Big Boys Hobbies

Broken mower engine.

maxxkatt said:
....Nearly all of them don't run because they stored them over the winter with cheap leaded gas and the gas ended up with water in the tank. And of course the mower won't start.

I know a guy who gets them for free and just empty's the gas and puts in premium gas and sells them for $90 - $200.
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So THAT'S why my older push mowers stopped running ! :laughing:

(I know I should likely should have added fuel preservative to the tank over the winters, but in the south the non-growing season don't seem to last as long, but I guess it was long enough :lol:)

Still have the older ones in the shed, maybe I need to get some premium gas to get them running again, once they are running is it okay to go back to regular gas ?

If I can get the older ones running I can use them for the really rough overgrowth areas and save the newest push mower for the regular grass areas that I can't reach with our lawn tractor.
 
CW3 said:
I've been a mechanic for 25 years and hate the term "the engine is blown up".

Non mechanics use the term all the time. To me that means its in 500 pieces because it blew up. I've only seen one engine that blew up. The guy was stuck in a ditch and had it wide open spinning the tires and the rod leg go. The block was in 3 pieces other parts could not even find.

People don't want to use the correct descriptions.
1. You ran it out of oil and seized the engine.
2. You over revved the engine and broke a rod.
3. You left the mower outside and the crank case is full of water now.

People tell me the engine is "blown up". All they need is a new battery.
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yeah I hate that. I'll buy "it don't work" or whatever. But don't tell me it's blown up when it's still in one piece. Ugh.
 
Diggerjonny said:
When I’m not detecting or working my full time job,I tinker with lawn mowers. I just received an old rider with a 14 HP Briggs. Guy gave it to me,said had a blown engine. It still cranks over,had a weird noise , didn’t sound like a broken rod. I removed the head and couldn’t believe what I saw! Exhaust valve broke and stuck it self upside down in the piston.
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I'm having this old Snapper redone. They are taking their time on the engine...wish they would speed it up..lol. I did all the paint work on the deck etc. Am really excited to get this put back together and gettin' to mow my lawn. This thing cuts like no other mower and is the perfect height for me.
 

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maxxkatt said:
....... they stored them over the winter with cheap leaded gas.....

I know a guy who ..... sells them for $90 - $200.
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Yep, unleaded gas goes bad real fast anymore.
"$90-$200" used!!!! Those must be the Ferrari of weed eaters.
Some years ago my father was working on a junk weed eater. (He grew up in the depression) My brother and I went to the store and bought him a new on for $45..
I quit using mine MANY years ago and just spray roundup along fence and trees twice a year.
 
aviationgale said:
I'm having this old Snapper redone. They are taking their time on the engine...wish they would speed it up..lol. I did all the paint work on the deck etc. Am really excited to get this put back together and gettin' to mow my lawn. This thing cuts like no other mower and is the perfect height for me.
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Nice job! You're going to have to wax it if you haven't already!
 
45 year old garden tractor, sat with old gas for a few years not running. I just replaced the carb and the points, now runs like a top. All the old gas from my other machines gets run through this tractor. 3 speed stick shift, 16 hp Briggs never rebuilt, this thing easily tows my project cars around and pulls a gravel driveway grader no problem.
 

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aviationgale said:
I'm having this old Snapper redone. They are taking their time on the engine...wish they would speed it up..lol. I did all the paint work on the deck etc. Am really excited to get this put back together and gettin' to mow my lawn. This thing cuts like no other mower and is the perfect height for me.
Click to expand...

Great looking mower! I love those older style push mowers. Here is a picture of my little project. Self propelled 3.5 hp Briggs. Has a PTO shaft , comes out side of the engine block, it drives a chain to pull mower along. Grandpa bought this brand new late 70’s from Big R farm store. I’m second owner
 

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amc rulz said:
45 year old garden tractor, sat with old gas for a few years not running. I just replaced the carb and the points, now runs like a top. All the old gas from my other machines gets run through this tractor. 3 speed stick shift, 16 hp Briggs never rebuilt, this thing easily tows my project cars around and pulls a gravel driveway grader no problem.
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Great looking tractor!
 
Diggerjonny said:
Great looking mower! I love those older style push mowers. Here is a picture of my little project. Self propelled 3.5 hp Briggs. Has a PTO shaft , comes out side of the engine block, it drives a chain to pull mower along. Grandpa bought this brand new late 70’s from Big R farm store. I’m second owner
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Nice! I loved my self-propelled mower, unfortunately it “blew up” (seized) :cool3: Put it at the end of the drive and it was gone that morning.
 
I need to get someone to work on my push mower (I have a rider, but used the push mower for small areas and by the road).

It starts GREAT if I shoot starter fluid into the carb, but then it dies...

What I really need to do is get off my lazy butt and try to fix it myself LOL
 
pryan67 said:
I need to get someone to work on my push mower (I have a rider, but used the push mower for small areas and by the road).

It starts GREAT if I shoot starter fluid into the carb, but then it dies...

What I really need to do is get off my lazy butt and try to fix it myself LOL
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I am definitely not a mechanic, but try to figure stuff out anyhow :lol: and it seems like the fuel is not getting to the engine for some reason, perhaps the fuel filter needs replaced, if not maybe debris got in the fuel line ?
 
GKL said:
I am definitely not a mechanic, but try to figure stuff out anyhow :lol: and it seems like the fuel is not getting to the engine for some reason, perhaps the fuel filter needs replaced, if not maybe debris got in the fuel line ?
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Very good suggestion! It’s usually a spark or fuel issue. My zero turn all of a sudden died, I replaced both plugs and fuel filter, but I suspect the filter. No problems since they were all replaced.
 
Diggerjonny said:
Great looking mower! I love those older style push mowers. Here is a picture of my little project. Self propelled 3.5 hp Briggs. Has a PTO shaft , comes out side of the engine block, it drives a chain to pull mower along. Grandpa bought this brand new late 70’s from Big R farm store. I’m second owner
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That is a beautiful mower!
 
I like the old mowers as well...this is a 1981 Lawn Boy 2 stroke commercial model I refreshed and put back into service a couple months ago
 
This talk about "push" mowers reminded me of the push mowers that took real effort to push :lol: I remember using something like this when I was a kid, and guess what ? they still make them !
mower manual push.jpg
 
speaking about Lawn Mowers


this is a John Deere Model 40U that was born about 1950 or so. I've had it ~40 years & fixed/bought some things but not too bad. I think it was used to cut grass along roads & the county kept-them worked good. It had a bracket for the umbrella of those days, remember they were Red & White on them LOL - old guys like me remember them LOL - there is a fat, old guy driving it in the pix. [me] & I just cut the grass in a field yesterday with it. Believe it or not, I bought a rear tire from last year from WALLY-WORLD


I love my tractor
 

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I saw that the grass was getting tall in my son'syard. He said that his mower died. I haven't looked at it but he said he might just let the city mow it. I told him that for what they charge it would be cheaper to have his fixed or buy a new one.
 
aviationgale said:
I'm having this old Snapper redone. They are taking their time on the engine...wish they would speed it up..lol. I did all the paint work on the deck etc. Am really excited to get this put back together and gettin' to mow my lawn. This thing cuts like no other mower and is the perfect height for me.
Click to expand...

Great paint job! Put a baby car seat on it and sell it as a stroller. Probably get $100 or more. Great title for a baby stroller "Snapper". My good friend use to be the sales director of Snapper here in GA.
 
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