question about lawnmower blade noise

Hi, I have a sears self propelled walkbehind mower. I've hit bricks, sticks, etc, and it works fine. However I hit a large stick the other day, and when I push down on the handles to raise the front wheels, [to turn a corner] it makes a loud racquet, like the blade is hitting something slightly. Is that just a bent blade or could it be the shaft? Is there a way to tell? Plus do I have to get the sears blade or will any 22" blade work?

thx

itchy

Reply to
itchyneebanshee
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Most likely the blade is loose, or rather the bolt holding it to the shaft is loose. With the mower OFF, turn it on its side, have an adjustable wrench handy, set the blade properly and tighten it down.

Reply to
Alexander SuperTramp

After reading your post I have concluded the best thing for you to do is hire someone to do your lawn.

Reply to
Srgnt Billko

LOL.. what size stick was it? those 10" sticks are KILLERS..

Clark...

Reply to
Clark...

Mow cautiously and watch for big sticks ? I get the impression this poster doesn't have the foggiest - hasn't even disconnected the spark plug and looked underneath.

Reply to
Srgnt Billko

Reply to
ecarecar

Bent the blade and twisted and bent the front circular shroud on a push mower last year. The shaft attached to the blade and engine rode up the engine. Lots of oil loss. The mower never ran again. Ran over a pitcher plant (locals call it that). Looked harmless enough.

Brief description of plant. Long, spiney and pointed, green leaves that surround the center. Center has a long, tall stalk. The stalk produces pods in late spring.

Fixed the pitcher plant with my new riding mower.

Reply to
Dioclese

Be careful. These mowers almost alwaysy have the ignition permanently ON. You press the button to 'kill' the motor, but don't have to press or switch anything to start it. Turning a blade by hand can cause the engine to start, and take fingers or a hand off. When doing any work under the machine, always make sure the sparkplug wire is off the plug and not able to come back into contact with it. Safer yet, remove the plug.

Reply to
theChas.

blades have different bends in them, even if it's the right size.

Reply to
z

I found out that it was part of the steel edging, or flange/rim underneath the mower that had somehow gotten slightly bent. But the blade only hit it when you raised up the front of the mower to turn a corner. The blade and rotor were fine. I bent it back with vice grips and now no noise. Hey I did read the manual and unplugged the spark plug. Btw I live near a huge amount of pine trees and sticks and pine cones hard as bricks are everywhere. I think a stick caught by the blade hooked the flange and pulled it inward. Heh.

itchy

Reply to
itchyneebanshee

You know, I'm all for safety. And obviously the safest thing for most people to do is to remove the sparkplug wire. But I'd like to hear if anyone has ever actually seen a mower start from anyone just removing a blade to sharpen it. The new mowers have brakes which prevent them from turning without the lever being depressed. With that feature, I no longer bother disconnecting the plug to remove the blade or clean underneath. All the mowers I've ever seen need one hell of a pull spin to fire at all. And at most, I'm taking the blade off, not spinning the crankshaft around. I can't fathom that barely moving a blade is going to start the thing going. To get an ignition spark, the magneto needs some minimum amount of speed.

This sounds like a good test for the mythbusters.

Reply to
trader4

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