Recent content by sgkent

Trash? A mentor, who was engineer and machinist known for building winning Formula One and Indy engines, once suggested I try Liquid Wrench on some exhaust studs that were frozen solid. I laughed but tried it. I had already snapped one double nutted. Came back the next morning and all but one...

If you can find an inexpensive replacement rim, you can always Sawzall the wheel to make a slit, then pry to widen the slit and pull it off. As to your original problem. Have you checked the brake pads and cable / bar tension? Lots of mowers use a pad that wears, and when it does the belt...

manually raise the throttle when it is bogging and see if it has spare power. If yes it is a governor issue. If no then it is probably a fuel issue or compression issue like tight valves, or even a blockage in the exhaust, even a dirty air cleaner.

just go to Craigslist or Facebook market place and buy a $75 Toro where the owner has moved to electric. There are hundreds of them here for as low as free.

does it even have an opening for a side discharge?

... or maybe the guy who doesn't have the time and money to fix it right, but he is fully capable of spending the time and money to fix it two or three times... .

did you check Amazon. They popped up in a Google search as selling windshields for it a lot less.

We tigged it and machined a new plug hole. Sometimes on racing heads we also moved the ports and added a second plug. The only issue with a 2 cycle that was a challenge was keeping the cylinder perfectly round when honing or boring. They flex more. Anything else you need to know?

Huh? I was machinist in a well known high end racing and fleet machine shop once. I can't imagine any reputable mechanic letting drill and tap filings fall down into the cylinder to get caught in the cylinder and whiz around, or wedge the valves open a bit. THAT sounds like something from the...

thread cert is more common in the air cooled world. The best fix is to make a video on replacing the head, or show someone how to properly remove the head, weld it, surface, and drill / tap a new plug hole. I would only use a heli-coil or thread cert on a head that was NLA used or new, or very...

what Autodoc says could explain it, or running lean. Engines die when a load is put on them and they are too lean. The condition can be carb caused, air leak on a manifold especially if it has a plastic manifold that cracked, or a loose head.

the blades need to be an airfoil. They move air up and the deck is shaped to flow the air out the chute. New air moves in from underneath and lifts the clippings and leaves. They make machines that are just air movers, and are basically push leaf blowers. Someone might make one that is...

IMHO you have accumulated wear issues. Might be time to go compare costs of replacing things with just fixes to get by. Might be you dropped the valve seat and discovered the other issue with the starter in the process of troubleshooting, or maybe the starter stopped so abruptly that it jammed...

as suggested replace the gasket, take the old one with you if you buy it locally. Also, use a machinists straight edge to check the head for warp.

check your fuel to be sure that it has not aged poorly. Ethanol can cause issues when it sits. So can gasoline dripping into cylinder, be sure the oil is not being diluted with gasoline. It may not be the MMO that improved things but rather clean oil. I did a scientific study many years ago...