Category: Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

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

Lawn Mower Repair Shop Near Me

When it comes to finding a dependable and quality lawn mower repair shop, you often have to do some searching to seek one out. Many small engine and lawn mower repair shops have closed their doors permanently as they aged and retired and the big chain stores have hurt the smaller businesses as well.

This is why this website was created. It gives people a place to come and find a local lawn mower repair professional. Finding the right shop for you is important. You might not be able to bring your lawn mower to the shop and you need the shop to come to you. There are mobile lawn mower repair shops as well as brick and mortar stores that are here to assist you.

Each season you should have your lawn mower serviced and if you use your lawn mower more frequently, it should be serviced twice a year. The oil must be changed every 25-50 hours and items such as the blades need sharpened, the spark plugs, oil, fuel and air filters need to be changed as well.

Lawn mowers operate in some very dirty conditions and must be taken care of and maintained well. You can find a lawn mower repair shop near you by visiting our Locations page.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Stalls in Tall Grass

Are you trying to bush whack some really tall grass and your lawn mower is not cutting it? Does it start to bog down as you ease into that tall grass and then will die?

Well, the reality of this situation is that you are probably biting off more than you can chew! A self-propelled lawn mower is not a garden tractor that will cut down tall grass. You need to manage your lawn better and cut it on time. Yes, there are times when that is not possible, but it really is a lawn management problem and not necessarily a lawn mower problem.

The problem with tall grass is that it collects under the deck and starts to clog it up. When it clogs up, the blade will stop spinning and that is what stalls out the engine on your self-propelled lawn mower.

Yes, you could have an engine efficiency problem with the lawn mower if the grass is slightly taller than normal and that would need to be checked out. It could be a fuel or ignition problem or it could simply mean that your lawn mower blade needs sharpening.

By determining if the problem is with you or the lawn mower is the first step to resolving the mower stalling in tall grass.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Push Lawn Mower Mows For a While and Then Dies

Is your mower doing just fine on a hot day and then suddenly it dies? Does it die all of a sudden and then will restart after a while? Does it seem to run fine on a cooler day?

These are symptoms that point to a bad ignition coil. An ignition coil provides the spark to the spark plug that provides the ignition to the air and fuel mix in the cylinder. If you lose that spark, then the engine will immediately die and will not restart.

Ignition coils are known to break down when they get hot. The internal windings can form a break in the wire and as the temperature grows inside the coil, the wire can separate and cause the spark to stop. As the ignition coil cools down, the wire will reattach itself and then the lawn mower engine will start up once again. It tricks you into thinking that there is some other problem with the lawn mower that is causing it to die. You start searching the fuel system in most cases to try to find out what the problem is.

By checking the ignition system first, you will avoid troubleshooting the entire engine and find your results quicker.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Push Mower Takes a Lot of Pulls to Start

It sure can be frustrating when you have to pull your lawn mower pull cord more than 2 times to get your mower to start. You pull and pull and nothing until finally it fires back to life. A normal push lawn mower should start in 2 pulls. If it doesn’t, then it is having a problem and that problem needs to be discovered.

It could be something simple such as a bad spark plug or that you might not have any gas in your lawn mower. It could also mean that your carburetor is getting plugged up and needs to be cleaned. Stale gas can also sit at the bottom of the float bowl and not have enough volatility to light easily.

The timing and valve adjustment could be incorrect as well. Check the clearances on both the intake and the exhaust valves to be sure that they are within specifications. Also check the flywheel key to be sure that it is not sheared. A partially sheared flywheel key puts the engine out of time and will make it harder to start.

By systematically eliminating what it is not, you can resolve the problem with your push mower taking a lot of pulls to start.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Jerks The Pull Cord Handle Out of My Hand

This is a serious problem and can cause injury to your hand and arm! So you want to stop pulling on that pull cord immediately and have this problem inspected to determine what is causing it.

If the lawn mower has been repaired recently, the repair could have been done incorrectly. If you hit something with the lawn mower, then it has affected the timing of the engines firing and that is why it is ripping the cord out of your hand.

I fully understand this problem because I have had a pull cord rip from my hand and gouge in other hand that was on the handle bars.

Another thing that can cause this is a loose lawn mower blade. As the blade rotates, it will cause the firing to be off a few degrees and bam…that pull cord rips right out of your hand!

So as you can see, this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. The problem will not go away or fix itself, so get your lawn mower into a shop and have it repaired correctly. Visit our Locations page for a shop near you.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

What Kind of Oil Do I Use In My Push Mower?

It all comes down to what the engine manufacturer recommends for your particular engine. There are not a lot of wide variations of engine oil recommendations but they do vary with American and Japanese manufacturers.

For example, American engine manufactures normally call for a straight 30 weight conventional motor oil. Conventional means organic or just plain old motor oil. After the first break in oil has been changed, you can switch over to synthetic oil if it is a newer small engine. Older small engines such as Tecumseh or Kohler may smoke if you put synthetic oil in them.

Japanese engine manufactures take a different approach and normally use 10W30 conventional motor oil. This oil provides a greater temperature range to protect your engine. You can also switch to synthetic motor oil after the 25 hour break in time for your engine.

Motor oil brands are a matter of choice for you as the end user. It comes down a preference on price and the trust that you have in the manufacturer. I am a fan of Castrol, but it merely is my personal preference. Choose the brand that you feel is best for you.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Can I Change the Oil in my Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Transmission?

The short answer is yes you can. These transmissions sometimes leak and the leak will need to be repaired and the fluid put back into the unit.

There are normally 4 or 5 bolts that hold the bottom cover on the transmission. Those will need to be removed and gently remove the cover and empty the transmission fluid. Next, you want to clean the cover and the transmission mating areas of any dirt, debris and fluid.

Now you want to replace the gasket if it has one and fill the bottom cover to nearly the top with 10W-30 or whichever transmission fluid your lawn mower calls for. If you have your mower on a lift, this make the job of putting the bottom cover on the transmission much easier.

Install the bottom cover and start all of the screws and then tighten them up sequentially so that the cover does not tip and spill the fluid out all over the place.

Then as they get tight, you just want to snug them up and don’t over torque them because they will strip out easily. If you used any sealant on the cover, let that dry for a day and then test drive the lawn mower to be sure there are not any leaks.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Blade Locked Up on Push Mower

When a blade on a push lawn mower becomes locked in place and not movable, something is either stopping it from turning or the engine has seized up.

Remove the spark plug boot from the spark plug and then tilt the push mower backwards towards the handles. Look under the mower deck to see if a stick or rock has been caught up between the blade and the deck. Also check to see if the deck has been damaged and the blade is hitting it and stopping it from turning.

The turning lawn mower blade can also be bound by wire, a dog cable or an electrical cable as well as long grass or vines. Make sure that these areas are clear at the crankshaft which is normally where they get wrapped up.

If the deck and crankshaft areas are clear, then it could be an internal problem. You can try to slowly move the lawn mower blade to see if you can free up the crankshaft. If it does move, then check the oil in it to make sure that you did not run it low on oil. You might be able to add some oil and start the engine but more than likely, the damage has already been done.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Outdoor Power Equipment Reviews, Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair, Riding Lawn Mower Repair, Zero Turn Lawn Mower Repair

My Lawnmower Makes a Big Bang or Backfire While Mowing

You are just mowing along and your engine suddenly backfires and then it starts to continue running like normal. What could be causing this and how do I resolve it?

An engine backfire can be caused by an electrical problem or a mechanical one. In most cases it can be tracked down to an electrical problem, more specifically in the ignition system. If the ignition coil becomes too hot or has an internal breakdown, the spark will become intermittent and the combustion chamber can be ignited at the wrong time and cause a backfire out of the intake or exhaust.

The ignition kill wire could also have been compromised and partially broken because of rodent damage or heat and vibration. So you want to check it and is usually a black or gray wire that is attached to the ignition coil.

There could also be a problem with the ignition switch.

If the ignition system is working normally, then the search begins on the mechanical portion of the engine. A leak down test will need to be performed initially to determine if the intake or the exhaust valve is leaking. If one of them is leaking, the burning gasses will pass through them and cause a backfire while the engine is running and particularly under a load such as cutting the grass.

If you need a lawn mower repair shop near you to fix your mower, visit our Locations page for assistance.

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

Push Lawn Mower Won’t Start With Fresh Gas

So you just put some fresh gas in your lawn mower and it refuses to start when you pull the cord. You pull and pull and pull and it still won’t start or it may sputter a little. But how can that be when you just put fresh gas in your lawn mower?

Well, it could be that your lawn mower sat all winter long and the gas that is in it has gone bad. The gasoline with ethanol in it today only lasts about 90 days before it starts to go bad. Once it goes bad in the carburetor, it begins to plug up the idle and main jets and then the lawn mower is not going to run at all or barely run.

A mixture of fresh and bad gas doesn’t solve the problem either. It will still cause the same non starting problem and you will be pulling until your arm wears out and have the same results. The carburetor must be removed and cleaned and all gas emptied from the system and fresh gas added before you attempt to start the lawn mower once again.