Category: Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

I Ran My Lawn Mower Low On Oil And Now it Won’t Start

Running an engine low on oil can have a small to significant impact on it.

It depends on how low the oil was and for how long it was run low on oil as to what damage has been done to your lawn mowers engine.

If the engine will hardly turn over, you can assume that there is considerable damage. If the engine will not turn over at all and is locked up, then that engine may have been destroyed.

It is not uncommon for someone to buy a new lawn mower and forget to add the engine oil that came with the mower. Then they begin to mow the lawn and either the engine completely locks up or the connecting rod snaps in half. With the heat buildup and lack of lubrication, something has to give.

The first thing you should do if your lawn mower engine will not turn over is to check the oil. Does it even touch the dipstick? If it does, is it black in color? Those are two tell-tale signs that you have run it dangerously low. You can also try to move the flywheel and see if you can get the engine freed up. If you can, add the proper amount of engine oil and then see if it will start. If it does start, warm it up and then change the oil once again.

If the engine is seized up and won’t turn over, it’s time to take your lawn mower to a professional small engine repair shop for analysis. You can find one by visiting our Locations page.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Repair Referral Website

Is your lawn mower in need of service for a problem or just a tune-up for spring?

Our national lawn mower repair referral website has locations across the country and internationally to assist with all your lawn mower repair needs. Your lawn mower is a very important machine that needs frequent maintenance to ensure that it runs well and performs its job.

Lawn mower repair shops are ready to help get your lawn mower ready for the upcoming mowing season or to fix whatever problem you are having with yours. Most problems can be resolved quickly so you can get back to taking great care of your lawn.

Our lawn mower repair referral website has locations across all 50 states that have many different capabilities from complete dealerships to small local hometown repair shops.

Just visit our Locations page and search for your state or the International link at the top of the page for assistance finding a lawn mower repair shop near you.

Bringing your lawn mower in or having it picked up early in the year helps avoid the spring rush where you may not get it back for weeks. Avoid those long lines by having it serviced over the winter and be ready when spring rolls around!

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Won’t Start

Are you getting ready to cut your grass in the spring or is this something that happened during the mowing season?

If it is springtime, then more than likely the gasoline in the engine is causing it to not start. A thorough carburetor cleaning normally does the trick. In severe cases, replacing the carburetor is necessary because it just cannot be cleaned well enough. This would be the case of a lawn mower that has sat for several seasons.

On the other hand if you were mowing last week and you tried to start your lawn mower today and it didn’t start, there could be an assortment of reasons why it won’t. You could be out of gas. There may be no spark. Your flywheel key could be sheared. Something could be plugging up the fuel line. The spark plug could be bad. Your air filter could be clogged. Mice could have chewed up the ignition wiring and a bunch of other things could be happening.

With this scenario, you need to have a small engine mechanic check it out and troubleshoot the problem. You can find a lawn mower repair shop in your area by visiting our Locations page.

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

My Lawn Mower Oil Smells Like Gas

It is not uncommon for your lawn mower engine oil to smell like gas. If you have a leaky carburetor needle and seat, the gasoline will seep past it and overflow the carburetor and end up in the cylinder. Once inside the cylinder, it will seep past the piston rings and end up in the crankcase.

What causes this is a buildup of deposits on the needle and seat inside the carburetor. These deposits cause the seal to not work properly and the weight of the fuel pushing on the needle will overcome it and then allow fuel to go past it.

Two things will need to be done to resolve this problem.

The first thing is to completely clean the carburetor. It must be disassembled and cleaned entirely.

The next thing is that the oil must be changed. Warm the engine up for a brief time and then remove the oil and replace it with the proper oil. Synthetic oil is fine to use in your lawn mower engine.

After you have run the engine and changed the oil. Fill the gas tank up and check the oil the next time before you mow to see if you smell any gas or if the oil level is higher than normal. If everything is OK, you should be fine to use your lawn mower.

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

My Lawn Mower Pull Cord Pulls Easily With No Resistance

So you are pulling on the lawn mower rope and it seems very easy to pull. On top of that, the engine will not start or will barely start and then die.

This is a common symptom of either a broken connecting rod or a valve seat that has come loose. It is also possible that a valve could have become stuck and is not closing like it should. Either of these would produce no compression in the engine and with zero compression, you will not have any engine start.

The engine will need a compression test before you do any repair work to determine what the issue is. A compression tester fits into the spark plug hole and then you pull the rope or turn the key and turn the engine over at least 5 times. Then check the compression on the gauge to see what it reads. If you have a reading of 50psi or above, that is in the normal range. If it is below that, there is an internal problem that will require some disassembly to find out why your pull cord pulls easily.

If you need a professional lawn mower repair shop in your area, visit our Locations page for assistance.

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

Lawn Mower Hit Something and Now Won’t Start

A “blade strike” as it is called can do some damage to the lawn mower, but engineers have built in some safety features that help contain that damage.

What happens during most blade strikes is when the blade contacts a rock or root, the impact causes the blade to stop and a shear key located on top of the engine to shear either partially or fully. This causes the ignition timing to fire incorrectly.

The result could be that the pull cord wants to rip out of your hand on a push or self-propelled lawn mower. If you are lucky, you will not injure your hand or shoulder!

The only way to tell if the flywheel key has been sheared is to remove the flywheel cover and in most cases, the flywheel as well. Then you can see if the square key has been partially sheared or is fully sheared.

Replacing the sheared flywheel is solves this problem. It must be the factory key as it is made of a material that will shear away and not solid steel that will damage parts if you hit something else.

If you need a professional lawn mower repair shop to troubleshoot and correct this problem, visit our Locations page for help.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Slowly Loses Power and Then Dies

You are just mowing along as usual and your lawn mower will slowly lose power and then it will just shut off. This is not an instant shut down, it happens over a minute or so.

In many cases this is a simple fix and to test what the problem is, loosen the gas cap a little and if you hear air rushing in as you do, it probably means that your gas cap is not venting properly. A gas cap is supposed to let air into the gas tank but not let it escape.

Now start your lawn mower and see if it runs for a long time. If it does, you have a bad gas cap. If you still have the same problem, you need to check your fuel filter and down the line to the carburetor. Check the fuel filter by pinching off the fuel line and removing it from the carburetor. Then release the pinched hose and let it drain into a clear glass container. If the fuel doesn’t come out of the hose with any quantity, you most likely found the problem. If the flow is good, move onto the carburetor. It will need to be taken apart and cleaned of any debris or ethanol intrusion.

Still need help with your lawn mower? Visit our Locations page for a lawn mower repair shop near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

Lawn Mower Engine Sputters

What is causing that aggravating sputtering sound from your lawn mower? Well, it depends on what kind of sound it is. If it is an intermittent sound and the lawn mower is losing power, you may very well have water in your gasoline.

Water in gas is a big problem today because of the ethanol that is added to it. Ethanol is essentially alcohol and alcohol attracts moisture from the air through an open vent cap or unsealed gas can.

When the engine is running, it will try to burn this water and will begin to sputter and especially under higher loads such as thicker grass. The sputtering may clear up or it may get worse. Alcohol is heavier than gasoline so it tends to sink to the bottom of the gas tank and the carburetor bowl. As the mower is cruising along, the water and gas will splash around and you may get some water sucked up into the carburetor or it may be a splash of gas.

What I like to do in this case is to shutoff the fuel and then pull the fuel line off the carburetor and get a fuel sample with a clear glass jar. If there is water in the gas tank, there will be water in the fuel system and that will need to be cleaned out.

If you need a lawn mower repair shop in your area, visit our Locations page.

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

Lawn Mower Leaks Oil From Crankcase

Occasionally we see an oil leak from the crankcase gasket that seals the two halves of the crankcase together. Or a pinhole develops in the actual casting of the crankcase and oil will seep out of it. Other areas that leak are protrusions through the crankcase such as the governor arm shaft. Head gaskets can be another source of an oil leak out of the crankcase. An oil seal at the crankshaft is another oil leak source.

Note: Be extra cautious during the testing as you are working near a lawn mower blade. You can shutdown the engine prior to checking for where the engine is leaking for safety.

There are some dyes that can be added to the oil to find a hard to find oil leak. You put the dye in the crankcase and run the engine to get it warmed up. Then a black light is used to identify where the oil leak is coming from.

If you don’t have access to this type of testing paraphernalia, thoroughly clean the engine crankcases and then run the engine until it is warm. Look over the areas that you suspect the leak is coming from and look for the slightest weeping of oil. Wipe the area down and continue to monitor it.  Some leaks are difficult to find, but you will eventually find them.

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

Why a Honda Lawn Mower is Better Mower?

When you buy practically anything with the Honda name on it, you are getting a quality product. Whether it is a lawn mower or a car, Honda just puts the engineering and the quality into everything they make. Yes, you are going to pay a little more for Honda products, but as the old saying goes “You get what you pay for” still rings true.

The Honda lawn mower engine is very dependable and with routine care, it will last for a long time. Parts are readily available for new and older Honda mowers, so you can keep them going long after that other brand wears out.

The drivetrain is built solid to take a beating. Sometimes drive axles can be a problem with freezing up, but this is a problem that can be resolved without much expense.

The decks are made of good steel and are not thinly made. If they are kept free of wet grass, they will last a long time.

The controls are fairly easy to navigate and are user friendly. Some are quite different than what you are used to on a self-propelled lawn mower, but you get used to them pretty quickly.

I am a Small Engine Mechanic by trade and if I were to need another lawn mower, it would certainly be a Honda.