Suffolk Punch Lawn Mower Problems

[Tonyorourke7]

Hi,

Recently bought a Suffolk punch petrol cylinder mower and all was great for 6-8 weeks.

However, I started using the mower last week and within a few minutes of use, the cylinder and self propel roller suddenly stopped working.

The engine continues to run fine, starting at the first time of asking and running as smoothly as I could hope, but nothing in terms of cutting action.

I?ve taken the side panel off and checked the tension of the belts, but they seem okay when compared to what they were previously (that?s not to say they are correct). But i?ve also tried pulling the cables manually, thus increasing the tension, but still nothing. Also think it?s quite a coincidence that both the cylinder and the self propel stopped working at the same time. Any ideas?

Kind regards, Tony

[John McGaw]

I've never seen that mower (that style seems to have virtually disappeared in the US many decades back) but, looking at a diagram online, it seems simple enough. The big question would be whether that rotation of the engine is actually getting into the side compartment where the belts and suchlike reside. Have you tried (carefully!) running the engine with the side panel removed to see if the top shaft rotates? There is a coupling to the side of the engine that transfers rotation from the engine shaft to the drive pulleys in the side compartment. If the coupling was somehow compromised that would give the symptoms you describe.

Watch out for the heat!

[penmart01]

Sometimes there's a pin securing a shaft to a gear/sheave that's designed to shear in order to save other parts from suffering severe damage... a shear pin acts in lieu of a much more expensive slip-clutch assembly. A shear pin is typically tapered and costs under a dollar... wise to keep a supply handy. They are usually located in an easily accessible place, check your owner's manual. A shear pin is of a softer steel than the parts in secures... in mechanical assemblies it acts like a fuse in an electrical circuit.

[Stagger Lee]

Kathy keeps a sheer pin in her asshole, right Popeye?

[bob prohaska]

At least on USA-style "cylinder" (here called "reel") mowers the engine usually drives a countershaft through a clutch, the countershaft drives a chain driving the reel and the reel drives the wheels through pawls pinions and ring gears at the ends of the reel shaft. At least that's the norm on traditional consumer reel mowers circa 1960.

Fancier greenskeeping mowers sometimes have separate drive for the reel and wheels, but I suspect you'd see the difference easily.

The clutch is rarely a disk type, much more often it's some kind of belt tensioning arrangement, either an adjustable idler pulley or split sheaves that can be tightened up to drive the belt.

What you're describing sounds like a loose belt or belt tensioner.

Just out of curiosity, can to post a link to a photo or diagram?

HTH,

bob prohaska

[John McGaw]

The diagrams for that particular mower are readily available online with a Google search. That is what I based my S.W.A.G. upon.

Example:

[bob prohaska]

That's _much_ more complicated than I imagined it would be. I can't even _find_ the clutch....

bob prohaska

[John McGaw]

As best I can tell it uses belt tensioning to provide the clutch action. It would be much easier to tell what is going on if one had the mower with the side cover removed.