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Prime example of the misunderstanding of the carburetor solenoid and its function. Anyone that thinks this solenoid will prevent leaks or hydro locking the engine just doesn’t get it.

Always go shorter than longer on belt sizes, especially by 1/2”.

Solid mower. Buy it. Stop renting. Zero turn even better.

Do the lawn police come and arrest people for using a dirty nasty polluting 2-stroke in these counties that have banned it? Yes, I am being sarcastic. Toro makes a solid mower. Look elsewhere when it comes to a battery trimmer. Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, and Redmax come to mind. As stated before...

I wipe dipstick, check on level ground, and check dipstick more than one time. I realize that the dipstick is at a slight angle. Can’t see how that would affect reading the oil level that much on a dipstick on different sides.

The carburetor solenoid will NOT stop fuel from entering the cylinder and hydro locking the engine, IF the needle and seat are not functioning correctly. This is a large part of why this part is misunderstood. The term “hydro locking” should obviously be “fuel locking” if it were to be accurate...

Crosshatching in cylinder. You should wait another 20 years when you will needs piston rings, etc. 300 hours is nothing.

Obviously beating the deck out to get the blade from hitting the deck, is after you check the condition of blades, spindles, etc.

Reuse the cylinder head bolts. 300 hours is nothing. If I were replacing the cylinder head gasket I would remove carbon, but 300 hours is low hours.

It is as simple as getting on your hands and knees and looking at the transaxles, or searching the Gravely by model number for specs.

Speaking of dipsticks. Why does a 4-sided dipstick on a Kawasaki engine often not read evenly when checking the oil, or a 2-sided dipstick sometimes also? I have yet to find someone that can answer this question? I Am meticulous about checking and getting the correct amount of oil in engine...

Anti-afterfire solenoid is the correct term and actual job of the solenoid.

Look on the deck for fresh witness marks from blade hitting. Whack the deck with a 3 pound sledge hammer until the blade stops hitting the deck. Problem solved.

I guess I have been making a long series of mistakes for about a decade and surprisingly been having stellar results with parts on Amazon.

If the electrical issues were only this easy, I would be in tall cotton.

I have used Marvel Mystery Oil before and am familiar with the product. The mower has been picked up and I have been paid. Kohler Command engine with hydraulic lifters. I was not going in any deeper on this repair. Was not cost effective to keep polishing this turd for the customer.

Lots of people like to dog on Amazon and EBay. How bad the parts quality is, etc. In 2026 please tell me where you can find affordable aftermarket parts for lots of outdoor power equipment besides these two massive companies?! I have had great service, value, billing, shipping, and overall...

Electrical issues can be a real pain. Please post model number of John Deere (on label on mower frame), and model number of engine (on label on engine). First check battery (load test), battery connections, fuse(s), any relays, then move on to safety switches, solenoid, etc. You need a test...

Spray rocks and roots with orange marker paint, or install little marker flags. Problem solved.

Probably a Kohler Courage engine. The high pitched whine you hear and the engine does not turn over, is the starter trying to start, but can’t. When you hear the high pitched whine, stop turning the key, you are killing the starter. One of these problems: 1) valves need to be adjusted, 2) bad...

Does it have spark, or not? Did it have spark with original ignition coil or not? Are you removing the kill wire on ignition coil to test to be sure the coil is good? Usually, in my experience, the carburetor anti-afterfire solenoid is gummed up. The tiny pintle that shuts off fuel to the main...

Yep, buy an aftermarket carburetor and transfer the needle to original carburetor. Like finding a needle in a haystack, pun intended.

Everyone needs helps at points in life with issues. Part of learning and growing involves a little humility to ask for and accept help. Then part of progressing is taking the help and learning new skills, etc. Then, offering and giving help is a rewarding part that I enjoy, especially when...

Yep. this is how the deck lift operates. There are YouTube videos specifically on removing and replacing the deck lift cable. That is how I figured it out, by watching YouTube. Watching YouTube is how I learned about many small engine and machine repairs.

$10 bucks to bore and hone a cylinder is incredibly cheap by today standards. Imagine doing this to a push mower in 2026, while adding new rings, and labor to remove engine, open the case, clean valves and head, new gaskets and seals, and replace engine. That’s why it isn’t affordable at...

Calm down Turbo. People needing help and people trying to help, that is what we are doing here. Glad you got it figured out.

Another stupid design by John Deere. I have replaced two of them on these zero turns before. 3-4 hours labor plus the deck lift cable part. Take it to a shop unless you want to tackle it yourself.

Occasionally I will get a call about honing a small engine or where a machine shop is that does this type of work. We are in the remove and replace business now, and have been for many years. It is too labor intensive to rebuild parts these days.

Could be the throttle linkage hanging up somehow. Make sure you are there to immediately keep the RPMs down when you start it by manually pushing the throttle, or you will destroy the engine.

Then you have really low compression. Can you post your results after rebuild so we can hear how it came out please?

Not just on generators, but sometimes the hunting and surging on a small engine cannot be completely stopped. It absolutely drives me crazy. I end up spending way too much time trying to get it right and usually eat the labor time for customer. Drilling out the pilot jet (idle) or air/fuel jet...

Shops do not repair pressure washer pumps. It is a remove and replace item. I do occasionally replace broken pumps on pressure washers for customers.

If possible, I always try to check top sump bolts on these Kohler Courage engines. Not torqued correctly from factory and no Loctite is normally the issue. I have used JB Weld successfully a couple of times on minor engine block cracks. The crankcase is not under a lot of pressure like the...

If you are testing compression with the correct tester with Schraeder valve, then 45 psi is really low. If the cylinder is badly scored, you cannot simply “rough it up with red Scotchbrite.” Rebuilding a Poulan chainsaw is like polishing a turd. Did you buy OEM parts or off brand aftermarket?

I realize there is no Honda 455cc engine. I thought maybe he meant 450cc, and made a mistake, like I did. Mistakes happen in life when you try.

Draining the fuel and running handheld equipment until it dies is both unpractical and unnecessary. When not using it for extended periods of time, yes, but after each time you use it, no.

I agree. Either crap in fuel tank or slowly failing coils. I have this exact mower at my shop right now from customer. Has sticking valves and won’t start/run and waiting for him to come pick this old antiquated hunk of junk up (been paid).

I thought it was a Honda 455 Rancher ATV because you didn’t specify Husqvarna 455 Rancher chainsaw. My bad.

Did you original ignition coil fail? Is your premix fuel fresh? Have you checked the tank vent and fuel filter?

First you release bypass and work steering arms back and forth, then you take hydros out of bypass and work steering arms back and forth, then you take it off of jack stands and try mower under load on the ground.

The main fuel line “seals into the tank.” Does it not have a fuel petcock? If so, petcock is probably where the leak is.

You obviously need to try more than bumping engine over one time, unless you get lucky.

What is the Briggs model number of engine? How many aftermarket carburetors have you tried? When you say “none of the aftermarket carburetors have worked” , what exactly does that mean? Engine won’t start and run, starts and dies, hunting and surging?

Has this engine been sitting and never started for several years? Is the oil level good and have you smelled it to check for gas in oil?

Model numbers have been given in first post. Still having the issues because I have not been looking at these three zero turn mowers past week. Very busy time of the year. I will break out the multimeter and go for further testing.

Mechanical governor is not right. Try resetting the governor.

Model number sticker probably fell off. I spray glue on stickers to secure them when they are peeling off for customers.

Rebuilding a small Honda engine is not worth it cost or time wise. If you want to take the engine apart and rebuild it, and have never done this, there are plenty of videos, etc. that can help you.

Voltage drop is significant at about 4 to 6 volts. Using regular older style battery tester. Do have an infrared heat tester. Have only used it on mufflers when testing cylinders. Fuse holder is holding fuses nice and tight. Has a piggyback solenoid on the starter. Have not bench tested starter.

Engine: Kohler Command Ch740 Issue: Engine will not start unless jumper wire is hooked to ignition switch on solenoid pole and touched to trigger pole on solenoid. I have three different zero turns that I have experienced this on. Two have Kohler Command engines and one has Vanguard 61E877...