On Mon, 12 Apr 2021 16:51:58 -0700 (PDT), TimR posted for all of us to digest...
This part is called a connecting rod. I believe your new problem is the connecting rod or crankshaft from your description.
My Honda was bought in October of 2010. It is still a one pull mower and I do worse than using it a lot. It sits months at a time without being started ... full of E-10. One great thing about this Honda is you can clean the main jet without pulling the carb. I can run a tip cleaner up through the main jet just by dropping the bowl.
We don't have an off season.
Typically the boss drives the big mower and the rest of the crew blows, trims hedges and weed eats. We have a couple of crews in the neighborhood who try to get several yards together so they can just go. Sometime there is a deal to be had if they just want "one more" to make it a day. I did see the longest serving company go from one smoking old mower and a couple of guys in a pickup to being a huge company with a ton of new equipment and a bunch of guys. That guy is a businessman but he still runs the big mower. The guys who own lawn services here won't work here. The various trade contractors are the same way. They say neighbors tend to be more demanding and less likely to expect to pay the going rate. It is not worth the hassle.
I have a 1957 LawnKing with a Lauson engine that has not been apart and still runs. I also have a '61 mower that I replaced the original engine on about 6 or 7 yeares ago when the original high-hour Briggs and Stratton seized a rod when I neglected to keep up with it's appetite for engine oil. Also a real nice 1947 Iron Horse - all original - but no idea how many hours of what kinf of use.
It's a mistake not to start he mower now when the grass'll need cutting in a couple of weeks. Also, all 9-1-1 for the accident you'll have next month.
Nah. At the end of last season you changed the oil and plug and sharpened the blade, right? This year all you have to do is prime and pull.
I stopped by the local higher end lawnmower sales and repair shop.
Toro push mowers start at around $350 and go up to about $500 for the steel deck, the other deck is a bit more.
But the one marked commercial, that otherwise looked like a pushmower, started at $1400. Hondas are around $600 or so now.
That's what I did. I don't want one of those "zero maintenance" engines, where "zero maintenance" means there's no way to change the oil.
On Tue, 13 Apr 2021 17:51:12 -0400, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com posted for all of us to digest...
Do you have it attached to your Milwaukee Hole Hawg? 8-)
I ws thinking about that the other day. Why couldn't my lawnmower have a power takeoff so I could add a string trimmer attachment? At least it would be good for edging.
Probably cheaper to have separate tools, but seems like it could work.
Hi TimR, I just had a similar experience when I tried to get away with using gasoline left over in my container from last season. Neighbour heard my mower, "farting" and stopping so gave me some of his gasoline. He buys Shell with the Octane 91 which doesn't use ethanol, as most other brands do now. It worked its magic on my old gas in no time and I noticed my mower had more oomph than ever. Apparently, this is recommended by most lawn mower experts. The higher price for the little volume of higher octane gas used with a personal mower is more than offset with the cleaner engine burn resulting in very little required maintenance such as spark plug and air filter changes. Best of luck!
I bought a Honda. We will see how long it lasts - might outlast me, given my years. <grin>
The manual says use no more than 10% ethanol. So I'll keep with the ethanol free, even though it's a half hour drive to the only nearby gas station.
It has a gas line cut off so you can run the engine dry without draining the tank. Seems like a good feature that couldn't have added much cost.
The self propelled feature is pretty complicated. If anything goes on this it will be that.
Many years back, I sold the Honda self-propelled mower that I had been using for at least a dozen years in the South (i.e., lengthy grass cutting season).
I got just over half of what I had paid the Home Depot for it when it was new. Sold it on Craigslist to a landscaper who said he had several and they ran forever.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I did the required annual maintenance myself so I know it was in fact done- and done right. The only extra work it ever needed was to clean gunk out of the carburetor bowl and jets- and replace the tires which had hardened and started to wear.
I had a no-name Briggs & Stratton mower for 18-19 years and never checked, let alone changed, the oil, nor did I do anything gas-related at the end of the mowing season. The gas at the end of the season was the gas at the beginning of the next season. I'd probably still be using it if my wife hadn't hit a hidden tree stump that bent the crankshaft.
I replaced that with a Husqvarna that has a Honda engine. On that one, I check if it has oil every spring, but I've never considered changing it, and I still leave the gas in the tank over the winter. It starts on the first pull and runs fine.
Someone has to serve as a bad example, so I figured it was my turn.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.