Lawnmower maintenence 101....arrrgghhh!

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oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Well folks spring has sprung here in south-central Pa.!! Copious amounts of rain and the occasional sunny day and the yard is outpacing my feeble attempts with the poosh mower so today I decided to get the rider fired up. Bein's as this is the first time this year hadda do some maintenance. Both front tires flat and borried the b.i.l.'s compressor and air exited as fast as I put it in. Dry-rot is an awful thing. Tires should last longer than 20 years shouldn't they? Scooted to Tractor Supply and snatched up 2 new inner tubes. (entirely too cheap to buy new tires..) This should be a piec'a cake! I've done millions of bike tires. Note to self; next time buy new tires mounted on new rims. Spent 2 1/2 hours rasseling the first tire off/tube in/re-mounting tire on rim. Figgered tube was in backwards...got to do it again. YES...there IS a direction the tube goes in or the valve stem won't line up with the hole in rim. AND...it's not the way it looks like it should go! I rekkin' I looked like a bear rasslin' with a badger changing that tire an chasing it all over the yard trying to hold it down. Second tire only took 1 hour. (Still put the ++++ tube in backwards but getting faster at realizing it....) Total cost...$20 for 2 tubes, 4hrs' labor, 3 lost tire irons/screwdrivers/prybars. And the neighbor kids couldn't play outside till I was done due to profanity. Since I had the b.i.l.'s air compressor seemed a good time to blast all the dirt out'a the engine bay. That story coming up next. Audie..the exhausted Oldfart...
oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Well now since I had the compressor I deemed it a good day to also clean up the engine bay of the old rider. Lifted the hatch and figgered it best to pull the engine shroud an do it right. Fortunatly Briggs&Stratton makes this easy. Remove 4 bolts and 568 sheet-metal screws (all of which are different sizes for different fittings) and it'll ALMOST lift off. Ya hafta take out the little screw that holds the oil filler tube. Of course when ya do the the engine oil runs out'a the engine. Even more so if the mower is sitting on a 90 deg. sidehill with the dipstick on the downhill side. Anyways, after getting the shroud off ya'll wouldn't believe all the "stuff" them mice had packed in there!!! I'll bet I pulled & blasted out a grocery bag fulla fur/dustbunnies/seeds/nuts/twigs and other 'sordid stuff. Had I not done this job I'm reasonably sure I'd have overheated and rooned the engine on the first mow. So if any ya'll have mice in yer shed...gitter done. And while all that sheetmetal is off it's a good time to replace the fuel filter ($4) and dump out the old fuel. A word of warning about dumping the old fuel. It still can ignite....with an improperly disposed of ciggerette. And along with a large quantity of spilled oil from the displaced oil-filler tube...makes for quite an intense blaze. Trust me on that. Well, gotta run now and put some salve on that area of my wrinkled face where eyebrows used to grow. Hope all are doing well and Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms out there! Audie...the Oldfart..
Lorne
Posts: 368
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 7:57 am
Location: Murrells Inlet,SC

You write the way that "Larry the Cable Guy" talks on the T V.
Be he kin to ya or air ya just luky? Be safe.
1987 Craftsman Double Wide 42x28,w/attached 28x12 foot enclosed porch/ re-shingled 2 yrs ago. Original exterior vinyl w/no sheathing.
joedirt63
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:57 am
Location: Pocono Lake, P A
Contact:

I don't care who you r that's funny right thar. :lol:
"a man has got to know his limitations", clint eastwood. " i haven't found mine yet," me
joedirt63
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:57 am
Location: Pocono Lake, P A
Contact:

hey audie you tell the most funny stories, man i and picture the hole thing. i have neighbor here , fit the charactor to a T, ought to come sit a spell and jaw awhile figgur yall be getting along quite nice.
"a man has got to know his limitations", clint eastwood. " i haven't found mine yet," me
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Dean3
Posts: 419
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:32 pm
Location: NE IA

Last year I replaced blades and belts,I didn't reset linkage adjustments to factory though,pretty much a mistake when replacing belts. When parking last Fall after the last use the upper drive belt twisted,so now I have to fix that and do the adjustment before I can feed those horses under the hood. Also it's time for a new battery,I put it on trickle charge but after sitting for a day it drops to 10V,not good at all,there goes another $25 or so. I think I put spark plugs in last year too,or was that the year before? I haven't had trouble with tires on this rider yet,knocking wood.

All-in-all the money and maint work is well worth it to me as mowing is one of the few chores I enjoy doing when it gets hot n humid out,grab refreshments for the double can holder I glued to the fender and go. Several times over the years I was having such good time mowing and "refreshing" I just kept right on going and did the neighbors lawn too. They will do mine if I don't for some reason. With the dang gas prices these days it costs more to do my own than I made as a kid when I mowed for the little old ladies in my neighborhood.
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DaveyB
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 5:12 am
Location: Peoria, AZ

One of my neighbors has a front yard that is all desert landscaping (all rock) and has a rusted out old push mower sat in the corner - always makes me smile when I see it :)

When I first moved to AZ, at Christmas we hung a snow shovel over the front door with a sign on it ... "lest we forget"!!
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