Recent content by Tiger Small Engine

Bead sealer works great for leaks around the rim/bead, must break bead on both sides, clean and apply sealer. Berryman’s tire sealer works great for dry rot. Plugs when it is one or two punctures. Tubes work fine until you hit a nail, etc., then you have a flat tire that needs to be plugged...

I appreciate that you are trying to fix this issue. Must be that you have the time, interest, and motivation because going in deep on a 15 year old self-propelled gearbox is unusual. Gearbox seems fine if you have it free like that and it is spinning so problem is elsewhere.

950 hours for a Kohler Command is not a lot of hours. Usual can get 1750 or do before rebuild or replace with regular maintenance. Maybe consider going over engine with complete tune up and giving it a good look.

1900 hours on a Kohler Command is about the life of the unit with regular maintenance. Your mileage may vary.

Measure length, width, and hole bore size and find the blade that way.

If your engine is hunting and surging, most likely a dirty carburetor, not a governor adjustment. Did you put a tachometer on it to checlean RPMs? Most generators are set up to run 3600 RPMs so that hertz is correct for under load.

I understand what you are saying when on a financial budget. Ain’t nothing cheap these days. Don’t forget about brakes. Stopping a mower going 20 mph is going to be important.

Tanaka is good product (discontinued). Replaced metering diaphragm, make sure fuel screen is clean and put fuel in carburetor “bowl” when apart and push lever to needle and seat and see if fuel is going through at nice rate.

A larger pulley will result in slower speed, a smaller pulley faster speed, you got it backwards. Riding mowers stock usually travel forwards at about 5-6 mph. You said now it will go just under 10 mph (I would like to see that). At 10 mph it must be like riding a car without shocks. At 20 mph...

If you soldered it, cannot see it holding. Imagine going to a dealer where you bought it and wanting a $12 dollar part covered under warranty.

I just replaced two coils on Bad Boy mower, one was bad and brand new part. Third time this year I have gotten defective brand new part. When it happens, it really throws a wrench in the works.

They do leak sometimes. I mean hydro pumps, and hydrostatic transaxles in general. It will cost you hundreds of dollars to get leak fixed. Have to pull unit and put in rebuild kit, unless you can pinpoint leak and mana to fix it while still on mower.

Worst case scenario, buy a new hour meter, install, and go back to dealer with a bill for part and labor. Depending upon they react, find another dealer for future service and leave a negative review on their website.

If you can find parts for cheap, or you just want to do it, then top end rebuild is doable. Otherwise, we are talking about a Ryobi backpack blower, nothing special, maybe $300 when new.

Bypass the anti afterfire solenoid on carburetor so you don’t have to spend $150 on part. Do not throw that OEM (probably Walbro) carburetor away. Measure bore where jet goes in and threads. Look around for smaller jets and buy a couple. Go smaller than you think and you can drill them out with...

A mistake was probably made during assembly.

Take off the shroud to get to the muffler. Remove the muffler and look at the condition of piston, rings, and cylinder. If it is scored enough it is done. If you don’t have experience with inspecting piston, rings, and cylinder for good versus bad condition, this will be pointless. It doesn’t...

I really like what you said. “They have not cut quality to increase profits, they have cut quality to compete with other brands.” I think this holds true of many products and also services in the last 25 years. People love low price and have helped essentially to drive the quality down on both...

Hopefully you did not throw carburetor away. What are numbers/letters on carburetor and brand. Choke may not be working correctly causing it to run rich. Is it blowing out black smoke?

Hunting and surging often due to dirty carburetor (clean again), the miss is harder to pinpoint on the internet.

Shredding a drive belt does not been bad transmission. It normally means: incorrect belt size, incorrectly installed, locked up pulleys, sharp points/burrs on pulleys, etc.

I install 1/4” fuel shut off valves on lots of equipment. It is amazing how old some equipment is, has been to other shops, and fuel shut off never installed.

You say a slight scratch on pump cylinder face and valve plate where they both ride, correct? It doesn’t take much scoring of surfaces to affect forward and reverse movement. By the time you order the new parts, do all the labor yourself, you are approaching the approximate used value of the...

How many hours on meter if equipped? What year is mower? Have you ever changed the hydro oil and filters? If you remove charge pump cover, you will have to drain most of the oil. There is an O-ring that seals the cover. Unless it is really leaking, I wouldn’t worry about it. Sounds like...

I run 87 gas with 10% ethanol in all my equipment, no problems. Keep the gas fresh (less than 60 days old). If you replaced original Zama or Walbro carburetor with an aftermarket one, do not throw away original carburetor. Try to take apart original carburetor, clean thoroughly, and replace...

Hunting and surging most likely due to dirty carburetor.

How old is it? About how many hours on blower? Possibly one of the fuel lines has small hole and not allowing fuel to be pulled into carburetor correctly. Check fuel filter/clean/replace. Just curious if you are running all Husqvarna on your blowers and trimmers, or a variety of brands?

Small engines are typically around 8.5 to 1 on compression (low compression compared to cars). Most important thing is change oil consistently (50 hours) and try to use the same brand if possible.

So you removed engine, took the sump cover off, and determined that the camshaft lobes were worn. How did you determine this, visually? Not saying you are not correct, just asking. Also, what compression spring? Do you mean the valve spring?

Hopefully you didn’t throw away the OEM carburetor. Clean it thoroughly and replace metering diaphragm. So you are going to return a $20 carburetor that has been used? Take the low and high plugs out if necessary are adjust the darn thing. The fact that you know those hidden screws are there is...

Recheck fuel, recheck fuel fuel, clean carburetor again. It should fire right up, and keep running strong if fuel delivery is correct.

Not a fan of Grasshopper mowers. Not easy to work on. Out front deck design makes the mower much less manageable and maneuverable than conventional zero turns.

You cannot use a harness, unless you are doing lots of rough trimming like a road crew does. You need to be able to quickly maneuver the trimmer and for edging.

Measure the wheel bore size, diameter, height and try to find a wheel that is as close as possible and buy it. Hope this helps.

SAE 10W-30 is all you need. Oh boy, not another oil debate.

Try to order it aftermarket by cross referencing Husqvarna part number on EBay or Amazon.

Put a fuel shut off on it, if space allows, and educate the customer on using it to eliminate most carburetor cleaning issues.

These air vane chokes are very touchy and the correct spring tension is the key. Spring could have been replaced (incorrectly), or have wrong tension and causing problem.

Not only do most people not know (about the basics), they do not want to know or learn. I complain to my wife about it, and she says that is why they have people like me.

Watch Taryl Fixes all for poor man’s PTO clutch repair when two wires pull out of clutch. It involves driving a screw down into broken connections to secure wires.

Many lower priced zero turn and riding mower decks are too low from factory. On level concrete, measure from blade to concrete at a couple of heights on selector and see what you get. Many decks I see will only cut around 3.5” on highest setting. Spacers can be used sometimes to raise deck...

When installing tank grommet, spray some lubricant such as WD-40 on tank opening and grommet. Carefully install grommet with small screwdriver and your fingers making sure not to damage grommet. It should seal up correctly.

Bottom line is this: Make sure you have strong consistent spark at all speeds with inline spark tester. Make sure you have good, strong fuel flow to carburetor. Make sure you have fresh fuel with not debris or water in it.

Do not get rid of OEM carburetor unless last result and cannot get it to run (in the future). Use carburetor spray, and air compressor on fuel filter, reinstall, will be fine. I do it all the time.

Oil can be extracted through breather tube on these transaxles. You cannot usually get it all, but it helps. Otherwise, removing unit from mower, and draining it is a lot of work. Many of these are considered “non-serviceable.”

I find it interesting when people try to sell others on battery powered outdoor power equipment. Battery has its place, just in many cases gas is the way to go. I once has a Toro Personal Pace self-propelled mower in 2004, and literally cut down grass that was head high. Try that with a battery...

You have a short in wiring that needs to be located. If it is a riding mower, a good place to check is the two wires going to the headlights for a bare wire. Need to do visual checks for chaffed wires and use multimeter for continuity check.

I have seen 3 PTO clutch bolts back out and fall out in last two years, it happens. Install new bolt with Loctite thread locker and torque to specs, probably around 50-55 foot pounds.

Original poster does not have the skills and knowledge to set valve clearance properly, etc. Simply take it to shop, tell them what you have done, and they should have you up and running soon.

Bagging is for the birds. Open up the exit chute at 45 degree angle (unless cars, children, or glass windows are close), and let the grass fly. The cut grass is good and recycles into the lawn.