Category: Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

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

6 Ways To Extend Your Lawn Mowers Life in Dusty Conditions

Dust is a killer on a lawn mower engine and drive system. When you are mowing on a dusty lawn, your mower will kick the dust up and it covers every part of your mower from the transmission to the electrical components.

To keep your lawn mower working its best for years to come, here are some pro tips that will do the trick.

  1. Air Filter

Check your air filter more frequently. You probably change it once a year right now, but if you are mowing in dusty conditions, you may need to change it 2-3 times a year or more. Remove the filter cover and use compressed air to blow out the housing. Now remove the filter and inspect it by holding it up to a light or by putting a light inside of it for round filters. If there is little light shining through, replace it. If there is a foam air filter, gently clean it with compressed air and then wash it in a mix of liquid detergent and water. Squeeze out the excess water and allow to dry. You can also spray some oil filter oil on it to help capture the dust before it gets to your air filter.

  1. Oil

Check your oil and change it more frequently. Fine dust particles will get through the air filter and crankcase seals and into the oil. These microscopic pieces of sand are like a diamond and will scour the engine parts and create more wear over time. By changing your oil more frequently, you will purge these contaminants out of the system each time you change it.

Most lawn mowers use 10W-30 or SAE-30 motor oil. You can find the oil that we recommend by clicking on these links //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=lawnmowerre02-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00GEIAA0C&asins=B00GEIAA0C&linkId=f2e9839e672e5450c7935279d53e03e1&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>10W-30  – //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=lawnmowerre02-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000BXOGMY&asins=B000BXOGMY&linkId=88fb8f8c9825b25cdc4914bf9e66676b&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>SAE30

  1. Spark Plug

Change your spark plug a couple times year. As this dust comes into the engine, it mixes with the gas and air and ignites in the cylinder. It can collect in the spark plug and fowl it out. Spark plugs are fairly cheap, so change them out to keep your engine burning clean.

  1. Cleaning

Keeping your engine, deck and drive system as clean as possible is extremely important. As you mow, this dust collects on everything and builds up over time. This creates heat buildup on an air cooled engine and reduces the life of the engine. The same thing happens with the transmission.

Use a leaf blower or compressed air to blow the dust off your engine, transmission, body, frame and deck after each mowing.

The dust will get into the deck system and damage bearings, pulleys and linkages. When you clean your deck, it may be necessary to use an air chisel to get the dust/grass mixture from under the deck.

  1. Greased

There are grease fittings on the deck, on the suspension components and the front wheels on most lawn mowers. Be sure to great them more frequently in dusty conditions. The dust will impregnate the bearings on the deck and the wheels. Fresh grease helps push out that dust away from these critical components.

Here is a heavy duty grease for your lawn mower. //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=lawnmowerre02-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0038U3L28&asins=B0038U3L28&linkId=538c790ca18ecc6faa5a72a862aa3e38&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff“>Lawn Mower Grease

  1. Clean You Lawn Mower

Most people never clean their lawn mower. A good electric or gasoline power washer does a great job. You can even load it up and take it to the car wash for a good deep cleaning. The only precaution is to be careful around carburetors, fuel injection components and computer controlled units.

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

My Push Mower Safety Bail Cable is Hard to Pull

If you live in a high humidity area or store your mower outside in the rain, that moisture gets into the cable and begins to rust it. The rust continues to build up inside the cable and then it becomes impossible to move it or it only moves a little. Eventually it will become frayed and break. Then you won’t be able to start the push mower because the flywheel brake will be on and the ignition kill as well.

You can try to lube up the cable and see if it will break free, sometimes it will, but in most cases it is better to buy a new one and replace it. Then find a better way to store your mower and out of the weather. A shed or garage is preferred.

The cable is pretty easy to replace and can be done with only a pair of wide jawed pliers. It takes a few minutes to do if everything goes according to plan.

If you don’t feel like tackling this little project, check out or Locations page for a lawn mower repair shop near you to change your safety bail cable on your push mower.

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My Lawn Mower Backfires and Then Dies

The first thing you must find out is if it backfires through the exhaust or the intake or carburetor side of the engine. In a lot of cases it will be on the intake side of the engine. When it backfires, it is sending out raw fuel out the carburetor and the ignition is igniting it and you may see flames come through the air filter or it blows off the air filter box completely. When it blows the fuel out, the combustion chamber has no fuel left in or very little and the engine dies. The same thing can happen in the exhaust.

So obviously we have a timing problem or a valve problem. A set of tests must be done to determine what the problem is. The first test is a leak down test. This will tell you if your valves are leaking and which one is the culprit. It could be both of them causing the problem.

Checking the engines timing is more difficult and requires that the engine be taken apart to see if the timing gear cam or chain has jumped a tooth. But before you go ripping things apart, check the flywheel key to make sure that it is not partially sheered. One some models you have to remove the flywheel to check it, but on most you remove the nut holding it in place and you will see it.

These tests are often out of reach for many home owners because they do not have the test equipment. Check our Locations page for a shop near you for help.

 

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My Lawn Mower Leaks Oil And I Cannot Tell Where it is Coming From

Just how in the world can you tell if you have an oil leak on a lawn mower that is now covered in dirt and dust?

When oil leaks out of your lawn mower, dust and dirt quickly adhere to that oil and make it very hard to detect the exact location of the leak. The first thing you must do is to power wash the engine to remove the dirt and debris. You must take special care to ensure that you don’t get water into vital areas such as the carburetor, fuel injection or air filter area.

Now you can run the engine and search for the leaking oil but you must take care if this is a push or self-propelled engine as the blade will be turning.

Another way to look for an engine leak is to apply some dye to the engine oil and then use a black light to find it. The dye is illuminated by the black light and makes finding leaks easier.

If you are still struggling to find an oil leak in your lawn mower engine or need the leak repaired, check out our Locations page for a lawn mower repair shop near you.

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

The Pull Cord is Broken on My Lawn Mower

The first thing I like to consider is why did the pull cord break? Was it old and frayed and needed replacement? Was the flywheel brake locked up and caused it to break or was the engine or lawn mower blade not turning and it snapped?

You must first understand the why before you can repair the pull cord. Remove the spark plug cable and then inspect the lawn mower blade to ensure it turns freely. It will be a little hard to turn as the flywheel brake is on. If everything turns freely, then most likely the cord was old and needed replaced.

If the engine is locked up and doesn’t turn, make sure there is not a stick or a rock locking up the blade. Engage the safety brake handle and make sure that it is not sticking and not disengaging the brake. If the safety brake is working correctly and there is nothing stopping the blade, then the engine may be seizing up due to low oil.

Put the mower back on the ground and check the oil level. If the level is OK, something internal may have happened to the mowers engine.

But if everything checks out, remove the blower cover and replace the pull cord if you know how to do so. If not, check our Locations page for a lawn mower repair shop near you.

 

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Lawn Mower has Blue Smoke Coming From Exhaust

The infamous blue smoke coming from the exhaust is a sign of burning oil. You can also verify this by removing the spark plug. You will see a shiny black or gooey appearance on the electrode side.

Now you may have simply overfilled the engine with oil so that is the first place to start. Remove the dipstick, wipe it off and then re-insert. Pull it out and then check the level. On Asian brand engines, you do not need to screw the dipstick into the case, simply dip it in and put it back out.

If the oil level is fine, then something internal may be causing the problem. You could have a blown head gasket, a bad breather valve, your piston rings are worn or the oil seal for your intake valve is bad.

These are items that would be best diagnosed by a lawn mower engine mechanic as they have the proper tools and information to do these tests. You can find a lawn mower shop near you by visiting our Locations page. Let them know the symptoms of your lawn mower engine problems and give them as much information as you can to assist with the proper diagnosis.

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My Lawn Mower Dies and Will Not Restart

This is a fairly common problem and it seems to get worse when it gets hot outside. After a while the lawn mower will restart and then you can mow for a while and then the same thing happens over again.

The most likely culprit here is that the ignition system is heating up and then breaking down inside. When it breaks down, it will cause the ignition coil to stop producing spark and thus the engine dies.

When your engine does die, test for spark by installing an inline spark tester and then cranking the engine. If you do not see any spark, you can assume that your ignition system is at fault. Further testing will need to be performed to narrow down the issue. You will need to know if it is the engine or the machine kill system. You can isolate this by disconnecting the kill system and then checking for spark.

If you need technical assistance with your lawn mower that dies, visit our Locations page to find a shop near you. Professional lawn mower repair companies are available to help.

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My Lawn Mower Leaks Oil Out of the Exhaust

If your lawn mower suddenly developed a problem with oil leaking out of the exhaust, it could be a simple fix or a more complex one.

The simple fix could be that you simply overfilled it with oil. Check the oil level and see if that is the case. If the oil level is too full, drain some oil and check it again.

If the oil level is fine, then a component has failed in the engine. A series of tests will need to be completed to determine what the problem is. Many people do not have the tools to accomplish these invasive tests so it would be recommended that a lawn mower engine repair specialist perform them.

You can check our Locations page to see if there is a lawn mower shop near you.

If your lawn mower leaks oil out of the exhaust, it would be recommended that you do not use it until the problem has been corrected. Raw gasoline could be leaking out of the exhaust as well and it could potentially catch fire. This fire could total your lawn mower and catch other things on fire as well.

Push and Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Repair

Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Drive Wheels Grinding Noise

Many of today’s self-propelled lawn mowers have plastic drive wheels and some have plastic drive gears as well.

Plastic does not make the best drive wheel system especially if the drive gear is metal and the driven wheel is plastic.

Carefully clean the wheels and gears with a pressure washer so you will be able to inspect them.

If you are hearing a grinding sound, you will have to remove the lawn mowers drive wheels and find out what the problem is. Look for gears that are worn down on the tops or sides of the gear teeth. If you are finding this condition, you will have to change the drive gear or the wheel or sometimes both if they are in bad condition.

Replace the parts that are bad and that should resolve your drive issue. If it does not, contact a lawn mower repair shop from our Locations page and have them inspect, diagnose and troubleshoot the cause of the problem.

Self-propelled lawn mowers are subject to a lot of dirt and debris that gets into the drive system and proper maintenance will keep your lawn mower running for years to come.

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My Lawn Mower Won’t Pull up a Hill

A lawn mower drive problem can put a damper on cutting and maintaining your grass. Hills are where you quickly find out that your mower will no longer pull and you may notice a slowing down or slipping wheels.

If you have a drive problem, it can be in the transmission or the belts and the linkages. Most likely it is a worn drive belt if the mower has a good amount of hours on it. If it is a newer mower, a stick or other debris may have become lodged in the linkage or the transmission.

Remove your deck and inspect the drive belts, pulleys and transmission for obvious signs of wear or things missing such as springs and linkages that may have come undone. Look at the belts and if they are sitting deep in the pulley grooves, then they are worn out and your pulleys may be worn as well.

If there is a way to access the transmission fluid, check the levels of it to be sure that it has the proper amount. Check your owner’s manual to see what the manufacturer recommends.

If you need help with your lawn mower not pulling up a hill, visit our Locations page for a shop near you.