Month: April 2019

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Surges up and Down

A surging lawn mower is one that will drive you crazy! It revs up and then revs down and does this repeatedly and won’t stop. No matter what you try it still keeps on surging.

There is one main reason all this surging is going on. It is caused by a lack of fuel and in some more rare cases, too much fuel. Surging is more common in the springtime after the mower has sat for a while. The fuel phase separates and solidifies in the jets and ports and starves out the engine.

Water in the fuel can also cause this surging. It also causes a popping sound when the fuel and water are ignited.

They key to resolving this issue is to have a really clean carburetor and fuel system. The fuel tank, the fuel lines and the carburetor must be cleaned thoroughly to ensure that the problem is resolved.

If the system cleaning does not resolve the problem, check around the carburetor where it attaches to the engine for air leaks. Check for a torn or missing intake gasket and make sure the bolts are tight that hold the carburetor on.

If you still have problems with your lawn mower surging, visit our locations page for a lawn mower repair service near you.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

My Self Propelled Lawn Mower Won’t Move

Are you pushing the bar in or pulling on it and the mower will either not move at all or will move very slowly?

This problem happens when the drive belt breaks, it is worn out or the transmission has broken or the wheels or their drive gears are worn out or broke. Each of these can be systematically troubleshot to determine what the problem may be.

One of the first things to try is to start the mower and raise the drive wheels off the ground and engage the drive handle. If the wheels turn, you know that the drive system is working but not well enough to pull the lawn mower. This is normally a worn out belt or the belt has come off of the pulley.

If the wheels do not move, then the transmission could be bad, the drive wheel gear slots could be worn out or the drive gears could be broken. This will require pulling the wheels off to inspect the gears on both the wheels and gears.

If they appear to be fine, then it will be time to call a Self Propelled lawn mower repair professional. Visit our locations page for an office near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Riding Lawn Mower Won’t Crank

When we say “won’t crank”, let’s define what that means. It normally means that the lawn mower engine will not turn over or the starter is not engaging and rotating the engine to make it start.

So if your riding lawn mower engine will not crank, it could be a number of things that cause this.

First, check out your main fuse to see if it has blown. It should be located under the hood or under the body at the back of the mower. If the fuse checks out good, then you will want to ensure the battery is fully charged and that is has enough cranking amps to turn the starter. Test the battery or take it to an auto parts store and let them check it for you.

If the battery is good and the connections are clean, this is a good time to call in a professional riding lawn mower mechanic and let them inspect, diagnose and troubleshoot your mower starting problem. Visit our locations page for a riding lawn mower mechanic near you.

Riding lawn mowers are sophisticated machines today and it takes the right skill and training to properly diagnose a starting issue. You want to be sure that your lawn mower is repaired correctly and that you can put it back to use cutting the lawn.

 

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair, Riding Lawn Mower Repair, Zero Turn Lawn Mower Repair

Lawn Mower Shop Near Me

Are you looking for a lawn mower repair shop in your area that can provide a tune-up, service your lawn mower annually or just repair something that is not working?

Well, you are in luck. Our website is filled with locations that can help repair your lawn mower and get it back cutting again. It is getting harder to find someone that can repair or fix your lawn mower because the skills to repair them are not being taught in many places.

Thankfully you have found a website that can let you find a professional lawn mower repair mechanic as well as give you some tips to use to help you repair simple things yourself.

Lawn mower need a tune-up each year and the machine thoroughly checked out each season. The blades will need sharpening or replaced, the drive and electrical system will need to be checked out as well as the steering and tires.

A good lawn mower repair technician near me will be able to do those things and much more. Lawn mowers can develop many problems over the season and you want to address those as soon as they arise.

To find a lawn mower repair shop near me, just visit our locations page for help.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Push Mower Hit Something And Now Won’t Run

Were you mowing along and then “bam”! It happens and when it does it is the push mower blade contacting something that doesn’t move much or move at all.

This is called a blade strike in the industry and blade strikes can do a few things. They will most certainly bend the lawn mower blade. They can bend the crankshaft in the engine and they can shear the flywheel key. Your best hope is that you only have a sheared flywheel key.

If the flywheel key is only partially sheared, the engine will be out of time. When this occurs, the spark will occur at the wrong time and the pull cord will be whipped out of your hand and an injury can occur. If this is happening, DO NOT try to start the mower again. Take it to a shop on our locations page for help.

If the blade is bent and you want to change it yourself, you can do this but you also want to make sure that the crankshaft is not bent. I would recommend that you take your push mower to a lawn mower mechanic to ensure that it did not get bent during the blade strike.

Hopefully this will help with my push mower hit something and now won’t run issue.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Push Mower Won’t Stay Running

 

It is frustrating dealing with a push mower that won’t stay running. You need to get your yard cut and looking great but it just doesn’t want to run right or run at all.

Well, of course the first thing you want to do is make sure there is gas in it. This obvious thing can cause a lot of push mowers from staying running. You would be surprised at how many people overlook this one.

The quality of the gas could also be another problem. It could be old and stale gas or it could have water in it. Both of these will cause your lawn mower to run rough or not at all. Someone could also have put the wrong kind of fuel in your push lawn mower. I have seen them come in with kerosene, diesel and 2-cycle mix.

Check your air filter to ensure that it is not plugged with grass. If it is, replace it with a new one.

You could also have an ignition coil going bad or your carburetor needs cleaned and those items will need to be checked out by a push mower mechanic.

To find one in your area, visit our locations page.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Riding Lawn Mower Battery is Dead

So you turn the key and nothing happens right? But is your battery actually dead or is there another problem that is causing this symptom?

The first item to check is your main fuse. On most riding lawn mowers it is either under the hood or under the body near the drive system and usually on the left side. Remove it and see if the wire inside is burned in two. If it is, replace it. If the terminal blades are corroded, clean them and reinstall.

The second thing you want to do is an actual test of the battery to make sure that is has no volts and amps. You probably don’t have a fancy battery tester to do that, so you can disconnect it and take it to an auto parts store to have it tested.

If your battery is over 2 years old, it could be on its way out. While you have the battery out, it is a good time to clean the battery terminals with a wire brush and apply some terminal protector when you hook the terminals back up.

Those are the most common items that fail on a riding lawn mower that causes the battery to appear dead. When my riding lawn mower battery is dead and these tips will not fix that, visit our locations page to find a lawn mower repair expert near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Will Only Run on Full Choke

To understand this problem, you must understand a little about how a carburetor works.

When you place the choke in the on position, it creates more suction on the throat of the carburetor which creates more vacuum to pull fuel out of the main jet and up through the emulsion tube which mixes air and fuel. The idle circuit could also be in play during this start up. An engine needs a slightly richer or more fuel than air mixture when it starts.

As the engine is running and the choke is slowly released to open, less vacuum is created and less fuel is then drawn out of the main jet as the engine is brought up to speed.

What happens is fuel becomes a solid state as it evaporates and this plugs up the emulsion tube and the idle jet. If that happens the symptoms of only running on full choke will be present. At this point the carburetor needs disassembled and thoroughly cleaned of any fuel deposits that have accumulated. Then it will need to be re-assembled and tested to ensure that the carburetor cleaning did its job in fixing the my lawn mower will only run of full choke problem.

If you need help with lawn mower repair, visit our Locations page for assistance.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Will Run For a While and Then Dies

This is not a very common problem but it does occur with some regularity. The lawn mower will be running just fine and then it may slowly die or it will just quit like you turned the key off.

So now what? There are some things you can check to see if you can get your lawn mower going once again. First, check the obvious. Is there fuel in the tank? When you opened the fuel cap did you hear a hissing or vacuum sound? If you did then your fuel cap is not venting and needs replaced.

If the fuel and cap are not the issue, then you can crank the engine over and the remove a spark plug to see if it is wet with fuel. If it is wet, then you have an ignition problem and if it is dry, you have a fuel delivery problem.

This is where you want to have your lawn mower repair Technician provide a diagnosis of the lawn mower to correct the problem. By knowing the intricacies of the engine and its systems, a good lawn mower repair Tech can quickly isolate the problem and get your lawn mower running again soon. Check our list of locations for a lawn mower repair Technician in your area.

Lawn mower repair professionals can resolve the lawn mower will run for a while and then dies problem.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower is Hard To Start

A hard starting lawn mower can be a real pain to get started and it can be even harder to start after you shut it down for a minute or so to pick something up from the yard.

Hard starting is generally a carburetor choke problem or a valve issue. But there are other things that can cause it and they will be covered here as well.

Choke springs or incorrect setup of the choke can make your engine very hard to start. It will not be resolved until the choke is repaired properly and tested when the engine is cold and hot.

A valve issue is a little more complicated. A valve could have a lot of carbon buildup on the valve stem causing it to stick open or closed. Or the valves could be out of adjustment. A good lawn mower mechanic can adjust the valves and get your engine starting much better and easier. A pull start lawn mower should start within 2 pulls of the starter cord. A riding lawn mower should start within a few revolutions of the engine. Another thing that can cause hard starting is a valve seat that is coming loose and not sealing well. The seat will have to be replaced to correct this issue.

One more possible scenario is that your air filter could be so clogged that the engine is not getting enough air to start. Check the air filter to see what condition it is in and replace it if it is suspect.

Your engine could also have a leaking head gasket. A compression and leakdown test will need to be performed to see if that is the issue here.

Lastly, you could have water in your fuel or the wrong fuel in the fuel tank. It is not uncommon to see diesel fuel filled gasoline tanks, so if the fuel is in doubt, drain the tank and carburetor and refill with fresh fuel.  Check our locations page for a shop nearest you.

I hope these tips will help you get your my lawn mower is hard to start back up and running once again.