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Is the blade bent? How loud was the impact?

Are those bolts steel?

I looked at tires when I was at Menard's and saw that they're very flat- I don't know if mine has tubes, but that could make mounting easier. The tires on mine are fairly worn, so the day is coming.

Mine doesn't have a primer bulb, so maybe just gravity and vacuum? It has the 'Easy Start' setup, which accomplishes the same as what I have always done before- pull the cord slowly a few times before trying to start it, but the Easy Start closes the choke a bit.

The deck and mounts aren't flexible and they're all at about the same angle- maybe they designed it that way so they could sell more wheels after they all wear and I think the plastic on top would have broken if they piled heavy things on it. Or, maybe it's for hard cornering in turns..... :)...

Sorry, hard to understand how "not worth removing" and "...vocabulary issues when the blade hits one and bends the crankshaft" should be in the same sentence. I get that roots and rocks aren't easy to remove, but hitting them? Not if I could avoid them. Use a string trimmer around them and go on...

Try wrapping the strap around it at least twice and make sure to cover more of the tread, rather than laying it on top of itself. Also, seat the bead on one side first. Look on YouTube for tire installation videos where it's done with a rope.

What kind of diaphragm would a big box Honda engine have (asking about the GCV series)? I recently acquired a Cranftsman with a GCV160 and it runs great even though the serial number shows that it was made in 2012. My other Craftsman with Briggs engine is even older, the Ariens riding more is...

I have never seen that high octane burns faster than low- I was taught that it burns slower. If anyone actually adds water to gasoline, they should be flogged- it's bad enough that phase separation occurs as easily as it does in E-10, but the tipping point, especially in marine applications...

They don't wobble- I would agree, but all four are angled. I'll post a photo of the axles- they're all angled, but nothing seems to be bent. I would press the bushings in, but they would have to be very thin because there's not much difference in the diameters. The axles and mounts are pretty...

I got a Craftsman 917.370600 mower and all of the wheels are angled but the mounts are solid. They're easy enough to adjust, but the angle remains. I only took the time to remove the wheels to inspect, clean & lube- the spindles are angled but not bent. What's the best way to make them straight...

Aren't the spindles cast Aluminum with steel bearings? That's what they look like on my Ariens. Better to wash the grass and dirt off than leave it to rot and cause the metal to corrode. I usually use the narrow tipped blow gun on an air hose until it needs to be washed. Not sure how PTFE or...

I watched a video on YouTube, posted by an old motorcycle guy (raced in the past and still rides), about removing Ethanol from gasoline- he poured gas into a glass bottle for a water cooler (these were before plastic bottles) and then, poured water in before sloshing the mixture. The...

How How much pressure did you use? They don't have an in-tank pump, so they normally experience almost no pressure and teh highest is whenm the tank is full. I thought my valve was leaking, but it turned out that the fuel line had cracked.

Where did you store the water- underground, in an insulated tank surrounded by thermal mass? What capacity?

I don't know how good it is/isn't, but I found a kit on Amazon. I haven't done anything about using propane because I plan to buy a larger generator that has at least one 240V outlet.

I didn't see the previous post when I wrote the same info- when I got my Ariens and had questions, I found that the charging system doesn't have much headroom for loads, so just charge it if it's dead.

Charge it fully and disconnect the wires- if it loses charge, it's bad, if it stays at the full voltage, you need to do a test for current without starting the engine. If the test shows more than about .15Amperes, the stator or rectifier is a likely culprit. Also, measure voltage while the...

I used to work as a boat mechanic and one day, a ski boat came in for an oil change. I asked when it was changed the last time and the customer said "Well, that's the thing....". Three years. Then, when his son tried to remove the Fram filter with a screwdriver, he shredded it. To be fair, the...

Are you saying that tightening an oil filter ISN'T a contest?

I use this type- I have two sizes. If you only want to buy one for all sizes, the yellow one works.

I was watching some videos showing a variety of dethaching attachments, ranging from home-made to commercially available. Any opinions? Doesn't look like rocket surgery. My mower doesn't have any provision for attaching accessories, other than some holes on the back and the small draw bar the...

Anything 'Lithium' has become a buzzword- it's more for extended storage, solar and deep cycle applications and a lawnmower isn't any of those, unless decreased charge level due to sitting is included. Charging is different, the weak electrical systems in mowers doesn't make them compatible and...

A few things come into play for a situation like this- weight & height of the person and track width of the wheels. If the center of gravity is outside of the wheels, it's easy to tip- I found that my Ariens wants to tip on lightly sloped ground because I'm a Clydesdale but siting lower on a ZT...

Was this submerged? If not, why would you make the leap to replacing the wiring? And what kinds of terminals & connectors would you use that wouldn't corrode? Have you done point to point resistance/continuity/voltage tests on all of the wires? My riding mower's headlights didn't work when I...

Absolutely true- I got into my pickup one morning and as usual, the dome light came on but when I turned the key, EVERYTHING went dark. I grabbed a wrench, to check/tighten the cable ends and the positive lug came right out of the battery.

TEST, don't just replace. If you don't have a test light with incandescent bulb, buy one. It shows more or less current by illuminating brightly, or more dim. You should be able to jump from the battery to the starter, as a test- make sure to disconnect everything from the starter and use jumper...

Mine lost the flex plate as I was driving to work and I made the mistake of shutting off the engine because it was 20°F and I would be waiting 45 minutes for the flatbed and without the flex plate, it can't be started. I sold something on FB Marketplace yesterday and the buyer looked familiar...

I was more concerned with getting it together before the next snowfall and it needs an end bushing for the auger, too. Then, the rear brakes on my van decided to go yesterday, so I now have more to do than before, when I already had too much on my plate. Also, money is short and I need to buy...

Well, Rustoleum Ford red ISN'T MTD red and the paint doesn't match the color of the cap, but it looks OK. If it annoys me, I'll buy some paint that's closer- the main goal was to protect the metal. It does look EXACTLY like the paint on a '66 Mustang, though. Crappy nozzle, though.

Rustoleum shows Ace Hardware as a dealer, but the store close to me only has Ford Red. Does this link help? https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/farm-and-implement-paint

I was looking for MTD snowblower parts and had forgotten to look for paint since mine has l ost a fair amount- they have several colors available at www.mtdparts.com and if you use the searcg bar, enter 'red paint', 'green paint', etc. Also, Rustoleum has Farm & Implement paints in various colors.

Fuel quality isn't important in these- I ran out of gas with an old push mower and didn't want to leave one strip, nor did I want to go to a gas station, so I mixed some Mineral Spirits and Denatured Alcohol, just to finish- it ran fine. I wouldn't do that with a new engine, though- that mower...

True. Less energy dense than gasoline, too.

I have heard about doing this, but would need to have major, constant problems in order to really have the need. It wouldn't be hard to do, though- find a clear container, add a valve at the bottom and drain the water out or use a fuel water separator for a boat. Either would work.

I don't have a choice unless I want to drive a long way to find gas that doesn't have Ethanol but I never have problems starting any of my engines. I don't run them dry, but I do run them low with stabilizer in the gas can which goes in as soon as I buy it, so anything I put in the tank on a...

It's not like they made those in house- all they would have to do is spec it differently, order, receive and install them. It's not a huge hardship. It does, however, require engineers to think reasonably, rather than using pure logic. I think that an automated machine, they could thread well...

I have a friend in the Immakele area and he's originally from Joliet, IL, but moved to KC in '94, retired to central Missouri and then to FL as a parents' condition declined. All he does is complain about hot & humid this, hurricane that......If I call today, he's say it's cold. Jeez, some...

"MBAs of the world, unite!" We need to invade their annual suare and give everyone of them a giant wedgie and shove their faces in dog doo. I also believe that anyone who designs any mechanical device or vehicle should be forced to service them for a year, so they'll know what SHOULDN'T be...

One problem here is that the bill for my duplex shows two fees that are twice as much as a single family home and when I traded messages with the Mayor (small city), he thought I have two water mains and sewer laterals. It's not a lot per quarter, but over more than 25 years, it adds up. We have...

I'm trying to understand why my water bill is $200/quarter when average use is only 4,000 gallons. I mean, I know why- it's all of the fees for environmental, sewer, etc but it's ridiculous. And I can't have a well because of the water quality in this area.

The slab is behind my garage and the only time enough air moves is during high wind. This may be a moot point, though- the cost of living here has become unaffordable- the shiny new property tax and water bills arrived and the increases are insane, so I'm not staying here.

Right- the cloudy water/Ethanol layer and the gas on top- I wrote that mine was just gas on top of liquid water and it was only cloudy after shaking the bottle, but it settled out later. There's no milky layer and in phase separation, the only way to remedy it is to remove the layer with...

I plan to build some kind of structure for the slab with enough height to allow me to put the push mower over the rider's shroud. That way, I can store it lower and prevent me effing up my shoulder, like I did a week ago Sunday. I haven't decided on the exterior, but I think T-111 may be a...

Nope. Phase separation is a milky layer of mixed Ethanol and water. This was just water that settled out of the temporary mixture. For all I know, they may have used gas without Ethanol and it was exactly the same as what I used to see before we had to use that crap.

I removed almost all of the gas and ran it dry, but I do add StaBil for gas with Ethanol. It's really not hard or time consuming to do this stuff and I had lubed everything when I got it. Battery is out, tires are up, engine is fogged. Twice, since I had to start it in order to go over the edge...

I don't have enough space in my garage and the city wanted too much $ for permits and inspection to build a bump-out, so I need to store my mower on the slab behind my garage, covered. I stored my snow blowers there, under a tarp, and they're fine. I have serviced boats for a long time and...

I knocked the chute off of the pivot rod- that's when I found out they used a crappy clip at the end. I'll be drilling the hole over Winter since I removed the chute before I parked it. I'll also thread the end of the rod, so I can use a nylock nut. It would be great if WE didn't need to make...

I cut the grass once, then bought a bagging attachment- too much stuff left on the lawn. I don't cut every week and I tend to leave it a bit longer, so the roots can grow deeper during dry periods and the first time was THE first time on a riding mower, so I didn't know what I needed to know...

Blue StaBil is made for with Ethanol- their site shows that the red is too, but I have read that it's not as good as the blue. I have all three- they also make an amber version and while I don't leave a lot of gas in the tank of anything, my engines all start easily. Draining a tank isn't so...