Recent content by Alex Ethridge

You have my permission to be of that opinion. :)

They are different or the manufacturers would not recommend one over the other.

Simple, it's what all the mower engine manufacturers recommend. It's not an obsession, it's just what is recommended.

I am not an oil expert and claim no degrees in chemistry or engineering so that is my disclaimer. But when it comes to oil, I have used only Castrol in all my cars and changed at 3K even though the manufacturer said every 5K. I used Castrol in one of my Siennas that I took to 348K and was...

Thanks to everyone. I found Pennzoil 30W on e-bay for a reasonable price and ordered three quarts. As for Briggs branded, Kawasaki, etc., I don't have confidence in those. Oil is just a sideline for them, AND they sell it in smaller packages at higher prices.

I'm looking for Castrol 30W oil and cannot find it anywhere, on-line or locally. I've checked AutoZone, Advance, O'Reilly, Walmart, Lowe's and Home Depot. So I decided to try for other brands, brands I recognize, not this cheap unknown stuff. The only straight 30W I can find is Super Tech but...

Agreed.

I haven't been a mower mechanic since about 1982 and I have no knowledge of your specific machine but when I see a mower lose power in the way you describe, the first two things I check are valve adjustment and ignition timing. In the case if ignition timing, what I mean is to check for a...

Briggs Mfg. No: 09P602-0076-F1 (parts manual attached) There are two flywheels listed in the parts manual, a two-piece and a one-piece, Mine is Briggs part number 590544, the one-piece (example picture attached). The flywheel key is sheared and offset by probably fifteen degrees or more (see...

Agreed about the lawyer but at the time I had a son who owned an HVAC company and he could have replaced the whole unit with new for $1570 and having homeowner's insurance with $1000 deductible, I decided to not risk an increase in my homeowner's insurance premium. They ALWAYS increase the rate...

Thanks for the reply. Relay? I word-searched both the operator manual and engine parts manual and that word is not in it. In the process of diagnosing all the safety switches last week when solving a deck/blade safety switch problem, I determined all safety switches function correctly. I...

Husqvarna RZ3016 (zero turn) When this mower was about two months old (in about 2016), I had a harrowing experience, ran off an eighteen-inch retaining wall. My butt slid off the seat down onto the foot pad area and the mower didn't even slow down, ran into and destroyed $6000+ worth of AC...

Husqvarna RZ3016 zero-turn mower I'm posting this for the purpose of helping someone else who might have a similar problem. I had an intermittent no-crank-no-click problem that eventually became full time. I suspected a safety switch so I ordered one of every kind of switch and began testing...

Coming back to let everyone know how this problem came out. First off, I originally had the wrong parts manual for my mower. My mower's number was 966612301 04. I had the parts manual for 966612301 (sans 04). After getting the correct parts manual, the parts manual for the 04 iteration, I...

I just now read this "Pennying Out" article at MSN.com. If an item has been on sale in Home Depot long enough, its price becomes just one penny.