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Weld ‘er up!

Clean and replace the OEM Zama carburetor with the aftermarket one you probably put on. Do not spend any more money for parts on this trimmer.

$2000 is way too expensive even with only 96 hours on it.

I have a Dixon zero turn with a damaged crankshaft. Customer installed new PTO clutch themselves and did not tighten and torque it down correctly. I ended up with it as a result, and have not had time to remove and replace engine with good used Kawasaki, or replace crankshaft with new one...

Heavy scoring on piston in picture. Stop and don’t do any further work on chainsaw. Leave muffler off so you can show customer or know this saw is done.

No belt length is that critical to a 1/4” inch. There is something else most likely going on that is wrong causing problems with 3 belts so far.

Buy a zero turn versus a riding mower for sure for two acres. Doesn’t matter what brand zero turn you buy at the low end, they are all pretty crappy. Lean towards Toro, Troy Bilt Mustang, or Hustler. You are looking at $3500 and up on price.

So it seems a shop has to be a bit larger to use Stens, Rotary, and Oregon, as a general rule. I was told before opening up to get hooked up with these suppliers. Once I realized the minimum purchase for free shipping, tax exempt rule, and not a significant savings for lower tier sales, I never...

I buy parts from Amazon, EBay, and local Hardware store that is also a Scag, Bad Boy, and Stihl dealer. For me, quality of part, selection, service, picking rate accuracy, and how quickly I can get the parts are more important than saving 10-20%. Customers never complain about my parts prices...

I normally use PB Blaster for penetrating oil and works great. Kroil is supposed to be better, no real personal experience. One other way is 50/50 mixture of automatic transmission oil and acetone. This works well and have used it in the past.

What equipment is listed at, and what it actually sells for, are obviously two separate things. I get people nowadays that make lowball offers sight unseen. That folks, is not how you negotiate. I simply reply “no thanks “, and wait for a real buyer. When I get a real buyer, rarely do they ask...

You must have the same transaxle for replacement as original. IE: T40 Tuff Torq. Otherwise you have to do modifications and it can get to be a lot of work, or will not work at all, depending on situation.

Carb cleaner and a cordless drill with wire wheel and safety glasses. Then use green Scotchbrite to finish it.

He wants to permanently repair the loose plastic fuel inlet fitting. Not permanently attach a fuel line. Please post the product that can do this for people. Must be very fuel resistant.

Possible fuel leak?

Very few shops rebuild small engines anymore, including me. It takes too long, too much liability, and not enough money for all the work.

As a general rule, about 25% of original retail cost for used mower prices. If you have gone through the equipment and replaced what needed to be, done a tune up, etc. then the mower is ready to go. There is not a lot of gross profit flipping a mower. Don’t give the equipment away. Hold out for...

How fast the engine is running to engage the PTO is another topic that many people disagree with. I have been hitting the PTO on my Scag at wide open throttle now for almost 2000 hours (original PTO clutch). Your mileage may vary.

I totally disagree about the Cub Cadet “zero turn” steering wheel mowers and them being able to hold a hill well. Logic tells me if these mowers were so good on steep hills, why do you NEVER see commercial guys that mow for a living all day long use them? A good commercial zero turn like a Scag...

Customer has 90 days from date of invoice and notification that their equipment is ready to pick up from my shop. I have a sign clearly posted also. Doesn’t happen often at all that they don’t pick it up, but when it does, I sell the equipment.

I don’t think so much that this is a “scam” as the guy is simply trying to turn a larger profit. He is offering a product, assuming it runs and mows right and everything is working, and taking your mower as part of the transaction. It is also hard to determine the fairness of cost without seeing...

Makes things tougher usually because it would have been repaired if they knew what they were doing.

Nothing only takes 3 minutes, except checking the oil. If there is messy RTV all over the valve cover and cylinder head, it takes a while to correctly remove it. I use a wire wheel to speed up the process. Then if you use Permatex Right Stuff to seal it, that takes 90 minutes to set up before...

You can take a small chisel and hammer and carefully tighten the metal threaded portion into the engine block. Many drains are loose that I change the oil on for customers.

Many manuals say 100 hours on oil, and 200 hours on oil filter. Many people have gone to 50 hours on oil and oil filter. Oil and filters are inexpensive and shorter change intervals only make sense in the long run.

Ethanol is blamed for many fuel related issues in small engines. In reality, poor storage of fuel and putting up equipment long term with no use in between improperly , is the actual problem. I see lots of water in fuel from customers that say they use ethanol free fuel. I buy carburetor...

Take the Walbro carburetor apart and completely clean it. Drain old fuel and try again.

Carburetor cleaner and an air compressor blow gun. If all else fails, pull the tank screen out and install an inline fuel filter.

I have never received an obvious returned part from either Amazon or EBay, ever. I also rarely return parts. The quality of parts from Amazon and EBay over several years and hundreds of parts has been really good for my own personal experience. I hear people talking about how bad some of these...

Use a rake and a broom for a few months and get back with us.

Possible bad tensioner pulley. Also check both hydraulic pumps to be sure they are mounted securely. Are they straight and level, are the mounting points all good, are any of the mounts broken, cracked welds?

The site is much better than earlier this year. Thank you very much!!!!

You are confirming three main issues with battery powered outdoor power equipment. 1) Cost- Who wants to pay $1000 for a self-propelled mower? (For example) 2) Build quality-Often not that impressive. Lots of plastic, and designed for planned obsolescence. Wait until you have to replace a...

I use 87 octane, 10% ethanol in everything from a chainsaw to my Ford Taurus and never have problems. Keep the fuel moving, store it correctly and you will be fine. Or you can buy premium fuel, Stabilizer, and think you are doing it right. To each his own.

Try EBay.

The issue of the correct model number of the mower will come up when parts are needed for repair in the future. Need correct model number to get correct parts.

Very frustrating going behind a customer that works on equipment and doesn’t fix it. Then you have to figure out what they have done.

The hard push by corporate America, the government, and media for battery powered outdoor power equipment and electric vehicles has been the last 5 to 8 years. It has not caught on and been near as successful as they would have liked, for many reasons. I am going to the Equipment Expo in...

Transaxles don’t go out often. They also don’t just suddenly quit if they are hydrostatic. They slowly start failing. Cost prohibitive for a shop to fix. Typically $1000 and up, plus labor. In other words, buy another mower if it goes out.

Gator blades.

I use Permatex Right Stuff and have had great results with it.

Adjusting the valves every 50-100 hours is unnecessary. Many of my customers don’t adjust the valves ever. The 300 hour recommendation by Kawasaki is what you should follow.

Use a heat gun to soften up the RTV. Use a drill with a wire brush to remove the RTV.

Follow the hydro bypass rod back to the hydro transaxle and look at it and push/pull it back and forth and see if it has full travel. Check the other side for comparison if needed. Make sure no debris is blocking free travel of bypass rod.

The tiny “bump” that you look for to be sure the compression release is working correctly is in fact the whole key to verifying if the compression release mechanism is broken or working on the camshaft. This is how I check when needed.

Swapping decks other than the exact correct deck on any mower will involve lots of modification and time, unless you get lucky. The wash port is a total gimmick and doesn’t work.

That Honda engine is a really good engine. A puff of smoke on start up on older engines is normal. Not so much on a new engine. Realize that Honda got out of the gas self-propelled and push mower business about three years ago, so they probably won’t have another comparable mower to give you.

How much is a Snapper Ninja commercial mower cost? You can buy a good used Toro for under $200.

Husqvarna 128LD is one of the most common Husqvarna trimmers in this area. Residential grade decent trimmer. Worth taking the time to try to get running right.

Push and self-propelled mowers two best: Honda and Toro. No hesitation, no caveats, no excuses. Buy a crappy Hyper Tough made by MTD from Walmart and see how many years you get out of that.