Month: May 2019

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Lawn Mower Maintenance

Maintenance is one of the most important things you can do for your riding lawn mower. Without the proper maintenance, your lawn mower will suffer from an early breakdown.

Most breakdowns can be prevented by your normal routine maintenance. Things like having the battery serviced every year, changing the air, oil and fuel filters as well as changing the oil. A riding lawn mower is a machine and like any other machine, parts will wear and eventually break.

To avoid these costly breakdowns, you should take your riding lawn mower to a repair shop and have it serviced each year. The best time to have one serviced is in the winter months when the shop is slower and you won’t have to wait very long for the service to be completed.

During the winter most shops are not rushed so you should receive a better quality service than you would when they are backed up weeks in advance.

You can find a list of riding lawn mower repair shops on our locations page.

Maintaining anything is important to keeping it running its best. A breakdown in the summer months can be a long wait to get your mower back.

 

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

My Riding Lawn Mower Won’t Stay Running

If your riding lawn mower won’t stay running, that does mean that it will run so we can take a lot from that. If it does run that means the starter is working, it is getting fuel and spark and air into the engine.

Now that we know what it is doing, why won’t it stay running?

Let’s say that you mow for a while and then it slowly loses power and then dies. This would be an indication of a fuel problem and the engine is running out of fuel. It could be your fuel cap is not venting correctly or some debris is in the fuel filter or other reasons why it is running out of fuel.

If the lawn mower just suddenly dies, it most likely is an ignition problem. An ignition coil becomes hot and then it breaks down and quits working. Other ignition components can break down and quit working as well.

The best thing to do is to start looking for clues. Is the engine getting fuel? Is the engine getting spark? Does it restart after sitting for a while?

Troubleshooting is a process of elimination. If you need help with your riding lawn mower, visit our locations page today.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

When I Turn on The Lawn Mower Blades Nothing Happens

On a riding lawn mower, you normally either pull on a knob to engage the blades or you pull or push a lever to get them to operate.

Let’s start with the knob type first. It is a PTO switch and its function is to engage the lawn mower blades and then disengage them. It is wired into several safety switches to prevent it from operating unless the conditions of those switches is met. You can test the switch in most cases by sitting in the seat, turning the key to the on position and pulling up on the knob. you should hear a metallic clicking sound indicating the PTO clutch is working. Check the belt as well to be sure it is in working order.

If you do not hear this, one of the safety switches could be bad or the associated wiring, a blown fuse or the PTO switch or PTO clutch is bad.

If you have a lever type blade engagement, make sure that it is not binding, the cable is not broken or the belt is not off the pulley or broken.

Those are pretty common problems with lawn mower blades not working. If you need a lawn mower repair professional in your area, visit our locations page.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Won’t Run

Today’s lawn mowers are pretty sophisticated machines. They have smart electronics and fuel systems and if things are not right, they can malfunction easily.

The first thing to do as always is check your fuel quantity. Then check your fuel quality. Is it stale or have water in it? Fuel problems are the number 1 issue when it comes to your lawn mower not running.

If the fuel seems to be OK, make sure that the spark plug wire has not become disconnected, the on switch is on and the choke is on as well. These simple things can trip us up if it has been a long time since we operated the mower.

Also check to see that it is not in gear, in neutral, your foot is depressed on the clutch or brake pedal and you are seated in the seat on a riding lawn mower.

If those checks do not result in your lawn mower not running, then it is time to seek professional guidance and have it properly diagnosed.

Visit our locations page for a lawn mower repair service near you.

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

The Pull Cord on My Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Won’t Move

It does happen on occasion when your pull cord doesn’t move and it seems locked up. The pull starter could be bad or the engine carburetor could be leaking fuel down into the cylinder and hydro locking it up.

You can try to remove the spark plug and gently pull on the starter rope to see if it clears the fuel from the cylinder. Make sure to place a rag over the cylinder head to catch any gas that may spill out of it.

Also check to be sure that something is not interfering with the lawn mower blade that would keep it from spinning such as a tree branch or rock.

Check the oil. If it is very low, it is possible that the engine has locked up due to low engine oil and it could be ruined. If you don’t see any oil on the dipstick, that could mean the end of that lawn mower.

Now would be a good time to take your Self-Propelled lawn mower to a lawn mower mechanic to have it professionally checked out. You can find one on our locations page.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

My Push Lawn Mower Leaks Oil

 

An oil leak can be a serious problem for your push lawn mower. If too much oil leaks from the engine, it could damage the crankshaft and connecting rod. To avoid that damage, let’s look at a few areas to see if we can determine where the leak is coming from.

If the oil is on the deck in the front of the engine, chances are it is coming from a valve cover gasket or the head gasket. It could also be seeping from the crankcase gasket.

If the oil is coming from the side of the engine, it could be the crankcase breather is leaking or the crankcase gasket is seeping.

If the oil is leaking down from the top of the engine, the seal or bearing surface is worn out at the top of the crankshaft.

If the oil is leaking from the bottom of the engine, the seal or bearing surface is worn out at the bottom of the crankshaft.

In each of these cases, the leak can usually be repaired. If the leak is on the top of the engine, it might not be possible to repair it if the crankcase is worn and oil is leaking by it.

On older Tecumseh engines, the crankcase breather is on the top of the engine and that can be replaced to stop the leak.

Visit our locations page to find a push mower mechanic in your area.

Finding and stopping the oil leak on your push mower is the only way to save your valuable engine.