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Joined the forum to guide me as to how to revive my Sears Craftsman DYT 4000.

It is a small exaggeration to say that this tractor has never... I repeat never worked well for 4 weeks at a time.

It is prone to back firing, not starting, and blowing smoke. The gas line collapsed (some told me that it was the ethanol content of the new gas that kicked the rubber of the hose)... Battery failed, carburetor was replaced (twice)...

So my intention is to get it working again and give it a go.


Let me say that the mower has sat for more than a year without running. The crank case was drained, there is a little bit of gas which I am sure is bad, the spark plug was removed (suggested by a fix it company).

The last money I put into it was a new carburetor. I bought this from Sears, bolted it in place and it did not start, so I lost my heart on this machine and it has sat.

Last Fall I tried to push it out of the way of the snow plow and it wouldn't move... I have been told that the cylinder may be stuck...


That's my tale of woe... Paid a lot of money for this thing with the promise of many years of service... Sears failed me.


So... I am looking for help....


Here is what I am going to do...

1) Air in the tires
2) Oil in the crank case
3) Fresh gas
4) Take the belt off to see if it turns over5
5) Recharge the battery.
6) New spark plug

Question for the group....

1) what to do if the cylinder is stuck....
2) how to get the carburetor to work in sync with the motor


Any thoughts?

Welcome to LawnWorld!

I moved your thread to the Craftsman forum. :smile:

Briana said:

Welcome to LawnWorld!

I moved your thread to the Craftsman forum. :smile:

Click to expand...

Once you verify that your oil level is correct, remove the spark plug and spray penetrating oil directly into the spark plug hole. Don't be afraid to be very generous when you are spraying. Let it sit for a few minutes for the spray to settle. Next, try turning the engine over by hand to see if it is seized up or not. Listen for any unusual noises that may indicate an internal problem. If it will turn freely, replace the plug (properly gapped mind you) and you can then move on and remove the valve cover and set the valves to the proper gap. Once that is done I would remove the carb from the head. Put a fresh battery in it and using carb spray try to start the engine while spraying brief shots of carb cleaner into the head where the carb attaches. Yes, it is capable of running without the carb, just don't let it run for an extended period. If it won't fire you have other issues to contend with like timing and possibly ignition problems. If it does fire up then you can install the carb and see if it will work. Since its been sitting so long I would take the time to disassemble and clean the carb again. Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks,

So I took the belt off. The rear end/gear box is locked up. Hmm.

So I am trying a different approach...

Took the deck off, found an obvious problem.

The rod that you pull to disengage the tranny from the back.... it goes to a lever which comes out of the front right side of the transmission.

This lever is stuck, there is/was a fiber/leather washer found between the lever and the transmission.

I squirted it down with WD 40 and am hoping that this will free up the lever.

Anybody know where I can find a schematic for the gear box... It's a Tecumseh peerless 6892p91.

Thanks.

I jacked up the back of the tractor, turned the tire... the other tire turned in opposite direction.

Help....

rock city said:

I jacked up the back of the tractor, turned the tire... the other tire turned in opposite direction.

Help....

Click to expand...

That's actually normal so no worries there. I don't know much about the Peerless transmissions so maybe someone else can shed some light on why the tires turn in opposite directions.

Thanks.

The disengage lever that comes out of the back end is not moving without tapping with a hammer. Do I have to take the transmission apart to free up this mechanism?

rock city said:

Thanks.

The disengage lever that comes out of the back end is not moving without tapping with a hammer. Do I have to take the transmission apart to free up this mechanism?

Click to expand...

I don't think tapping the end of it with a hammer will help. You're going to have to go to where the lever attaches to the trans and try to move it back and forth (maybe with pliers or vise grips) and see if you can get it free. You can also try and rock the mower back and forth and hopefully free it up. I've only tore into one Peerless before and I recall it being a bear to figure out. Seems like I found a Youtube video to watch before I gave it a go. Unfortunately it didn't help me any. I ended up buying a cheap mower off CL with a blown engine but a good trans and just did the swap. Best $50 I spent that year.

Thanks,

Re: tap with a hammer... seat and gas tank were off and I had a visual as I was tapping... So I squirted with a liberal quantity of WD 40 and the lever moves now, but I am wondering.... is it sposed to have a springback feature so it goes to a rest position? Mine moves one way, and then waits for me to move it back.

At the moment, the wheels are off and it is up on blocks so the best I can do is turn the axle and like before wheels turn in opposite directions, so my intuition tells me that it will still not move forward because the wheels are not cooperating. Any thoughts>


And thank you again for looking over my shoulder on this one... very grateful.

I am working on the motor end of the mower and took off the cover that houses the air cleaner. When I opened it up, there was a large mouse burrow/nest in the space in front of the starter.

Cleaned that all up, and discovered why the cylinder was stuck... It wasn't the piston frozen to the cylinder... (good news)... it was the spark plug wire gizmo (sorry for the lack of a word) which had rusted to the big round middle turny thing (again sorry for the lack of a word)...

My instinct is to go at it with emery paper to clean off/smooth out the rust...

Any thoughts on that?

rock city said:

Thanks,

Re: tap with a hammer... seat and gas tank were off and I had a visual as I was tapping... So I squirted with a liberal quantity of WD 40 and the lever moves now, but I am wondering.... is it sposed to have a springback feature so it goes to a rest position? Mine moves one way, and then waits for me to move it back.

At the moment, the wheels are off and it is up on blocks so the best I can do is turn the axle and like before wheels turn in opposite directions, so my intuition tells me that it will still not move forward because the wheels are not cooperating. Any thoughts>


And thank you again for looking over my shoulder on this one... very grateful.

Click to expand...

I haven't worked on one in a while but if its moving now thats a good sign. I don't think it springs back. That seems like that would be counterproductive. Hopefully since you solved the engine issue you can fire her up and try it out soon. Good luck!!

rock city said:

I am working on the motor end of the mower and took off the cover that houses the air cleaner. When I opened it up, there was a large mouse burrow/nest in the space in front of the starter.

Cleaned that all up, and discovered why the cylinder was stuck... It wasn't the piston frozen to the cylinder... (good news)... it was the spark plug wire gizmo (sorry for the lack of a word) which had rusted to the big round middle turny thing (again sorry for the lack of a word)...

My instinct is to go at it with emery paper to clean off/smooth out the rust...

Any thoughts on that?View attachment 14790

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are referring to the coil sticking to the flywheel. Emory cloth is what i use to clean them up a bit. Remove the two screws on the coil to remove it and disconnect the kill wire too so you won't have to work so close to the mower. Clean the coil and the magnets on the flywheel with the emory cloth. To reset the gap on the coil, get a business card and place it between the flywheel and the coil then rotate the flywheel till the magnets make contact with the card. This will draw the coil toward the flywheel and properly set the gap for the coil. Then go ahead and reconnect the kill wire and tighten the 2 coil screws back down. Rotate the flywheel till the magnets are away from the coil and remove the business card. That's it.

Re: Sears Craftsman dlt 4000. making some progress.

Ifixdit said:

Rotate the flywheel till the magnets are away from the coil and remove the business card. That's it.

Click to expand...

Done, looks good.

Next is the battery. It's a Die Hard, probably sat for 1-2 years in the weather without use. I hooked it up to battery charger, then bolted it on and...

Engine does not turn over, but there is clicking sound... I think this is a sign of a weak battery.

Does that sound possible? How do you know? I would rather not go out to buy a new battery and find out it is a bad ground (one example).

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

Re: Sears Craftsman dlt 4000. making some progress.

rock city said:

Done, looks good.

Next is the battery. It's a Die Hard, probably sat for 1-2 years in the weather without use. I hooked it up to battery charger, then bolted it on and...

Engine does not turn over, but there is clicking sound... I think this is a sign of a weak battery.

Does that sound possible? How do you know? I would rather not go out to buy a new battery and find out it is a bad ground (one example).

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

Click to expand...

So I observed the starter in action and realized that the gear was stuck up into the flywheel... thought that there might be some sticking to the starter motor so I took it off the machine and brought it into the shop.

Dis assembled it all the way down to the brushes. Discovered some build up of dirt etc on the magnets. Cleaned them up.

If anyone ever attempts this (cleaning up starter) Here's a challenge and a tip. There are 4 carbon brushes that are set radially around the shaft. A pretty strong spring provides back tension to the keep the brush pushed up against the shaft. So when you slide this assembly off the shaft, all four springs expand and push the brushes out of their place.

Reassembling this was tricky. How do you hold the brushes in place and push the assemblage onto the shaft? The clearance is really tight. I did it by taking a plastic pipe (1" diameter) and cut slots about 4 inches down. Getting the brushes in their chases and feeding it onto this pipe was difficult but doable. Once on the pipe, the next trick is to flare the pipe to push the brushes back into their chases far enough so that the diameter of the ring of brushes matches the shaft. This I did by jamming a series of objects into the pipe until I found one that served the purpose.

With the assemblage prepped I held it with a vise, rested the shaft on the brushes and one at time pulled them back until they lipped up onto the shaft. Then it was a fairly easy push to get the shaft back in position.

It was fun... have to say.

Re: Sears Craftsman dlt 4000. making some progress.

rock city said:

So I observed the starter in action and realized that the gear was stuck up into the flywheel... thought that there might be some sticking to the starter motor so I took it off the machine and brought it into the shop.

It was fun... have to say.

Click to expand...

So I bolted it up, charged the battery and while I can hear the clock, there is a very lack luster click going to the starter.

Next step is to jump start the starter with my car battery.

Something tells me the problem is with the components between the ignition switch and the starter.

How do you trouble shoot this?

rock city said:

So I am trying a different approach...

Took the deck off, found an obvious problem.

The rod that you pull to disengage the tranny from the back.... it goes to a lever which comes out of the front right side of the transmission.

This lever is stuck, there is/was a fiber/leather washer found between the lever and the transmission.

I squirted it down with WD 40 and am hoping that this will free up the lever.

Anybody know where I can find a schematic for the gear box... It's a Tecumseh peerless 6892p91.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Check the brake. The wheels moving in opposit directions is normal. Try moving them in the same direction at the same time. Sometimes the brake gets locked up from setting and will not let the transmission move.

Sledge740 said:

Check the brake. The wheels moving in opposit directions is normal. Try moving them in the same direction at the same time. Sometimes the brake gets locked up from setting and will not let the transmission move.

Click to expand...

Thanks... That's right!

So now on to the motor part of the odyssey to get this tractor on the path to cutting my back field.

I went out an splurged on a new battery. My gas tank broke off at the neck where the fill cap is so there is no choice but to replace it unless someone has a practical replacement to a custom gas tank that costs less than 100.

Thanks