. Some photos of your finished mower are always appreciated. You should feel proud to have saved it. It is surely not a hunk of junk.

There are a good number of sources on the web for parts, including "Fleabay".

Lawnboy77 said:

Nice find! Your engine is an F series, a 7260D is a D series. An engine swap happened for whatever reason, no problem with that, but to order parts for the engine use a model number like 7268. Once again, that's a great little mower you have there.

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You are correct Lanboy77, I failed to notice that there was an engine swap. But that surely would not have stopped me from saving it too.

Engine, or deck swaps seem to have not been too rare on LawnBoy. The "D" and the "F" engines muffler plates fit the same hole in the deck. Perhaps the swap was more to do with the owner broke the deck, and found a salvage deck to mount his good "F" engine on. The aluminum or magnesium decks can be broken if you hit a rock. If the engine only stays running when priming, then you got a dirty carb. Taking it apart and cleaning the main jet should solve the problem. Be sure and replace the wire screen mesh filter over the jet in the float bowl, either clean and re-install or replace it. You have to pull it off to get to the jet anyway.

Update...it's the magnesium deck and there's no cracks in it...so I removed the engine cover, cleaned the gas tank out, replaced the fuel hose, cleaned the carb bowl, cut a rectangle of foam to replace the rotted air filter, cleaned/regapped the plug, sharpened the blade...and fabbed a sheet metal plate to cover the deck cutout until I find a factory mulch plate for it. It now starts on the first pull and runs pretty smooth at both the low and high speed settings. Went and did a lawn with it...cuts well and it spits the grass out the side for a good distance. Only issue is a little oil on the deck from the crank seal...I understand better now the love for these machines, the smell of a lawn being cut with a 2 stroke is sweet:thumbsup:

Great find you can't beat those old lawn boys IMO the best mulching mowers ever made
I have a 7268 very light and powerful , a spectacular cut , and what a wonderful aroma
eBay will have all the parts you need

I was at work on a yard yesterday when the boss said...I just remembered...Mrs. Shaeffer had a old Lawn Boy buried in the back shed there, you should ask her about it. I did...she said she thought her grandson took the mower a couple years ago, but I was welcome to it if it was still there. It wasn't, the grandson must have dug it out...but he left some parts behind, basically everything I didn't have:biggrin: Got the discharge plate, the mulch plate, a green bag chute and the matching grass bag Though the parts are newer than the mower, all the plastics are in great shape and thankfully the mice didn't chew up the bag... I've been working on the bag rod and the handlebar chrome, polishing with aluminum foil...and they're cleaning up nicely. Next thing I need to get are new wheels...

Lawnz 420 said:

I was at work on a yard yesterday when the boss said...I just remembered...Mrs. Shaeffer had a old Lawn Boy buried in the back shed there, you should ask her about it. I did...she said she thought her grandson took the mower a couple years ago, but I was welcome to it if it was still there. It wasn't, the grandson must have dug it out...but he left some parts behind, basically everything I didn't have:biggrin: Got the discharge plate, the mulch plate, a green bag chute and the matching grass bag Though the parts are newer than the mower, all the plastics are in great shape and thankfully the mice didn't chew up the bag... I've been working on the bag rod and the handlebar chrome, polishing with aluminum foil...and they're cleaning up nicely. Next thing I need to get are new wheels...

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That whole package looks real nice. You say you are looking for new wheels, however, the pictures show that they don't look too bad. If they are wobbley, maybe all you need are new axle bolts along with adding bronze bushings to the wheels. Just drill out the centers to fit the bushings and those wheels will roll better than new.

I've cut 8 lawns with the 'Boy so far, and the $ earned running it will go towards a winter teardown, rebuild and restoration...or to pay for the next green machine as I already want another one:laughing: Earlier this week I picked up a roll of duct tape at the Dollar Tree and put some on the side of the deck to protect the magnesium from any more scrapes... A friend has a drill press in his basement and installing bronze bushings in the wheels is on the list of work to be done...

2smoked said:

That whole package looks real nice. You say you are looking for new wheels, however, the pictures show that they don't look too bad. If they are wobbley, maybe all you need are new axle bolts along with adding bronze bushings to the wheels. Just drill out the centers to fit the bushings and those wheels will roll better than new.

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I have a 7268 and just rescued a L21ZPNC. Both have with wobbly wheels... Especially the L21. What size bushings? Any particular place to buy them? Anything special? I'd love to do this, I've never heard of it before.

Brianp48093 said:

I have a 7268 and just rescued a L21ZPNC. Both have with wobbly wheels... Especially the L21. What size bushings? Any particular place to buy them? Anything special? I'd love to do this, I've never heard of it before.

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Here is what I did. I took one of the axle bolts to the local hardware store and dug through the variety of bronze bushings until I found one that fit right over the axle. I know that the outside diameter of the bushing is 5/8 inch. I don't remember off the top of my head what the inside diameter is, but if you have an axle in your hand and have a store that sells that kind of stuff, you should be able to find a match. Next, I went and puchased a 5/8 inch drill bit for my drill press. I securely clamped the wheels down and very carefully centered the bit and also adjusted it vertically. Once I had the wheels drilled out, the bushings only needed a few gentle taps with a ball peen hammer to insert them in place. The bushings cost me something like $4.50 apiece. Really nothing special, just be careful with the centering and making sure the bit goes in straight. You don't want the wheels to rotate out-of-round. Hope this helps.

2smoked said:

Here is what I did. I took one of the axle bolts to the local hardware store and dug through the variety of bronze bushings until I found one that fit right over the axle. I know that the outside diameter of the bushing is 5/8 inch. I don't remember off the top of my head what the inside diameter is, but if you have an axle in your hand and have a store that sells that kind of stuff, you should be able to find a match. Next, I went and puchased a 5/8 inch drill bit for my drill press. I securely clamped the wheels down and very carefully centered the bit and also adjusted it vertically. Once I had the wheels drilled out, the bushings only needed a few gentle taps with a ball peen hammer to insert them in place. The bushings cost me something like $4.50 apiece. Really nothing special, just be careful with the centering and making sure the bit goes in straight. You don't want the wheels to rotate out-of-round. Hope this helps.

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Easy enough! Thank you! I dont have a press, so I'll have to see if someone I know has one I can use. If not, I noticed Lowes has replacement wheels with the bushing sleeve already in it for $7.49 each. No clue if it will fit as a replacement or not... I didn't have the old wheel to compare. Ill check it out, and if it does fit, that will be my backup plan.

Thanks again!

I actually went to Lowe's yesterday and picked up 4 steel wheels with bearings and 2 pairs of axle bolts for about $35 out the door As the mower will get used 4-5 times a week until the end of the season, I didn't want to wear out the original wheels and axle bolts any more than they already are...put on the parts and it rolls like new and looks decent:thumbsup:

Lawnz 420 said:

I actually went to Lowe's yesterday and picked up 4 steel wheels with bearings and 2 pairs of axle bolts for about $35 out the door As the mower will get used 4-5 times a week until the end of the season, I didn't want to wear out the original wheels and axle bolts any more than they already are...put on the parts and it rolls like new and looks decent:thumbsup:

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Heck yeah, looks fine! And as long as it rolls good and cuts nice, thats all that matters!