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Landerig posted:I'm giving my mower an oil change this weekend. Happily it got a new air filter not too long ago. Yea, I think I will be doing the samething sunday.
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May 19, 2011 00:25
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Lawnmower chat ITT. Edit: Actually I'm kind of surprised we haven't had that thread yet.
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May 19, 2011 00:31
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Godholio posted:Lawnmower chat ITT. Right here. Probably time to bump it since summer is almost here.
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May 19, 2011 00:45
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Sexual Lorax posted:I'm going to find the air filter on my mower when I get home. My WIFE reminded me that we had the fuckin' thing serviced at the end of last season. Good to go.
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May 19, 2011 01:05
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You say the check engine light is flashing in your VW? Looks like your water pump seized.  This person doesn't have any idea how lucky they are that belt held and managed to split the pulley in half rather than snapping. We still had to pull the front bumper to get in and fix it though.
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May 19, 2011 01:34
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Skyssx posted:The B&S Quantum engine came out in 1986 (?) and has been the mainstay of walk behind lawnmower engines since then. Tecumseh walk power mower motors were all side valves as well until they went out of business. Honda has done the OHV and OHC thing for decades now. A 1990 OHV would be quite rare, I can't even think of what engine that might be. Sorry to continue the derail, but if you're curious apparently it's a suzuki-made ohv engine used in some toro mowers. Not ours, but it looks very similar to this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/580/dsc01368u.jpg
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May 19, 2011 02:16
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Skyssx posted:In fact, the B&S Quantum motor is so ubiquitous, we order those slightly rectangular air filters, 491588S, in boxes roughly the same size as a U-Haul size large. I used to work at Briggs. They package up 50,000 of those filters a month in the summer. If you order them in a 5 pack (4101) thats one of the parts I did. The engines that came through the warranty department were hilarious. 9 times out of 10 there was no oil in the motor and the customer wondered why the connecting rod turned into powder.
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May 19, 2011 02:19
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Command >>>> Magnum. There's just no reason to go with a Magnum except packaging. The line ended in the early '00s, but it's already a parts wasteland. You can get more and cheaper parts for a K series than a Magnum.IOwnCalculus posted:Yeah, the performance that people need out of a small engine doesn't always necessitate the benefits of a OHV/OHC arrangement. With a flathead you get a cylinder head that's extremely simple, and two valves driven directly by a cam (that can be driven by a gear off of the crank). OHV you need to at least add pushrods and rockers to it, maybe even lifters? Never seen a GX pulled apart. I've never seen a GX pulled apart either. Or in for repair at all, just maintenance. The new GXes are very advanced, no word yet on reliability. There's no headgasket. The cylinder and head are all one piece. The pushrods ride in aluminum tubes external to the cylinder itself for extra cool operation. You look at the parts break down and you're like :aaaa: The lead tech at work has been working at this shop 15 years. In that time, he's never had to do a shortblock on a Briggs Vanguard V-twin. Ever. They are vacuum sensitive engines though. Any leaks will result in a mean surge. Kohler Commands have hydraulic lifters, no adjustments. Kawasakis have flat tappet lifters and require a valve service every 300 hours that no one does. By 600 hours, though, you're really noticing the wear. $500 later and it's purring like its new. The new FX series had some serious issues. The fuel injected version had its own problems, but all the high horse power engines needed a new camshaft and two new heads. Kaw pays out about $1300 per engine in factory directed mods. They might as well have not even made the engines at all. lazer-chicken, I forgot about the Suzukis. Those are fun on parts. A fuel needle and seat alone can run $40. Yes, they were hideously reliable. Sorry for the horrible derailing. I'll take pictures of some ruined Stihls tomorrow. e: ok I lied, I found some more crap. 3000 series cub with what, IIRC, was a leaking charge pump. Sorta collected all that dirt and crap. I've seen worse since then, but didn't get pictures.  You're supposed to clean this out, you know, once in a while.  My mower won't start. You JUST worked on it! It's WARRANTY!  Safety is job 7502803800729572394721.2  I need a "tune up". What do you MEAN it's going to cost $700?! Top oil seal and/or breather gasket + valve job and one new head due to the extreme overheating and dropped valve guide.  Once or twice a year i've got to go prepare this pile for scrap.  The best trailer ever. Of all time. 
Skyssx fucked around with this message at 03:33 on May 19, 2011 |
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May 19, 2011 03:03
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IOwnCalculus posted:That said, I do like the OHC GC160 my dad put on our little go-kart. Easy as hell to start and ran drat well once you tweaked the governor to get a little extra RPM. Seconding this, I have the same engine (in vertical configuration) on my lawnmower. Bought it at Lowe's two years ago and it hasn't given me any issues. All I've done is change the oil and run a little seafoam through with the first tank of gas of the season and it still starts up on the first pull (now running on its third season.) I get the feeling the engine is going to outlast the rest of the mower.
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May 19, 2011 04:26
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Skyssx posted:I bought a 6 horse B&S Quantum Engine'd walk behind from a family friend and the filter on it was even nastier than these. The pleats weren't even visible, they were buried under all the caked up earth and dirt that it had accumulated. the plastic cover was completely loving full of crap too. After I cleaned the crap out of the cover, put in a fresh filter and plug and changed the oil with some Briggs branded straight 30wt it ran like a champ. I only paid $40 for the mower because the guy let it get to be run down as gently caress and it barely ran. It still had a decent amount of oil in it, but when I started it before I did the work it would just kind of gain revs veeery slowly until it reached operating speed.
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May 19, 2011 04:36
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My mum punishes her fairly expensive Honda mower like that. So sad to see, it is a great mower, but some people have no mechanical sympathy.
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May 19, 2011 05:38
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A few years back I worked for a realtor doing various odd jobs, mostly a lot of maintenance on various properties up for sale. One thing I realized about walk-behind mowers was that more expensive does not necessarily equal better. He owned a John Deere JS40 self propelled walk behind that I used a few times. Beefy motor (something like 8 "gross torque" or whatever they're calling it now), self propelled, and built like a brick shithouse. However, the heavy cast iron deck and touchy self propel system made it such a pain in the rear end to use. Most of the time I used my little ~$150 WalMart generic "Weed-Eater" brand mower. I put a Gator blade on it and with the bag removed it would mulch even tall grass into pieces small enough they were invisible in the yard. I really can't say enough about Gator blades. Way better at mulching than the curvy mulching blades that are more common. http://gatorblade.com/ Edit: This has little to do with horrible mechanical failures, I guess. Just more mowertalk ITT.
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May 19, 2011 05:46
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Skyssx posted:Command >>>> Magnum. There's just no reason to go with a Magnum except packaging. The line ended in the early '00s, but it's already a parts wasteland. You can get more and cheaper parts for a K series than a Magnum. To replace the Magnum that I'm rebuilding it would cost around $2500 (short block) and to replace it with the Command, $900. The Magnum has also blown up previously and now needs rings, all before 2300 hours. I have a newer 260K with the Command and 1400 hours and it runs perfectly like brand new. Not that the Magnum is bad but the Command is so much better. Oh god those poor machines. Those are probably the same people that drive to the next town over to save 10 cents on a gallon of gas but wont buy a $2 quart of oil to maintain something they paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for. Pro-tip for you guys. Sharpen the blade on your mower more than once a year. I do mine every 20 hours or less. Your lawn will thank you. Unless you have a lovely lawn, then it wont matter. We should really move to the alternative insanity thread. I could talk about lawn mowers for a long time.
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May 19, 2011 11:15
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Previa_fun posted:Most of the time I used my little ~$150 WalMart generic "Weed-Eater" brand mower. I put a Gator blade on it and with the bag removed it would mulch even tall grass into pieces small enough they were invisible in the yard. I really can't say enough about Gator blades. Way better at mulching than the curvy mulching blades that are more common. http://gatorblade.com/ Did you sell me your mower on CraigsList four days ago for $35?
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May 19, 2011 14:40
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Billy Tully posted:We should really move to the alternative insanity thread. I could talk about lawn mowers for a long time. But... then I'll stop learning about mowers. 
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May 19, 2011 19:06
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You Am I posted:My mum punishes her fairly expensive Honda mower like that. So sad to see, it is a great mower, but some people have no mechanical sympathy. I think that most people think that lawnmowers don't need maintenance of any sort
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May 19, 2011 21:02
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redscare posted:I think that most people think that Hondas don't need maintenance of any sort Fixed.
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May 19, 2011 22:54
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I think that most mothers don't think that vehicles (let alone lawnmowers) need maintenance of any sort.
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May 19, 2011 22:59
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MowerChat! I've got a guy that lives about two blocks from me that's retired and now repairs lawnmowers for a living. I bring mine to him about once a year to sharpen the blade, change the oil, stuff like that. He's brought it back to life twice now, first he had to take the carb apart and clean it out (hey, free mower), and the second time the jet got plugged. Not bad so far for a free mower. At some point I need to try to get out a busted screw that's one of the mounts for the muffler,... At the moment, I'm having trouble with the drive gear, I think it's lost a few teeth or something so it stops driving the wheels at random intervals. The guy has a ton of dead mowers he strips parts from (I let him know whenever I see someone dump a mower in front of their house), I'll probably have him fix that the next time I bring it in.
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May 20, 2011 01:30
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I think that most mothers don't think that vehicles (let alone lawnmowers) need maintenance of any sort. Quote from my friends mother after running their Renault 21 out of coolant - "But its a European car and they don't have radiators, only Japanese cars do"
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May 20, 2011 01:43
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We used to have a push mower older than I was and aside from topping up the oil when it ran out and one spark plug that I know of that fucker lasted almost 27 years.
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May 20, 2011 02:46
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14 INCH DICK TURBO posted:We used to have a push mower older than I was and aside from topping up the oil when it ran out and one spark plug that I know of that fucker lasted almost 27 years. My dad had a Masport mower like that. Was used it for 26 years and pasted down from my granddad. The wheels had no black plastic on them, so they effectivly were just off white rims. It was eventually retired after someone hit a buried 6 inch concrete fence post and bent the crank by about 10 degrees so the blade cut on an angle.
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May 20, 2011 03:03
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Funny enough, my lawnmower ate it's head-gasket just today. I feared it was a blown rod, as the symptoms where the rip cord seized up half way through pulling it, but there wasn't any metal bits in the oil, and when the head came off so did a chunk of head gasket. So either I tore the head gasket off and it's throwing me off, or the rod is bad, but I can't imagine it is, as the piston moves freely now that the head is off. Would I be at least semi right?
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May 20, 2011 04:11
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ratbert90 posted:Funny enough, my lawnmower ate it's head-gasket just today. I feared it was a blown rod, as the symptoms where the rip cord seized up half way through pulling it, but there wasn't any metal bits in the oil, and when the head came off so did a chunk of head gasket. Maybe you flooded it so bad it hydrolocked and your puny human arms can't pull hard enough to break something? The gasket was so old that removing the head was the finishing blow?
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May 20, 2011 06:17
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Gaskets always come apart when you pull the head. You can see a bad headgasket by white smoke coming out around the perimeter of the head. You'll also hear it "tsss, tsss, tssss" when the engine spins down. You would see carbon markings flowing through the gasket region had it been blown. What could have happened is that your ACR failed, or the valves are so worn the ACR does nothing. With the piston at TDC for ignition, try to wiggle and spin the valves and wiggle the piston, no play should be evident. Then have a buddy (or clamp) hold the bail and pull the engine medium speed. Look for the valves to open in an alternating fashion, and the exhaust valve to do a tiny second bump during compression. If no play and no bump, suspect ACR on camshaft.
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May 20, 2011 12:31
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dissss posted:Quote from my friends mother after running their Renault 21 out of coolant - "But its a European car and they don't have radiators, only Japanese cars do"
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May 20, 2011 13:44
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Watched contact for the first time last night. http://youtu.be/RZn825jemqk?t=3m53s
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May 20, 2011 15:24
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Shubs posted:Watched contact for the first time last night. Is the first cgi mechanical disaster posted in this thread? I think so. congrats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PMlWXHA5V8&feature=related I want to know what caused this. GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 16:40 on May 20, 2011 |
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May 20, 2011 16:33
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:
Corn subsidies. 
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May 20, 2011 16:40
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Mowing the yard, puttin' along, making pretty lines. POW! The gently caress?  There appears to be something there.  Huh. Looks like a piece of metal. I wonder where it came fr  ..Oh.  edit: also ignore those dates I am bad with cameras. Kiyanis fucked around with this message at 17:58 on May 20, 2011 |
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May 20, 2011 17:56
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KelvereseAysen posted:Mowing the yard, puttin' along, making pretty lines.
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May 20, 2011 19:30
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Supercharged? Autocross? So complicated. Friend of mine drives one around all the time that sounds like that. I thought it was what Fieros sounded like. :iamafag:
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May 20, 2011 19:35
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KelvereseAysen posted:
that is the first time i've ever seen a briggs do that. Once I drilled the jet on one of mine out and fit an intake trumpet from something or other I had lying around with a mesh screen as a filter. Reassembled, taped the handle down, and took cover expecting it to eventually reach something like 10k rpms and explode. Never did. Actually It ran out of gas with no drama. I used it to mow the lawn (really fast) for the rest of the season and left it there when I moved. For all I know my friend is still using it to cut the grass.
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May 20, 2011 20:48
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:that is the first time i've ever seen a briggs do that. They just start floating the valve, they don't rev any higher. Haven't you seen the Nitrous+lawnmower youtube series?
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May 20, 2011 21:07
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sharkytm posted:They just start floating the valve, they don't rev any higher. Haven't you seen the Nitrous+lawnmower youtube series? no but then there was something seriously wrong with mine because it would not idle normally. it just revved to high heaven. maybe I put something back together wrong?
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May 20, 2011 22:27
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:that is the first time i've ever seen a briggs do that. Makes two of us!
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May 21, 2011 01:19
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InitialDave posted:It's a Renault. Cooling system was designed by MC Escher on a bad day to start with. "Overheating and broke" is a base state of being. As I recall the problem was the filler for the cooling system wasn't actually anywhere near the radiator but somewhere completely else in the engine bay. Same car eventually shot the innards of the gearbox out leaving us stranded in the top carpark of a relatively remote ski field.
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May 21, 2011 01:20
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dissss posted:As I recall the problem was the filler for the cooling system wasn't actually anywhere near the radiator but somewhere completely else in the engine bay. Can't speak to the 21, but on the 9 & 11 (Alliance/Encore) the thermostat housing was the highest point in the system, and wasn't fitted with a bleeder.
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May 21, 2011 04:36
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so a head gasket did fix the lawn mower. After getting it to start a ton of oil coughed it's way out of the muffler, and then everything was fine again. 6$ fix.  Funny enough, this wasn't my lawn mower until it broke. I was borrowing it from my dad and when it broke my dad just said gently caress it and bought a new one. So not only a 6$ fix, but a 6$ Briggs&Stratton mower.
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May 21, 2011 22:03
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 10:39 |
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ratbert90 posted:Briggs&Stratton mower. This is key right here, gently caress Tecumsehs (after the late 80s/early 90s).
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May 21, 2011 22:16
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