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Heck! don't change the oil until the engine locks up. LOL I've seen that happen before.... New oil and filter, but the engine locked solid.

This is nothing really new to me, or other who work on equipment regularly, but a lot of new mowers are quickly developing running issues just after purchase these days. What I am finding with most of them is old fuel in the tank and lines because they have sat on display for months (some for...

Hmm, reading the operator manual must have been more than the owner could stand.

I've caught several seat switches jumped recently, but customers hate to listen to reason. It's just inconvenient to be safe for some people. I have been using solar sunlight battery maintainers on all of my battery start lawn equipment and tractors for a few years now and it has saved me a lot...

Hello motormike, I apologize, I lost track of out earlier conversation, and this site has delay issues that creates frustration and confusion. Being an opposed twin engine, pull the heads and watch the valve and piston movement to make sure they are working. It been a few years since I have...

That problem favors a seat safety switch issue. A person has to be sitting on the seat to allow PTO activation.

The little cable assembly is for grabbing the hose end once it is forced through the tank grommet, that way the filter can be put on the end of the hose and dropped back in the tank. The spring is a stronger throttle tension spring in the event you feel that the throttle response is too quick...

Hello Meridian28, First question is the bearing correct? If so.... Polish the outer surface of the pulley fit area for the bearing with some fine grit 1" wide mechanic's/ plumber sandpaper or crocus sanding paper. Most hardware stores have it in the plumbing section for copper pipe solder...

Hello Trout bum, The belt guides for the crank pulley need to be close to the outside of the pulley to prevent the belt from jumping off. Was the crank pulley swapped over from the old engine to the replacement engine?

I tried to reply to the no compression issue on one cylinder earlier, but my reply disappeared somewhere. Anyway, the engine likely bent a pushrod due to an overheat or lack of proper adjustment. No compression means an intake valve is not opening on that cylinder. Be aware that valve guides...

Hi motormike, The reason for the air shrouds is to concentrate air around and through the cooling fins of the cylinder(s). The flywheel air fins and top cover are what force the air past the cylinder(s). Without them they would allow overheating and eventually the motor will become physically...

The EPA and engineers are so anal about making sure fuel vapors cannot escape into the atmosphere that it is almost an obsession. In reality, simply filling up a vehicle at the gas station releases more fuel vapor that any mower will ever release.

Yep, as fuel is used air is drawn in through the cap vent. If the cap vent is plugged the fuel tank will go from atmospheric pressure down into a vacuum due the fuel pump suction. The tank will not allow fuel to flow if it has a vacuum.

Hello ILENGINE, I've had pretty good luck with aftermarket clone carburetors in recent years. A lot of original ones are no longer available. I have had better results with Ebay then I have Amazon though. Some OE carburetors get blocked air bleed passages over time that no amount of cleaning...

As of 2022 they own 80%. The merger may also explain the newest electrical and electronic innovations they have been putting on mowing equipment. Apparently, the cadre of engineers and designers have never mowed a lawn or maintained any of the equipment they are producing. To me anything that...

IF it clicks, it is not a safety switch, there is a corroded battery or switch connector, or the battery needs to be removed and properly load tested. Not enough Amperage is getting to where in need to be. Check the main power fuse holder for corrosion or spread pins. A voltmeter is handy if...

Ebay has them for various weed eaters. I do not recommend a blade on a light duty cutter head though.

Interesting. I checked online and found a bunch of robotic mowers and only 1 4-WD Husqvarna that Lowe's no longer stocks. I can see why considering the price of the machine. Mower prices have gone through the roof. Maybe people will take more of an effort to pay us independents to take care...

You might as well understand that lawn equipment batteries have practically no warranty. One thing I suggest that help is purchase a solar/sunlight maintainer and leave it connected to the battery and let it keep the battery alive when not in use. If you park the mower inside, use a motorcycle...

Likely a wrong fuel mix or the muffler got carbon choked so it could not draw in air and fuel mixture.

If this is a rider mower electric clutch, they do not have linings on the faces. They a magnetic pull in steel face clutch design like an A/C compressor on an older vehicle. As they wear the air gap does get too wide for the coil magnet to pull in the drive plate.

Have not seen a 4-wheel drive model yet. They are usually front wheel drive or rear wheel drive. Toro makes a rear-wheel-drive model, but they are very expensive.

Being that Stihl made so many different models, it would help to know which one you have. How old is this saw? How long has it sat with old fuel in it? These had a soft pull inertia start head and they are a pain when the act up or go bad.

Does the center of the plug just pop out? The fill is in the top left of the first picture from what I can tell. It has the grooved cut in it for gripping apparently.

Buy the service/ repair manual. I would speculate there is some special instructions and likely a special tool for this process.

That is a familiar problem to me. Someone ran into a solid stop on the left front wheel and the steering rod is now bent. (Left side as seated on the machine)

The engine governor linkage has come loose, or the carburetor shaft is stuck from dust or debris and will no longer move. Try spraying the upper lever area with WD-40 lightly and let it soak in for a couple of hours, then get it moving and spray it a little more. Keep working it back and forth...

Hello ukrkoz, Bad news for the owners of these residential machines is that the oil servicing for the hydrostatic transmissions is considered "lifetime". Most units are built to last 500 (part time) seasonal operational hours or less. Only (some) expensive commercial units come with an actual...

You might as well understand that lawn equipment batteries have practically no warranty. The best you can do is preserve them. One thing I suggest that help is purchase a solar/sunlight maintainer and leave it connected to the battery and let it keep the battery alive when not in use. If you...

MTD owns the cub cadet brand

No one is maintaining this site, they have left it on autopilot.

No one is maintaining this site, they have left it on autopilot.

Not every seat can be fitted with armrests and MTD own the Cub Cadet brand. MTD purchased the Cub Cadet line from International Harvester Co. in 1981. Before 1981 Cub Cadet was a very solid built, reliable product. After 1981, they just became another generic rider mower with yellow paint and...

Handle steer zero turns do take some getting used to, they do respond super quick to the hand controls. This is an entry level commercial unit, and they are not typically meant to operate slowly. You can throttle down a little and that would help with the hyper speed reaction. I have 2 zero...

This favors a belt guide that is too far from the side of a pulley or has broken off. I have seen many that were bent back to "cheat" a new belt on instead of loosening or removing the guides. Using a shorter belt is not the answer, using the correct belt is important. Some aftermarket belts...

At the very least I recommend you polish the crank journals with some fine mechanic sanding cloth and verify there is no aluminum transfer from the components running dry. If there is metal transfer/ embedded aluminum on the steel crank journals, this engine is not long for this world. Without...

At the very least I recommend you polish the crank journals and verify there is no aluminum transfer from the components running dry. If there is metal transfer/ embedded aluminum on the steel crank journals, this engine is not long for this world. Without oil circulation to cool the...

Another issue that I have seen, is a fuse holder with weak retainer pins that creates excess heat. I have replaced the fuse holder on several machines in the past which resolved the issue.

For most V-twin applications I use Champion RN12YC or RN14YC and have not had issues with them in years. The ones I do not like just have the word "Torch" printed on them. They have ruined a few coils especially on push mowers. With Stihl 2-stroke engines I get the best performance out of NGK...

Hi slomo, There are as many good videos as there are bad out there on the web. Some are just idiots trying to BS their way through without checking the obvious stuff first. I try to watch the ones that actually own shops and run a business. I even watch Teryl Fixes All on occasion, even though...

I agree, if the tip is not a correct fit into the slot, there will be trouble. I also have a few that I have custom modified like you have as well. For particularly stuck "frozen" jets, I also use a little heat after the housing has been run through the ultrasonic cleaner for 30 minutes. A...

Hi Scrubcadet10, Only (most) independent operators know what they are doing these days because they grew up working on this equipment. Equipment Dealer shops are just about the last place I would recommend to anyone except for a possible warranty concern, even then there is a good chance it...

Just a plain small Craftsman flat blade usually works well. It may need the sides of the tip filed or ground slightly...

Hello gadindixie, When you post a help request, we need the stamped number information in the valve cover of your "17.5 briggs". They are not all the same. Is it cranking, but hitting a dead stop point, or fighting the starter? The most common thing is that it needs the valves properly...

Hi Skippydiesel, What's bad about these is people using (abusing) these funnels is when they think they will rejuvenate old, oxidized fuel that has sit in an abandoned machine for years. these do nothing for bad fuel.

Hi bartles, Sounds like he was familiar with only one example, and he does not work on enough of these engines to know there are differences.

Hi bartles, Sounds like he was familiar with only one example, and he does not work on enough of these engines to know there are differences.

Unplug the PTO from the harness, then check to see if it will keep running. This favors a safety switch issue. The PTO clutch diode is there to prevent a voltage spike back into the harness when the electric PTO is disengaged. Star Tech gave you a parts source, but you need to make sure it...

According to pictures I checked, this has a manual lever and cable to engage the deck operation. The spindle pullies have a blade brake for each one. These brakes do wear with age, and they are only there to slow the blades to a stop when the deck is disengaged. The brakes do not firmly hold the...

With the front and side vents it will get plenty of cooling air. Air cooled engines actually draw in air at the top flywheel area and the fan forces that air across the top of the engine across the block and cylinder cooling fins. You will have to make sure the cooling fins are cleaned once or...