MilesToEmpty
Forum Newbie
- Joined
- May 31, 2011
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 7
Hey everyone, I just found this place, never knew it existed... I’m a member over at Tractorbynet and don’t get much lawn mower help, Lol.
Anyway the story...
Back in 01 (or so) my father purchased an old Deere 420 (the riding mower not the tractor.)
It had an Onan replacement engine with a few hundred hours on it. Mower had around 1100 total. It looked like hell, front bumper(frame beam) was bent from the previous owner, front tires are both bald on one side indicating the guy must have mowed in a circle all his life. The paint was faded and rusted to a dark green.
Around 2 years ago we had to take it to our Deere dealer and they put a new ignition system on it. Apparently they had to replace everything ignition related due to the age and the older design. Thing starts like a bat out of hell now... I doubt the factory setup ever started that good lol.
:thumbdown: They charged us $800 and half of it was parts. We approved them to replace 3-4 of the parts, they ended up replacing maybe 12+ parts. Some wires, etc. My father and the service manager exchanged many foul words with each other before my dad finally said "Ill pay it, I’m just never coming back. Nor will I ever get the Scag I purchased from you (the same day we were paying for the Deere) serviced here."
Anyway since then, we have had a throttle/carb issue. They said the carb was bad and would need to be replaced. Me being 23, hating carbs, figured I’d look at it before looking for a replacement.
I ended up disassembling the mower body and just cleaning it up. Picked up a few cans of the new green spray paint. Got it all back together and sprayed the whole carb area/assembly/throat with some SeaFoam Intake and sensor cleaner (electronic safe.)
Well now the carb works great, no surging or anything. But now the new issue!
The hand throttle doesn’t seem to stay. It goes to the spring, and then a little lever which touches, what I’m assuming, to be the governor; which then goes to another spring and then a thingy.... and then a spring to the carb! :laughing: Yea I know, but those of you probably know what I’m talking about. Standard setup for mowers...
Well, when you push the throttle all the way up and let off, it goes back down to about 1/4. Does it on its own. Rapidly and smoothly. I’m not sure if I missed putting something back on the cable or what... or if that governor part has failed? Anyway, I resorted to using a bungee cord while mowing to hold the throttle up.
Now for the steering. It’s been getting looser over the years. I know the steering from the wheel to the hydraulic piston is working fine. Smallest adjustment and you’ll see the piston either extend or retract. The problem exists between the end of the piston and the wheels themselves. There’s a huge dead spot in the center of the steering. You can turn to maybe 2 o’clock and 10oclock to keep the mower going in a straight line. I expect that something just needs some serious adjusting... Like the toe could be out... but what do I adjust?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. But I felt it was somewhat important to explain what's been done to this mower that could have lead up to these issues.
Charles
Anyway the story...
Back in 01 (or so) my father purchased an old Deere 420 (the riding mower not the tractor.)
It had an Onan replacement engine with a few hundred hours on it. Mower had around 1100 total. It looked like hell, front bumper(frame beam) was bent from the previous owner, front tires are both bald on one side indicating the guy must have mowed in a circle all his life. The paint was faded and rusted to a dark green.
Around 2 years ago we had to take it to our Deere dealer and they put a new ignition system on it. Apparently they had to replace everything ignition related due to the age and the older design. Thing starts like a bat out of hell now... I doubt the factory setup ever started that good lol.
:thumbdown: They charged us $800 and half of it was parts. We approved them to replace 3-4 of the parts, they ended up replacing maybe 12+ parts. Some wires, etc. My father and the service manager exchanged many foul words with each other before my dad finally said "Ill pay it, I’m just never coming back. Nor will I ever get the Scag I purchased from you (the same day we were paying for the Deere) serviced here."
Anyway since then, we have had a throttle/carb issue. They said the carb was bad and would need to be replaced. Me being 23, hating carbs, figured I’d look at it before looking for a replacement.
I ended up disassembling the mower body and just cleaning it up. Picked up a few cans of the new green spray paint. Got it all back together and sprayed the whole carb area/assembly/throat with some SeaFoam Intake and sensor cleaner (electronic safe.)
Well now the carb works great, no surging or anything. But now the new issue!
The hand throttle doesn’t seem to stay. It goes to the spring, and then a little lever which touches, what I’m assuming, to be the governor; which then goes to another spring and then a thingy.... and then a spring to the carb! :laughing: Yea I know, but those of you probably know what I’m talking about. Standard setup for mowers...
Well, when you push the throttle all the way up and let off, it goes back down to about 1/4. Does it on its own. Rapidly and smoothly. I’m not sure if I missed putting something back on the cable or what... or if that governor part has failed? Anyway, I resorted to using a bungee cord while mowing to hold the throttle up.
Now for the steering. It’s been getting looser over the years. I know the steering from the wheel to the hydraulic piston is working fine. Smallest adjustment and you’ll see the piston either extend or retract. The problem exists between the end of the piston and the wheels themselves. There’s a huge dead spot in the center of the steering. You can turn to maybe 2 o’clock and 10oclock to keep the mower going in a straight line. I expect that something just needs some serious adjusting... Like the toe could be out... but what do I adjust?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. But I felt it was somewhat important to explain what's been done to this mower that could have lead up to these issues.
Charles