Recent content by Hammermechanicman

Ron Popiel made a large fortune selling items on TV. He sold the items for what it cost him so no profit on the actual items but made his fortune on shipping and handling fees. He wrote a book telling how he did it and folks still bought his junk on TV. Can't fix stupid.

I love when the marketing wanks use terms like All Natural, Organic, Sustainable. None of these type terms have any meaning. The USDA Organic label does mean something but lots of producers use the label Certified Organic but without the USDA in the label and it means nothing. When the yuppie...

Get a can of starting fluis and a new spark plug. Gap and install new plug and spray a half second shot of starting fluid in carb and try to start without choking it. If it fires up for a couple seconds then repeat and this time with the chike on and see if it starts. If not you have a fuel...

Must have. Just made pork tenderloin for supper. I will send you some.

I use mine almost every day. My prized cast iron skillet doesn't get the use it once did. Chicken tenders and onion rings.

16000 parts. Dang! I have around 400 parts in stock. Mainly oil, air and fuel filters and couple dozen different spark plugs, deck wheels and a bunch of carb stuff. So many different blades now i quit stocking them except a few i know current customers will need. Same for belts.

You are way more organized than i am. When i first started i had a form and database setup and tracked all parts on each machine and entered all the work ticket info. After a year i went to ticket books with a carbon. I price parts and labor separate. I don't use the computer any more. I don't...

Being lazy i just take a picture of the model/serial plate of each piece piece of equipment and notate the customer name and phone number in the picture description.

Had a stens order like that couple months ago. The one part i really needed was BO.

You can tell a tech that knows how to diagnose a problem vs one who guesses. For 40 years i had to walk up to machines, diagnose the problem, fix and smooze the customer and do it in a specific amount of time. Star knows the drill. Biggest problem was going behind another tech who half assed a...

How many times has a piece come in the shop and the gasket on metering side of the carb is on the wrong side of the diaphragm? Always lets you know Wilbur has worked on the carb.

Another issue with the aftermarket carb kits is the fuel lines that come with them. The yellow stuff is a knockoff of Tygon. The stuff usually fails in a year or two and the black stuff is no better. If i must resort to a aftermarket carb i never use any fuel line that comes with it. Real tygon...

The kohler number is 25 597 07 s. Same as locktite si5900. I think it is very similar to the permatex the right stuff.

There are 2 basic designs.the older slide type choke and the newer butterfly type choke. There is almost nothing interchangeable between the carbs. The linkage is different and so is the tank. The block bolt pattern is the same so you can put an old style carb and tank on a new style and vice...

When i registered my business as an LLC suddenly my credit rating was so good i qualified for a $1M expansion loan. LOL. The local chamber of commerce invited me lunch. I guess i should have registered as a CEO instead of a sole proprietor. I would have gotten better treatment. ?

I think all these CEOs and board of director members all do lunch together and all decide to do the same stupid $hit at the same time. So glad i retired, i am my own boss and sometimes i do stupid $hit and i can gripe about the boss and not get chewed out.

Some stuff i had laying around. I think it was 1/8" id.

https://www.amazon.com/Briggs-Stratton-Parts-555192-TANK-FUEL/dp/B00E6NXXN8 Here is a tank for the old slide type choke 13xxxx 5hp horiz briggs.

Got a link?

The micro D tool in my set didn't work well. I took a piece of thin wall brass tubing and tapped it onto the adjusting screw and it works fine.

If you are talking about the 5hp flathead 13xxxx series engines the carbs themselves are dead simple. I have never neede to replace one of those carbs. The usual problem is rusted tanks. If you pull the carb and the tank is a rust bucket you are pretty much screwed. The tanks are no longer...

I have one of those crankshaft straightners. Got it a very long time when an old guy closed his shop. Haven't used it in probably 20 years. I really doubt if i would use it on a customer engine now. I also have the tools to install valve guides. Haven't used them in probably 20 years also. They...

The saga continues......... Who owns who and who will control the parts. Can't wait.

I sometimes have customers see a part on cheapbay and question my price or they buy the part there. I tell them i don't give any kind of warranty on any customer supplied parts and if they want the $9 coil or $5 belt that's fine. You buy it. I will charge you to put it on and if it fails not my...

I have pretty happy with stens. Shipping is reasonable and customer service is decent.

About a half century ago there was a Certified Auto Parts store that gave me the mechanics discount because the old guy who ran it was a good friend of my father's. He had to list my sales under another mechanics account as i would not qualify for the discount as i didn't move enough $$$ a year...

I needed a spindle assy for a RER Snapper. Showed in stock. Got it a month and a half later. I called and the lady who answered confessed everything always shows in stock. I won't be a tool and name names but everybody would recognize the name of the company. I needed some parts for a tractor...

I have 3 grease guns. I found a coupler that seals on them so it is one one of the guns just for these POS's

https://mowersoutlet.com/Wheel-Bushing-For-MTD-741-0990A-941-0990_p_3697.html Still trying to figure out what retarded engineer thought these were a good idea.

I feel for you. I had a herniated disc that on many occasions would drop me to the floor. I was getting by on oxy and vicodin. Finally saw a good chiropractor who treated me 3 times a week for almost a year. Cost me a small fortune because of crap insurance but it was worth it. Alternative was...

Not sure about that. I find it clears zerks with stuck check balls and joints with old hard grease plugging zerks.

I buy this stuff 3 gallons at a time. Mix it 50/50. Cheap and works pretty good. https://www.dollargeneral.com/products/product-page.las-totally-awesome-all-purpose-concentrated-cleaner-refill-64-oz.html

This the type tool i use to clear zerks of hardened grease. https://www.menards.com/main/tools/automotive/automotive-tools-shop-equipment/performax-reg-grease-fitting-cleaning-tool/menw54209/p-1452112272210.htm

Like the big companies i have gone the "parts on demand" route. I stock my parts at various places around the country like Stens, jack's, E replacement, pro parts direct. My customers know i don't stock a large inventory and i will need to order most any part they need except for things like...

I I have 6 or 7 different couplers. 3 jaw, 4 jaw, "universal", 2 different locking couplers, metric etc. None of them fit all different zerks.

"I regularly have to remove a nipple, put it in my very high pressure McNaught gun and pump some grease through it." I have a tool you fill with grease and put on a clogged zerk and hit with a hammer to clear it. Works pretty good.

I don't lose money on parts. Whatever the part cost including any shipping plus my modest markup is what i charge. I don't have any price sheets. If i can use a Stens oil filter it is one price. If you want the same filter labeled OEM John Deere for $12 more doesn't matter to me. I make about...

Most of my business is from folks with older stuff and don't want to pay $100 an hour and 50% parts markup. The 2 JD dealers and the 2 other dealers around me are not hurting for business. They are all 4 to 6 weeks behind every spring. There are lots of folks willing to pay that and wait for a...

I have received a couple of OEM MTD belts made in India. They worked OK older ones said made in USA. I think the manufacturers are racing to see who can built the cheapest $1500 mower as that seems to be the going rate for the cheapest box store mower. At least they have pretty decals on them...

If grease is coming out between the coupler and the zerk it sounds like they are not compatible. I have 3 grease guns with different couplers just for that reason. Not all zerks are the same. I have tried a few "universal" couplers and they don't fit everything.

About 20 years ago i looked i to being a Briggs dealer. They wanted me to buy $5k of parts up front and a minimum of $3K a year and i had to stock engines. Nope. There was a parts house in town and they gave me a good discount but they have been gone for many years. When cities and schools all...

I'm just jealous of all the documentation you have amassed and have access to.

Looking at the IPL is cheating ?

What type of battery? Small sealed gel type? Does it have date on it? If it is the gel type it may show good voltage but now have enough capacity to start the mower. Those type batteries dont like being stored where the temps are below freezing.

https://curtisindustries.net/product/premium-ac-cab-for-kubota-zd1211/ May not be as crazy as folks think.

Should be E-begging for english lessons. LOL.

I found a set of blades for my left hand 76" deck 10 years ago and they were $60 a piece. $180 for a set of mower blades. Parts were nonexistent so i sold it.

I used to do a checklist thing. Folks didn't bother to look at it. I just list everything it do on the receipt i give.

Google "briggs efi manual pdf" . Mud buddy website has the manual online. Only 150 pages.

Since we mowed grass here till mid november i have had a dozen customers call wanting annual maint two weeks before Christmas and i had a mild case of covid that week so i am busy now. One of the mowers waiting is a JD 729 with a bad gearbox on the mower deck. The gearbox is over $500. Total...

Wow. You make me look bad. Most folks with $1500 box store mowers won't spend more than $150-$175 for an annual service. I don't do all that you do. I need to spend 2 hours or less on an annual maint service. JD mowers are different. Those folks will pay more. The local JD dealers are $350-$400...