Recent content by grumpyunk

QUOTE: "The never ending debate with 87 corn gas will never cease." Fuel that has ethanol added does have a more limited shelf life, or actually 'tank life' than plain gasoline. If left in the carburetor, exposed to atmosphere, it will tend to absorb water from the humidity in the air. It...

If you want to know if your fuel is adulterated with ethanol, pour some into a glass jar. Add a glug of water, say 1/8c into a peanut butter jar half full. If there is ETOH in the 'premium' fuel, it will be drawn from the mixture and combine with the water. It should then fall to the bottom...

Given the quality control level present in most factories, it is difficult to predict battery life. I have had the term vary from 2 years to 7 years. Allowing the battery charge to go low when stored will decrease battery life. If nothing else, put a charger on at least once a month during...

You could try several things to help sealing. A cotton swab(Q-tip) dipped in valve grinding compound and twirled around while held against the seat may polish the rough edge enough to allow a good seal. You could attempt to remove the seat and flip it end for end and re-install it. The other...

The 2A setting is for motorcycle batteries and those of similar capacity. If you charge a small battery at a higher rate it will make the battery temperature rise. Many new batteries that are shipped w/o electrolyte will have instructions to charge around 2A. My OLD Sears charger has 8A/2A...

Search for 'tachometer digital' on aliexpress and you will find a good selection. There is one model that wraps around the plug wire for its input. It will register rpms, and also has a resettable hour meter, such as for oil change intervals. One version has a non-replaceable battery, and the...

To get the engine to 'hydrolock' from being tipped on its side/end would take some time UNLESS your rings were pretty well worn out. Hydrolock is the situation where there is liquid in the combustion chamber that prevents the piston from fully traveling to TDC(top dead center) and which may...

The late 1980's Snapper has/had a module that required the shift/gear lever be in neutral in order to enable the ignition. There is no seat occupancy switch, and, it's been over 20 years, it may have had a blade release cutout switch also. It was not powered by the battery. In Neutral and with...

FWIW, Amazon has had a bunch of counterfeit parts on sale recently. Motorcraft spark plugs and filters are a couple I have read about. ebay may also have the same thing. I think I would be careful and inspect closely any auto parts etc from both sites. I have ordered Stens and other parts...

When mowers were $99 each at K-mart, repairs were not even considered. Changing the oil or the air filter? Maybe. The preceptrion is likely still that OPE is cheap, and repairs are expensive. I do not think perception has caught up with reality. Ten years ago the lowest price push mower with...

I have done all the work ever done to my machines. My experiences with 'professional' mechanics has not been something I wish to repeat. Had a camshaft replaced under warranty and the tech forgot he had closed the drain petcock on the radiator, and closed it with a wrench. At least I can make...

If you want to try the spray vs purchasing some silicone oil, I'd spray a bit on a paper towel and wipe it onto the surface. You don't want it wet and oily, but just a sheen. Kind of like using oil on a cookie sheet, just get is barely wetted, wipe with a damp towel, etc. tom

In the back of the owners manual you should find a wiring diagram or schematic. That should have the proper fuse size noted. I think the 'text' portion of the owners manual may be more generic while the schematic will likely be more accurate. An opinion. That said, unless you have things...

As suggested, you may be running on one cylinder. If both are functional, holding a hand NEAR the exhaust and comparing one exhaust to the other may indicate readily that one is colder than the other. They both should start to heat up within seconds. That would indicate either a coil/magneto...

I think a wipe of silicone oil on the sealing surface may make the RTV release easier. I know it works when using filled epoxy such as where you have damaged threads on the brake retainer bolts on a rider transaxle. There were some threads, but not quite enough to feel secure. Once the epoxy...