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Caffeine (coffee) first thing in the morning and that’s it for me for the day. I use readers throughout the day. When you lose your sense of humor, it ain’t no fun anymore! Happy 4th of July to all. 250 years of independence. God bless America!

Has a bypass rod on the transaxle. It is either in or out, engaged or not engaged. Try working it back and forth and going through the purging process for air in the system.

Yep, intake.

Personal experience has taught me that changing transaxles on riding mowers need to have the right one swap, or you are going to have problems. Modifications turn into nightmares that don’t always work also.

Original poster said carb, not crab.

I looked up a John Deere Z425 and it has a Kansaki DUP-10 hydrostatic transmission. Which sounds like it has bypass rods and not bypass valves. Bypass rods=hydro transaxle and bypass valve=separate hydro pump and pump motor with hydro lines. So the question is, which is it?

I have peened the valve seats on a couple of different engines and never had a comeback. If done correctly I believe it works long term. Briggs even lists it as a legitimate repair in service manual.

Short block is worth it if the remainder of engine is in good shape and not all scored up.

The time line of ethanol breaking down fuel lines, metering diaphragms, o-rings, etc. is a question that I have never gotten answered, from anyone. Reason being is because nobody really knows, and because I don’t think ethanol fuel does as much damage as many people hype it. Not everything is...

Perform compression test with proper gauge. Remove valve cover and inspect. Try spraying carburetor spray into throat of carburetor and see if it runs for a few seconds.

I have a Tanaka trimmer a customer gave to me. Made in Japan, discontinued brand, great little machine!

The local Honda guy is a putz. If an authorized dealer won’t give it a go, that ain’t good. He should know that equipment backwards and forwards. Since it is already broken, you can’t break it now. Dive in deeper if you have the time and inclination.

The Tuff Torq K46 is the most common, by far, transaxle in riding mowers. On flat ground, and not abused, it will hold up fine. Do not pull anything heavier than about 200 pounds, and do not pull it all the time. A slight slope is fine but will not hold up on hills over time.

The point I am trying to emphasize is this; risk versus reward. Until you open an engine up, you don’t truly know the condition off each part. Another problem is trying to “work with” partially damaged parts to keep cost down. If your parts cost is $500 and your labor is $1000, that means about...

Why would a customer pay up to $2000 for a used, partially rebuilt engine? An engine they can buy new for around $3000. Most likely you will find as you get busier and build your customer base that going in this deep on engines is not worth the time, effort, focus, and risk.

That is quite the list.

So what is the time difference in ethanol E10 fuel versus premium no ethanol fuel in “eating fuel lines?” How many months or years? I ask because nobody can ever answer this question. Ethanol is blamed for too many problems. Meanwhile a lot of debris and water is found in customer fuel they came...

I see very few EFI engines on customer equipment. I have a Vanguard EFI on my Ferris zero turn. I personally do not like EFI on outdoor power equipment and think it over complicates things.

Once mower is warmed up, needing to prime engine to start is not normal at all, so something ain’t right. Put a clamp on the kill/brake lever to keep engine running when emptying the bag (be careful). Better yet, don’t bag your grass. Much easier and better on lawn to discharge or mulch grass...

My experience has been that most people are appreciative of help, especially when they have no idea how to perform a specific task. However, there are always a few people that doubt, question, and complain despite the help received. Just glad most people are appreciative, or I would have quit...

Spray penetrating oil and hit wheels with rubber mallet.

Marketplace is where I list equipment occasionally and it usually sells for list cost and fairly quickly. Every area is different. Good pictures and description of equipment and service/repair help with sale.

Knowing how to weld is incredibly useful if you do enough of it to use your welder and skills over time. You don’t start out welding and laying beautiful beads immediately, it takes time to learn. My welds are not pretty, but never had a comeback from failure.

Dirty carburetor and or water in fuel.

Weld ‘er up for permanent repair.

Of course it is a fuel issue, or air intake leak. 4 pages of back and forth. You are hunting and surging and running lean on fuel. I have seen this problem hundreds of times.

Bypass the defective safety switch. Run another kill wire from ignition switch directly to ignition coil to turn engine off and permanently mount and protect wire.

Mulch kits on anything larger than a 21” mower are usually no good. I don’t even like them on 22” mowers. Raise the discharge chute at 45 degree angle and let that grass fly. Better on the mower, the lawn, and quality of cut. Lower discharge chute around people, cars, or windows for potential...

Dirty carburetor, bad fuel, anti-afterfire solenoid not working, not getting enough fuel, debris in fuel tank, or all of the above.

There are no real pros on this mower. I just worked on one this summer with sticking valves and needed major work to get it running right again. Was not worth the money for customer. It does have a good solid Kohler Command engine and separate hydro pumps and drive motors and is built solid. The...

I see loose and missing engine mounting bolts from customers several times a year. Remove the bolts and make sure they are not damaged. Clean them with carburetor spray and shop towel. Apply Loctite to bolts and correctly torque them down.

Either the incorrect carburetor for your engine, or the carburetor is set up lean from the factory and you will have to drill out pilot jet to get it right. Third possibility is air leaks from gaskets. I have seen the hunting and surging issues hundreds of times over the years. It is both...

The fact is that in this day and age, the majority of people don’t try. They don’t try to fix the dryer that broke, they call AAA to change a flat tire, they call a small engine shop because their pressure washer won’t start, and simply needs a carburetor cleaned and fresh gas. The sense of...

I ask a customer on the phone what brand the equipment is, and they reply, “it’s red.” A bit of an exaggeration but seriously people do not often know much about their outdoor power equipment.

80W-90 in gear box. Opening the gear box is a long shot.

If it runs like a Deere…Well we won’t go there.

Getting the correct blade is important. Important enough to jack up the mower and remove a blade. Which you will need to do anyway when changing blades. The correct model number of equipment and physical dimensions of blades and then double checked on more than one site will get the correct blades.

I have seen videos on YouTube where the person takes the spindles apart after greasing, and takes the shield off of the bearing and shows that grease got into the bearing . That is why I am asking for people’s input on this.

There should be a bolt on the throttle lever bracket that you can tighten to get more tension so lever stays in place. Otherwise, a spring might be the second option.

People break things, especially on mowers, especially on mower decks. Some people (not many) are really hard on equipment. As long as they pay (they always do), I will keep repairing the equipment.

Typical scenario: When you buy a new spindle, and the bearings are shielded, and then you use a grease gun and pump about 100 pumps before grease starts coming out relief or from seals. Do you think the pressure of the grease gets past the plastic shields on bearing and into the bearing, or are...

I have had 4 electrical issues so far this year on no start problems from ignition switch, and have yet to figure them out. I can get them started, just not without running jumper from ignition switch to solenoid trigger momentarily. Therefore I feel your pain and frustration.

17.5 hp Briggs engine is not the model number. Model number example for Briggs: 331777.

A bit expensive is putting it nicely on the robotic mowers able to mow hillsides . Bottom line: If you buy a big box store battery mower like Kobalt from Lowes, service, repair, and parts will be limited or non existent. If you buy a name brand battery mower like Stihl, from a dealer, you will...

Most engines are lucky if the engine shroud is removed a couple of times in their lifetime to check for debris on cooling fins. When that happens it is also because there is an issue with engine starting and running.

The Kawasaki repair guy would have had to diagnose and test the engine in person to give an accurate answer most likely.

Put sandpaper down on glass and sand the cylinder head. I usually go for .002” on feeler gauge when running it under head and glass to check.

If you cannot get the blade to tighten on the spindle, that obviously is not going to work. I have never seen that happen. Order a new spindle if you have to because blade has to be tight.

Debris in fuel tank would be first probability. Drain fuel tank, blow out fuel line, replace fuel filter, check for debris in tank and clean.

Do NOT remove the Welch plugs. Simply spray with carburetor spray, poke holes with tiny wire, and blow with air compressor blow gun.