The GREAT Start Karel, the Craftsmand 42" Riding Lawn Tractor Caper

[bertsmobile1]

You have just opened a can of worms with that one.
Using 5W 40 will not hurt your mower.
It is not as good as proper mower oil, but if it makes things easier at your end the use it.
The caveat is you really should change it at the end of every season, just after you have done your last mow of the season so the engine has nice clean oil in there over winter.
The main difference between mower oil & car oil is the anti corrosion package.
If the oil you have for your car has high zinc ( and it should ) it will be fine for your mower.
Being a 5W oil, it will tend to find every possible exit point but as long as you check the oil level before you mow ( and every one should always do that ) it should not be a problem.

Back when i was running hire cars, courier bikes & vans we were drowning in 5 different oils.
My business partner made an executive decision to buy 20W 50 in a 44 gallon drum and just change the oil a little more often.
We did about 10,000km / year with each RR hire cars, 120,000 km / with most vans ( toyota, mitsubishi & nissan ) and about 150,000km / year on the motorcycles.
There were no oil related problems from any of them over the following 13 years and we saved a fortune on oil & more important time running to the parts store buying drums of 5 different oils.

Now days my van runs on mower oil because I buy it in 44 gallon drums, & it gets an oil change every 3 months.
Apart from being a little noisy on start up and a few drips it has not given me any problems over the past 6 years.

With oil the most important thing is how long it has been in there , what was in there comes in a close second.

 

[JCAllison]

You have just opened a can of worms with that one.

Hey Mr. B,
Just one among a goodly number of them here.

Using 5W 40 will not hurt your mower. It is not as good as proper mower oil, but if it makes things easier at your end the use it.

Decided on getting a couple of quarts of Pennzoil 30W. It's what Karel is used to.

The caveat is you really should change it at the end of every season, just after you have done your last mow of the season so the engine has nice clean oil in there over winter.

All right.

The main difference between mower oil & car oil is the anti corrosion package. If the oil you have for your car has high zinc (and it should ) it will be fine for your mower.

It says right on the Valvoline Racing Oil Bottle that it has "Zinc". Ms. American, the Ford Galaxie has solid lifters, and Zinc is good for them.

Being a 5W oil, it will tend to find every possible exit point but as long as you check the oil level before you mow ( and every one should always do that ) it should not be a problem.

Right. I have a routine for starting, and it included checking the Oil Level and bringing it up to "Full".

Back when i was running hire cars, courier bikes & vans we were drowning in 5 different oils.
My business partner made an executive decision to buy 20W 50 in a 44 gallon drum and just change the oil a little more often.
We did about 10,000km / year with each RR hire cars, 120,000 km / with most vans ( toyota, mitsubishi & nissan ) and about 150,000km / year on the motorcycles.
There were no oil related problems from any of them over the following 13 years and we saved a fortune on oil & more important time running to the parts store buying drums of 5 different oils.

Now days my van runs on mower oil because I buy it in 44 gallon drums, & it gets an oil change every 3 months.
Apart from being a little noisy on start up and a few drips it has not given me any problems over the past 6 years.

With oil the most important thing is how long it has been in there , what was in there comes in a close second.

Have an interesting story about Ms. American, and Lorrie Van Haul's Lubricating System, but it will have to wait, because right now, there is the account of what has happened to Karel that needs to be written.

Got the Carburetor reinstalled this morning, along with a NEW Fuel Line, NEW Fuel Filter, and NEW Shut-Off Valve. See HERE:


Got the Choke Linkage adjusted. Three JPGs first one with the Choke Activated:

Second one with Throttle in RUN position:

Third one with Throttle in OFF position.

Then it was off to get the Pennzoil. Got back and it put into the Briggs&Stratton. Put in about a quarter Tank of Gas.

Then came the moment of TRVTH. Opened the NEW Shut-Off Valve. Watched the NEW Gasoline run into the NEW Fuel Filter. Depressed the Clutch/Brake Pedal. Set the Throttle for Choke. Keyed the Starter. Karel STARTED RIGHT UP! She ran for about ten seconds sounding a little anemic. Then she QUIT, and would not start again. She cranked just fine, but wouldn't run.

Unplugged and re-plugged the Ignition Switch Connections, the Blue Wire Connector, and the Fuel Cut-Off Connector on the bottom of the Carburetor. Tried to start Karel again. Alas, to no avail.

Then seeing as to how it got to looking like it would like to rain, decided to put the Plastic Sheet and Tarp over Karel, put everything away, and come in to write this missive.

We're back to Square Number One.

In the meantime, the Lawns are growing at an alarming rate, although before Karel quit the other day, we DID mow the West and North Lawns, and a bit of the East Lawn. It just so happens that the Lawn to the East of my place isn't MY property. It is a County Easement that I've been mowing since 1989, but it might not get mowed this year.

Anyway, we've spent four days, and nearly $100.00, and Karel hasn't responded. What to do?

Suggestions are welcome.

JC

 

[JCAllison]

Hey All,
Went out this morning, removed the Tarp and Plastic Cover from Karel, took off the Air Filter, opened the NEW Fuel Shut-Off Valve, set the Throttle at the RUN position, gave the Air Intake a spritz of Starting Fluid, and keyed the Starter. Karel started right up, ran somewhat erratically for about ten second and then died. Would not start again even with another spritz of Starting Fluid. It was previously stated that this is an indication that there is no Fuel in the Float Bowl because the Solenoid is not retracting.

QUESTION: Could the Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid be tested by removing it, putting the Electrical Connection back in the Solenoid, and turn the Ignition Key to Run, and see if the Shaft in the Solenoid would retract?

Have already done this, and got no retraction. There MIGHT be another reason that this procedure wouldn't give any results, but the Electrical Connection has its own Ground, and am assuming that it has Electricity. Cannot see why the above test wouldn't work, but then again, what do I know?

Have found numerous accounts of people having this same problem, and solving it by cutting off the Shaft in the Solenoid so that the Solenoid's only function becomes holding the Float Bowl onto the Carburetor.

QUESTION: Can Electricity to the Plug that goes into the Solenoid be checked with a MultiTester with the Red Probe in the Pale Colored Wire Port, and the Black Probe in the Black Colored Wire Port, or to a Ground somewhere on the Engine?

Am going to go do this. Will let you know the results. Have just finished doing this test. The MultiTester showed that the Plug that goes into the Solenoid is getting 12.18 Volts. BUT when that Plug is attached to the Solenoid, it does NOTHING. Just double checked this, and got NO RETRACTION.

Am going to order a NEW Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid. In the meantime, am going to use a Craftsman RotoTool and a Cut Off Wheel to cut off the Shaft of the OLD Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid to see if THAT will let the Briggs&Stratton run. I know that this is NOT the PROPER&CORRECT thing to do, but if it works, the lawns here can get mowed before they get too overgrown. and will replace the OLD Solenoid with the NEW Solenoid when it gets here. Will let you know how it goes.

JC

 

[JCAllison]

Hey All,
Got out the Craftsman RotoTool, and a Cut-Off Wheel, gripped the end of the Shaft of the Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid with a Small Vise-Grip, and cut the Solenoid Shaft off even with the Threads on the Solenoid. Reinstalled the Float Bowl, and Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid. Connected the Electrical (which doesn't do anything) to the Solenoid. Thought about taking a nap, but instead decided to see if Karel would Start&Run.

Put the Throttle in Choke Position, Keyed the Starter, and KAREL STARTED RIGHT UP! Put the Throttle in the Run Position, and the anemic running took about ten seconds to clear, and Karel began sounding healthier and stronger (probably due to the rebuilt Carburetor which was probably not needed in the first place), than the last time that she was running.

Have logical-ized the reason why Karel would start after sitting overnight, but not run: Fuel would leak past the Solenoid and there would be fuel in the Float Bowl. Karel would START, but the amount of fuel in the Float Bowl would soon be expended, and that would kill the Engine.

So Karel now has NEW Pennzoil 30 weight Oil, NEW Fuel Filter, NEW Fuel Line Shut Off Valve, NEW Fuel Line, NEW Needle&Seat, and a NEW Nylon Fuel Inlet Fitting on the Carburetor.

Am going to fill Karel's Fuel Tank, take a bit of a break, and then see if Karel will mow the lawns. Will let you know how it goes.

JC

 

[JCAllison]

Hey All,
The East Lawn has been mowed. Karel never missed a beat! This is the first time of the thirty-first year that the lawns here have been mowed, and the eighteenth year that Karel has done the deed. Am taking a break, and then will take the Leaf Blower out and clean all the trimmings off of her. She seems to be feeling REALLY good. So am I.

Again, want to thank everyone here for the assistance and encouragement.

Anyway, hope you have a GREAT what is left of the weekend. I'm going to finish cleaning Karel and take the rest of the day off.

Take care.

JC

 

[Pumper54]

Glad everything worked out for you.
Weather been kinda strange here of late, looks like rain, stop working on fence. Nothing happens, work on fence little rain, pack and call it a day.
Tom

 

[JCAllison]

Glad everything worked out for you.

Hey Mr. P,
Early on in this thread, the comment was made that the symptom of Karel starting with Starter Fluid, but not running after the Starter Fluid was used up could be a non-functioning Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid. That diagnosis was spot ON. And it was made a bit strange when Billy, at the Lawn Mower Shop tested the Solenoid, and it worked! So we proceeded from there. Rebuilt Carburetor, NEW Fuel Line, NEW Fuel Filter, NEW Fuel Shut-Off Valve, NEW Oil. Intermittent malfunctions are hard as heck to diagnose. Won't work when it's needed. Will work when tested. Go figure.

Weather been kinda strange here of late, looks like rain, stop working on fence. Nothing happens, work on fence little rain, pack and call it a day. Tom

Same here. AND... it can happen at most inopportune times.

Anyway, "All's well that ends well." (Shakespeare) Have Karel all cleaned of trimmings with the Leaf Blower, covered with Plastic and a Tarp, and everything packed up, and like YOU, am calling it a day.

Take care.

JC