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I change grinding discs often due to glazing. I tried flapper discs and they just didn’t work at all. I buy 60 grinding discs at a time and sharpen a lot of blades. Many of the blades from customers are really beat up and require a lot of sharpening.

Yep, debris in fuel can lodge between needle and seat and cause issues. You can install a fuel shut off valve and use it every time you are finished mowing. You can also tap on carburetor bowl with the handle of screwdriver to often get needle and seat to seal.

You have a 1/4 acre lot, which is tiny. A good self-propelled mower is what you need. Otherwise, either the Toro or Gravely would be fine. At that price point of big box store mowers, it doesn’t matter. The low end John Deere is no better or worse than a Cub Cadet.

With a 42” deck and pull button PTO, around $600-$800, everything in working order and good condition.

Two hands and a grunt and a rag so it doesn’t slip, is how I install oil filters. I also write the date and hours on oil filter. No other shop in my area ever writes the date and hours on filter. Helps the customer with tracking tune up and helps me identify that I have worked on mower and when.

The Nikki single barrel carburetors are a pain, however, I can usually bring them back after cleaning and new o-ring set. They are prone to causing the engine to hydro lock when needing attention. If the original Nikki can’t be fixed, the aftermarket ones have worked well for me also.

Average battery life in mower is 3 years give or take. Most people do little to nothing to maintain or charge their batteries additionally from the charging system on mower. The lower and slower the charge when charging any battery is better. You can read for several hours about batteries until...

The surging has nothing to do with valves. Surging is a lean fuel condition primarily caused by dirty carburetor, or sometimes air leaks in intake gaskets, etc. Occasionally after correctly cleaning carburetors, they just don’t come back and run right. Is it surging at all RPMs?

It has Kawasaki FS series engine, you posted FX. FS is a little better air filter system than FR series, versus FX series which is commercial. Depending upon year it is, $4300 sounds about right.

What exactly is “not running right?” Need to be more specific. When you cleaned the OEM carburetor, did you completely take it apart and also replace the metering diaphragm?

Remove and correctly clean carburetor.

The bypass rod is often not that sturdy. Just keep working it back and forth until the transaxle engages again. Follow the rod to where it mounts and make sure it has full travel.

Save your money on buying True Fuel and simply use fresh pump gas that is correctly stored.

Check for air leaks around the carburetor intake by spraying carburetor cleaner there when engine is running. Is RPM affected and changed or does it stay the same?

Make sure your fuel tank is free of debris. Drain and blow out fuel line and tank as needed. Make sure you are getting good steady fuel flow from fuel pump to carburetor. At 1000 hours the ignition coils and 20 minute run time until engine has performance issues is suspect. However, if you can...

Make sure fuel pump is functioning. Correctly and thoroughly clean the carburetor.

Quality in general for many products has gone down over the years. Have not heard anything about John Deere changing OEM names, packaging, etc. on belts.

You are polishing a turd. Unless you can get it to shift through the gears, with a working deck, it is only a project to practice on.

Remember, one simple way to check relays is to label them, then swap them temporarily to test the equipment.

Unless you buy a used deck in good shape for cheap, by the time you buy a new deck, you are around the value of the mower in most cases.

Recheck all safety switches.

Sounds like the deck has developed some play or slop over the years, common issue. Two solutions that come to mind are grinding down on the deck hanger where you see rubbing, or keep trying to adjust deck with some vigor, until you get to right height.

Looked up the information on this rig. Made around 2002, top speed 19 mph. Looks like slow UTV basically. Option would be to buy an aftermarket starter and install it so you can diagnose the other issues this vehicle will have.

No fuel in carburetor bowl, you answered your own question. Check fuel flow is strong and consistent. Test fuel pump if equipped.

Check all the transaxle mounting points on both left and right side. Hustler bought out Big Dog several years ago, and some of these zero turns are known for weak transaxle mounting brackets. I know from experience because I installed an upgrade repair kit on one two years ago. Four out of six...

Could be hydro locked with fuel in cylinder. Try pulling recoil rope with spark plug out and see if gas comes out of spark plug hole. If so, keep pulling until it clears.

There is an a$$ for every seat, as the saying goes. Just have to find the right buyer.

Nobody is going to buy a new mower that has never been used, from an individual for a new price. Try listing it for around $600-650. If you have family that needs a great mower, maybe gift it to them.

The FH Kawasaki is a great engine. This particular model may be a bit underpowered in horsepower in today’s standards. If it is running strong I would leave it in the mower.

The black plastic oil drain plugs that Kawasaki put into some of these engines are a pitiful joke. Sounds like someone rigged it. Probably attempt to install a larger plug, and then if unsuccessful, a whole new sump, etc. This will mean pulling the engine and a bigger job.

I get free equipment all the time from customers. I work on equipment routinely that is 15,20,25 years old, plus. I think you are getting the wrong impression. Anyway, I stay busier than I need all year long, and take care of my customers.

I was not commenting on this specific Toro, which apparently is a 36” stander first made in 2010. I was commenting on a riding mower worth say $650 on the open market and installing a $1500 engine. This specific Toro apparently has a Kawasaki 15 hp engine. I don’t understand how you didn’t...

I did a little reading about this just now online. Apparently the deck needs to be removed and the back wheels jacked up to make job easier. There is a steel plate underneath that needs to be removed. I find it hard to believe it takes 10 hours labor to install a $30-40 drive belt. Go to another...

Installing a new $1500 engine, plus labor, into a mower that is worth $650 on the open market does not make financial sense. Don’t preach to me about a “throw away society.” I repair and sell equipment and give it a new life all the time. Very few customers will spend 3 times the value of a...

A new engine in an old riding mower that is not worth that much to begin with is rarely worth it. The question is, was it run being low on oil (still on dipstick), or run with no oil until it died?

Bertsmobile was great. Lots of knowledge, very helpful, and have wondered what happened to him. RIP Bertsmobile.

Did you pull the flywheel off of the crankshaft to check the flywheel key? Did you have the engine at top dead center on compression stroke when checking valves?

The Confident isn’t a commercial grade engine, the Command is with Kohler (Rehlko). Don’t need to pull the engine to replace head gaskets. Overheating and lack of lubrication will cause head gaskets to blow. The engine shroud is supposed to be removed once a year for inspection and cleaning as...

Being out of patience works both ways. After scanning through this thread, I am done.

Older Cub Cadet, and Grasshopper mowers with horizontal shaft engines are a pain. Need to line up the stuff just right. Some of the tins are a huge pain to remove and reinstall also. So by experience, I have gotten more selective on certain types of equipment I don’t work on. Most shops won’t...

Pay cash.

Grasshopper is a pain to work on and I don’t work on them anymore as a result. Do everything you can to get it to charge before pulling that engine because it will undoubtedly turn into an ordeal.

10W-30.

Check all wiring for chaffing or chewing (from mice). Make sure your ground is clean and tight. Install a new correct ignition switch. Before doing all that, check fuses first.

Most of the time my experience has been that cheap Chinese carburetors are plug and play. However, occasionally changing jets or drilling out jets, etc. is necessary to get them to run right. Always try to clean and keep OEM carburetor!

Chances are your belt tension is not tight enough. Engage the belt with mower off and get down and push the belt at the farthest point between the pulleys. Does it seem tight or sloppy?

I disagree about fuel shut off valves and carburetors still getting gummed up. The primary job of a fuel shut off valve on a small engine is to keep the carburetor clean on occasional use pieces of equipment or during winter. A secondary benefit would be keeping the engine from hydro locking...

Production years from 2012 to 2019, what year is it? Probably worth about $1500-$2000.

A few times I have had calls from potential customers to convert gas to propane. I have never done it and don’t want to due to potential liability. You of all people know that a fuel shut off valve solves the majority of fuel related issues when used correctly. What problems are you having...

I have a light set up just like this and it is working now. The bulb had burned out a long time ago and didn’t think it was making any difference one way or another. The pump house is insulated, however, it has a few spots that need to be repaired. I ended up thawing it out with my diesel heater...