Month: May 2019

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

When I Start My Riding Lawn Mower it Throws Oil Everywhere

You talk about a mess…yes this is one mess maker for sure. You turn the key and start your riding lawn mower up and then spots of oil appear all over your deck and the ground. But what could be causing this?

Well, there are a few things that can cause this. The more common one is the crankshaft oil seal at the bottom of the engine. To check this, a mirror and a flashlight are helpful to be able to see if it is leaking. Oil will normally pool in the drive pulley that is connected to the bottom of the crankshaft. When the pulley starts to turn during starting, the oil is centrifugally slung out of it and spews everywhere.

If the leak is not there, you can move onto the oil drain plug. It could be a square drive plug in the bottom of the crankcase or a twist lock style with a cap on it. These have a tendency to unscrew over time and loosen up. Check them for tightness.

Next check the crankcase seal itself. There is a seal between the two crankcase parts that must be intact and tight to prevent oil from leaking. If that is good it is onto the oil filter. Make sure that it is not leaking as well.

Another possibility is the valve cover gaskets or the cylinder heads themselves. So check them to be sure that they are not leaking.

When you find the source of the leak, contact a riding lawn mower repair professional on our locations page for assistance.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Mower Will Not Move

If your riding lawn mower will not move under power, check the following things to see if you can discover why it is not moving.

First check the tow rod to ensure that it is pushed in. It is normally located at the back of the rider and is a small wire rod that pushes in and pulls out.

Make sure the gear selector is in gear and any Hi or Lo levers are not in neutral.

Check the brake to ensure that it is not set to on.

If you have checked all those and it still doesn’t move, look under the mower and check to see if the belts are on their pulleys and that the belt has not broken. There are either one or two belts in the drive system. One goes from the engine crankshaft pulley to the transmission and another may go from a separate pulley to the transmission.

If everything looks fine, then it is time to call in a lawn mower specialist to look at this problem and resolve it. Check our locations page for a small engine repair shop near you.

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

My Lawn Mower Runs For a Few Seconds and Dies

This could happen with a push mower, self-propelled or riding lawn mower. It doesn’t matter what kind of engine it has on it or the brand. What matters is that the engine is not getting the fuel it needs to continue to run. It will have enough fuel to run for a brief time but then it will die.

This problem with your lawn mower runs for a few second and dies normally occurs in the springtime when you first start the lawn mower. The carburetor is usually the culprit that causes these problems and the fuel that was left inside of it has gelled up and plugs up the ports inside it.

You will need a professional lawn mower mechanic to resolve this issue for you because the carburetor will need to taken apart and cleaned. This is not a job for someone that is not familiar with or have worked on carburetors before. It has many different ports that you must need to know how to clean and where they are located.

You can find a lawn mower repair professional at our Locations page to help resolve my lawn mower runs for a few seconds and dies problem.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Seems to Run out of Gas

You are mowing along and the next thing you know the mower seems to run out of power and slowly dies. It doesn’t die quickly, it just powers down and then quits.

This problem is not that uncommon for lawn mowers and there are various reasons why a lawn mower would run out of gas. For instance, your gas cap may not be venting or a fuel filter may be clogged with debris. A fuel line could be collapsing or have debris in it.

The easy test it to run the engine with the gas cap loosened a little so air can come through the threads. If the engine still stalls out, then the problem lies elsewhere. Replacing the fuel filter will help eliminate that and from there you need to check out the other fuel related components to see if they are working properly.

If you cannot find the source of the problem, visit our locations page and see if there is a lawn mower repair professional in your area that can resolve this problem.

By testing each component, you can resolve the issue of the lawn mower seems to run out of gas.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Will Not Move Backwards

This is a common problem with self-propelled lawn mowers. Over time the mower does not want to go in reverse and the wheels lock up and you must drag it in reverse.

Let’s think about the environment that a mower operates in for a minute. It is a dirty and dusty one and this dirt and dust permeates everything. The dust will enter into the rear drive axle of a lawn mower and begin to build up inside it. This dirt becomes a grinding paste that wears on the plastic inserts in the wheels. It will also build up inside the spring loaded key that is located on the axle and prevent it from moving.

So as the dirt and dust build up, it freezes the mechanisms that allow the wheels to move in reverse and that is often the issue.

You can pull the wheels off the mower and see if you can clean the axle and drive mechanism to see if it helps, but most of the time you have to remove the axle assembly and replace parts.

If you need a self-propelled lawn mower repair shop in your area, visit our locations page for assistance.

 

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair, Zero Turn Lawn Mower Repair

My Lawn Mower Leaves Tire Tracks

One of the main reasons your lawn mower leaves tire tracks is that the ground is too saturated with water. The lawn will have to dry out more before you can mow. If it is soft to walk on or squishy, it is best to wait to mow.

Other reasons could be that your tire pressures are too high or too low. Check your owner’s manual to see what the tire pressures should be for your lawn mower. You could also be mowing too fast. Turning corners at a high rate of speed will tear up the lawn and leave tire tracks.

If you are using a Zero Turn lawn mower, speed, tire pressure and moving the sticks too fast can also cause tire tracks. Slow down and gently move the sticks through their paces and see if this corrects the problem. It takes a while to get used to how a Zero Turn operates and experience will teach you how to avoid leaving those tire tracks.

The type of tire and lack of tread can also cause the mower to slide when turning and make tire tracks in your yard. Be sure to have lawn type tires that have good tread on them.

These tips should help you correct that problem of your mower leaves tire tracks.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Will Barely Run

So your lawn mower is on the edge of its life? You pull the cord and it will begin to start and barely run and then die. Or you turn the key on your rider and the same thing happens.

In many cases it is bad fuel or the wrong fuel altogether. It is not uncommon to find water in the fuel, off-road diesel or regular diesel in fuel tanks that were meant for gasoline. The wrong fuel or water in the fuel will make the lawn mower barely run. It may pop and backfire as well.

Before you go tearing your lawn mower apart, check the fuel to make sure that it is the correct fuel. If in doubt, drain it and put fresh fuel in and then test it. You would be surprised at how fast today’s gasoline goes bad.

If you are still having problems with your lawn mower that will barely run, visit our locations page for a lawn mower repair shop near you.

Having a great running lawn mower makes the chores go much faster so you can get back to doing what you really love to do.

 

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Lawn Mower Repair Near Me

Are you looking for a company to repair or service your riding lawn mower in your area? A riding lawn mower shop may be closer than you think and you can find a location near you by clicking on our locations page for assistance.

Many small engine repair shops work on riding lawn mowers. Some shops will come to your residence and perform the work or will pick up your riding lawn mower for you, take it to their shop, repair it and then return it.

There are many different brands of riding lawn mowers and most independent shops will repair all brands of mowers. Some may not repair diesel engines, but all will repair gasoline engine or propane powered lawn mowers.

Fuel problems and damage are most of the common problems associated with riding lawn mowers. A clogged carburetor or fuel filter and a failing fuel pump are normal problems that occur. A blade strike on the lawn is something that happens pretty frequently as well.

To find a riding lawn mower repair near me, visit our locations page for help with your lawn mower repair problems.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Pull Behind Lawn Mower Won’t Start

The ATV pull behind lawn mower is a very unique mower. It is connected to the ATV and there may be a control box on the ATV or on the mower itself.

The key is normally on the control box and you turn it and either nothing happens or the starter may try to turn the engine over and it won’t start. If you turn the key and nothing happens, check the battery and the fuse to ensure that the fuse is not blown and the battery has a full charge.

If the engine turns over but won’t start, check your fuel supply first. If you have fresh fuel, make sure the spark plug wire is attached to the spark plug. You can also check for spark using a spark tester. If you have spark, then you may not be getting any fuel to the engine.

Crank the engine over several times and then remove the spark plug to see if it is wet. If it is wet, then you may have another issue such as leaky valves or bad compression. If the spark plug is dry, then the carburetor may not be delivering fuel to the engine or your valves may not be operating.

If you need professional pull behind lawn mower repair, check our locations page for a shop near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Lawn Mower Won’t go in Reverse

If you can go forward but not reverse, let’s be sure we are on the same page with this problem. Will the gear lever move into reverse? Or does the gear lever not go all the way into reverse?

If it goes into reverse, you may have a transmission problem that needs inspected. If it doesn’t go all the way into reverse, check to see if there is something such as a stick or debris at the transmission shift shaft that is blocking it.

Debris can cause the shaft to not move in a certain direction or block it from its normal travel. If you cannot find anything that is causing it to not go into reverse, this would be a good point to take your mower to a repair shop for an evaluation. You can visit our locations page here to search for a lawn mower repair shop near you.

Sometimes the shifting parts get bent or seize up with rust. A bolt can become sheared or a pin come loose. There are many different things that will cause this issue and a good lawn mower professional will find the issue and resolve it.