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Pictures of your concerns would help us help you.

Hello JoeKarpowski, Minor surging at idle is a sign of a dirty carburetor internally. The carburetor would need to be removed and properly cleaned. If you want to attempt this, I can only recommend watching some videos of people who work on small engine equipment for a living. Sources: Teryl...

This poor thing has lived a long life. Sorry, it's time to let it go or find a better engine. There is no "polishing" that will save the crank journal and bearing surfaces. All that does it take metal away and increase the oil clearances. After that, the connecting rod will likely break and take...

Two things happen when you apply power to the wrong circuit. One is you let the "magic smoke" out and two, you likely created more problems than you started with.

Have you ever worked on a carburetor before? They are not to complex, but you need to take pictures as you go. The top cover has to have the screws carefully removed, to inspect the inside of the carburetor bowl.

Hi StarTech, I also had a couple fail years back because they were too thin, but the last one I got was a thicker and improved design.

When you initially reset the governor adjustment, it likely had enough room to allow the governor center pin to pop up out of place. Hopefully it is a simple fix and a new gasket, and you are back up and running. Note: Use only a Briggs and Stratton sump gasket kit. Amazon gaskets will create...

They are push on speed clip retainers Sometimes you can find them at a NAPA or a parts store that has selector boxes of various sizes. Occasionally they can be found at a good hardware store. A good small engine shop would have them, if one can be found in your area. It helps to remove the...

The governor has only one job and that is to "govern" (control) the top running speed (RPM) of the engine, that is it, end of story! No starts or surging have nothing to do with the governor operation. Governors do not require adjustment once they have been set during initial factory assembly...

This is a lawnmower forum, not English 101. Many people have terrible writing skills, and they always will.

That is not the number. Look at the flat vertical section opposite side of the block from the air cleaner and carburetor. They will be dot etched numbers, not casted.

Hi Phillybo, The manuals do not give the exact design specification for the installed height of the valve guides. If this head has a pushrod guide plate mounted below the rocker arm retainer bolts, be sure to check them for excessive wear in the area that pushrod comes through. These are often...

Hi StarTech, Back when I was a JD service manager, I used to tell my more opinionated techs that I would gladly make them manager for a day if they wanted to see if they could do the job better than me. They knew that I was not joking and quickly backed off with all the gripping and...

If not you first succeed, try, try again and again and again.... That free returns thing must be intoxicating.

They are not that failure prone unless it has been run with a dead/bad battery for a very long time. The charging system on these are only meant to maintain the battery and run the PTO clutch and lights as need. Thy are not meant to constantly recharge a bad battery. If it mounts to the plastic...

Helo Phillybo, Have you compared it to the other head to verify what is going on? Often times a pushrod get bent on these when the valve lash is too far out of spec. The pushrod come to the edge of the rocker cup and it binds up on these.

"Necessity is the mother of invention" (Plato) That looks pretty interesting, but it works and that's what counts Now you need to take a little clear silicone and seal up all the exposed connections to prevent dirt and moisture from creeping in and ruining your progress. I take it that the...

Product ID number and serial number is needed. This is not a machine you just start bypassing thing on blindly experimenting. Is this a fuel injected model?

That is a catastrophic failure of the connecting rod. I do not recommend any attempt and rebuilding this engine. Time for an engine. This mower was built in the late 90's according to online information.

A picture would be most helpful My imagination recall has the memory bank overloaded at the moment. Wild guess is that the voltage regulator has been removed and forgotten about before you purchased the mower, or it was sold because the previous owner could not figure it out.

Glad it was something simple.

Hi Star Tech, The head with plastic blades is an optional head that Stihl offers. It comes with hardware for different models or adapters can be purchased.

Jack of all trades about covers it. I stopped doing free estimates and taking in random customers or "emergencies". Now I only rely on a network of known good customers referrals. Business has been steady without too much hustle and bustle. Anyone who is referred to me already understands that...

Make sure the disengage rod has not been set for the side that is not working. Each drive motor has a pull rod usually at the rear under the unit.

2-strokes like this Stihl FS38 are designed to run wide open throttle for cooling and to keep the centrifugal clutch fully engaged. Putting a wider cutting head on it puts too much stress on the components. An FS38 is a light duty DIY trimmer. If you want commercial results, consider a larger...

An engineer once told me if it isn't broke, don't break it trying to figure it out.

I would not expect anything immediate, but I have seen it work. Run it and get the fuel mix down in the carburetor well, then let it set and see if it works its magic.

Mix it according to instructions in the fuel can/jug being used, then gently shake the fuel/jug around to mix it (churn it). Sometimes my Southern vocabulary is not quite understood. LOL

Hi slomo, If I believed everything You Tube shows us, there would not much else in life to do but be a pessimist. Those shows tend to be very biased and flip flop opinions based on conjecture. Alcohol does not "remove" water; it breaks it down and encapsulates it so it can pass through with...

Hi macdoesit, Using HEET is not a bad suggestion in my opinion. Honestly, I forgot about that. HEET is basically a bottle of Methanol fuel solvent (petrol) (Not to be confused with Ethanol (corn). It has to be churned in a fuel can, not just poured in the tank to be effective.

Hello macdoesit, The local JD dealer is who uncrates and performs the make ready for sale on new riders for the big box stores (It's in their JD sales contract to carry the JD products.) They get minimal fuel put in them for a quick test run and then they set on display for months before being...

That wheel assembly was installed with very little grease and has not seen any new grease in a long time. Bearing failures are often sudden in cases like this. The small ball bearing come out and the wheel suddenly cocks sideways and wobbles. That appears to be an aftermarket "universal rim...

Bad gas is usually from them leaving fuel in them while on the sale line. Fuel left sitting degrades especially with heat and sudden changes in the weather. Most likely, they need to pull the carburetor and give it a proper cleaning. This machine likely sat on display for months with old fuel...

I've got a huge stack of certifications, but they mean very little if the knowledge is not understood and applied. Way too much of this so-called "certification" process has been pushed off to 1-hour videos and pass the 20 questions at the end. No practical application or real-world equipment...

What is the off chance there is a little diesel fuel mixed in with the gas? That would reduce power and make the grey smoke you described. I've seen it happen a couple of times on customer equipment.

The manual says change oil every 5 hours. Use SAE 10W-30. Synthetic should not be an issue if that is your preference. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2074088/Honda-Hrn216-Series.html?page=45#manual

If they are being proactive trying to research an issue to perform a proper repair, I would not have an issue with that.

As I slip past 60 years of age and still working hard, it has made me reflect on much of my past "hard times". My goodness, If I had not learned my skills early in life as a troubleshooter and mechanic, I would be flat broke and begging for food and shelter on a daily basis. That, or living...

We need the product label information. A couple of pictures might also help. By brain is having trouble focusing by using my imagination to "paint a picture" of this problem. Pick one: https://www.partstree.com/models/1330-cub-cadet-garden-tractor-parts

You miss the point. What setting are you using on your meter? Providing a picture of the meter dial setting you are using would help. Amps and Volts are not the same setting.

Thanks for the update picture. Now, I think that picture better confirms the exhaust valve guide has moved up in the casting due to an overheat condition. (Poor B&S design) I can see that the exhaust valve guide is not sticking very far at all on the combustion chamber side. At the moment, I...

Trash in the fuel can like bugs and old cut grass clippings is usually the cause. Any trash will get stuck at an angle fitting or a shutoff valve. Why? Because they have a restriction designed into them. I've cleaned fittings, shutoff valves and lines many times that had wads of fine trash...

Seems like lately I have had quite a few B&S V-twin engines that run erratically especially under load. These come to me usually after plugs, coils, fuel pump and a carburetor have been replaced. Sure enough, someone did not realize that if the valve cover vacuum pulse hose is cracked or has...

Yep, it's too heavy. The idea is to apply a vacuum (negative pressure) effect to the crankcase.

Hi Slomo, I used that trick years ago when I worked in an automotive shop. We occasionally would have a vehicle that the drain plug would not seal properly on. Applying a vacuum to the filler and then quickly switching the drain plug worked pretty slick. Not sure how that would work with an...

Looks like the connector pins got ripped off of the diode possibly. Maybe the diode got ripped out of the harness.

We need your product label information off of the machine. They have serial number differences and harnesses are usually different among them.

That is a good idea, but many mower oil filters are barely accessible, much less drill a hole.

I've seen a lead acid car battery blow apart on a cold Winter morning and bend the entire front corner of the hood on a '69 Pontiac Bonneville.... They had some heavy steel in those hoods. Arcing sparks or flame around any lead acid battery is very dangerous. Hydrogen gas is present in wet cell...

A basic rule is to never throw away any parts until you are absolutely sure the job is done. Cannot really see anything wrong with the valves except the one on the left of the picture has been getting hot on the stem portion. How did you determine a valve was bent?